January 25, 2006
To me, this was a far more interesting exchange:
QUESTION: Yes, Wayne Madsen, syndicated columnist. General, how do you explain the fact that there were several rare spectacles of whistleblowers coming forward at NSA, especially after 9/11, something that hasn't really happened in the past, who have complained about violations of FISA and United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18, which implements the law at the agency?GEN. HAYDEN: I talked to the NSA staff on Friday. The NSA inspector general reports to me, as of last Friday, from the inception of this program through last Friday night, not a single employee of the National Security Agency has addressed a concern about this program to the NSA IG. I should also add that no member of the NSA workforce who has been asked to be included in this program has responded to that request with anything except enthusiasm. I don't know what you're talking about.
This response from Hayden seems to confirm two things.
1. By not reporting any concerns to the NSA inspector general, any of the NSA whistleblowers claimed by New York Times reporters James Risen and Eric Lichtblau committed felonies. This is nothing new to most. But as Hayden's response indicates that those most directly knowledgeable about this covert program believe deeply in its success, these claims of multiple streams of insider information inside a highly compartmentalized program seem quite suspect.
One might question just how many sources Risen and Lichtblau actually had, and whether or not these sources had direct access to this program as they claim.
2. Hayden's phrasing ("has been" being current tense) also leads me to believe that all people directly acquainted with this particular program are still involved with the program.
The one named NSA whistleblower, Russell Tice, is not currently part of the NSA, after being dismissed for psychological concerns and security violations.
Taken together, it would seem that the head of the NSA is strongly suggesting, though indirectly, that Russell Tice was never part of this program. That would indeed cast strong doubts about the credibilty of his already suspect claims, as he is a discharged, disgruntled employee.
Bill Burkett, anyone?
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at
01:30 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 406 words, total size 3 kb.
Posted by: Toby928 at January 25, 2006 10:16 AM (ATbKm)
Posted by: Fred at January 25, 2006 04:26 PM (xX+1y)
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at January 25, 2006 04:30 PM (g5Nba)
Posted by: Retired Spy at January 26, 2006 01:33 PM (BRgB4)
Posted by: Retired Spy at January 26, 2006 08:05 PM (BRgB4)
54 queries taking 0.1427 seconds, 156 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.