Senator Church’s Prophetic Warning
Senator Frank Church – who chaired the famous “Church Committee” into the unlawful FBI Cointel program, and who chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – said in 1975:
“Th[e National Security Agency's] capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. There would be no place to hide. [If a dictator ever took over, the N.S.A.] could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back.“
Now, the NSA is building a $2 billion dollar facility in Utah which will use the world’s most powerful supercomputer to monitor virtually all phone calls, emails, internet usage, purchases and rentals, break all encryption, and then store everyone’s data permanently.
The former head of the program for the NSA recently held his thumb and forefinger close together, and said:
We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state
So Senator Church’s warning was prophetic.
Spying Began Before 9/11
While you might assume that the NSA’s spying on Americans is a response to 9/11, the government’s illegal spying on Americans actually began before 9/11.
Bloomberg reported in 2006:
The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court.
“The Bush Administration asserted this became necessary after 9/11,” plaintiff’s lawyer Carl Mayer said in a telephone interview. “This undermines that assertion.”
“The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that AT&T may neither confirm nor deny AT&T’s participation in the alleged NSA program because doing so would cause `exceptionally grave harm to national security’ and would violate both civil and criminal statutes,” AT&T spokesman Dave Pacholczyk said in an e-mail.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Charles Miller and NSA spokesman Don Weber declined to comment.
In other words, the NSA’s trashing of the constitutional rights of American citizens had nothing to do with 9/11.
NSA Heard the 9/11 Hijackers’ Plans from Their Own Mouths … But Didn’t Stop Them
Indeed, the NSA was listening in on the 9/11 hijackers’ phone calls before 9/11, but didn’t do a whole lot to stop them:
- The National Security Agency and the FBI were each independently listening in on the phone calls between the supposed mastermind of the attacks and the lead hijacker. Indeed, the FBI built its own antenna in Madagascar specifically to listen in on the mastermind’s phone calls
- According to various sources, on the day before 9/11, the mastermind told the lead hijacker “tomorrow is zero hour” and gave final approval for the attacks. The NSA intercepted the message that day and the FBI was likely also monitoring the mastermind’s phone calls
- Shortly before 9/11, the NSA also intercepted multiple phone calls to the United States from Bin Laden’s chief of operations
- According to the Sunday Herald, two days before 9/11, Bin Laden called his stepmother and told her “In two days, you’re going to hear big news and you’re not going to hear from me for a while.” U.S. officials later told CNN that “in recent years they’ve been able to monitor some of Bin Laden’s telephone communications with his [step]mother. Bin Laden at the time was using a satellite telephone, and the signals were intercepted and sometimes recorded.” Indeed, before 9/11, to impress important visitors, NSA analysts would occasionally play audio tapes of bin Laden talking to his stepmother.
- And according to CBS News, at 9:53 a.m on 9/11, just 15 minutes after the hijacked plane had hit the Pentagon, “the National Security Agency, which monitors communications worldwide, intercepted a phone call from one of Osama bin Laden’s operatives in Afghanistan to a phone number in the former
Soviet Republic of Georgia”, and secretary of Defense Rumsfeld learned about the intercepted phone call in real-time (if the NSA monitored and transcribed phone calls in real-time on 9/11, that implies that it probably did so in the months leading up to 9/11 as well)
As we reported in 2008, the NSA even monitored the hijackers within the United States:
We’ve previously pointed out that the U.S. government heard the 9/11 plans from the hijackers’ own mouth. Most of what we wrote about involved the NSA and other intelligence services tapping top Al Qaeda operatives’ phone calls outside the U.S.
However, as leading NSA expert James Bamford - the Washington Investigative Producer for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings for almost a decade, winner of a number of journalism awards for coverage national security issues, whose articles have appeared in dozens of publications, including cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and the only author to write any books (he wrote 3) on the NSA – reports, the NSA was also tapping the hijackers’ phone calls inside the U.S.
Specifically, hijackers Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi lived in San Diego, California, for 2 years before 9/11. Numerous phone calls between al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi in San Diego and a high-level Al Qaeda operations base in Yemen were made in those 2 years.
The NSA had been tapping and eavesdropping on all calls made from that Yemen phone for years. So NSA recorded all of these phone calls.
Indeed, the CIA knew as far back as 1999 that al-Mihdhar was coming to the U.S. Specifically, in 1999, CIA operatives tailing al-Mihdha in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, obtained a copy of his passport. It contained visas for both Malaysia and the U.S., so they knew it was likely he would go from Kuala Lumpur to America.
ABC News reported in 2002:
Shortly before Sept. 11, NSA intercepts detected multiple phone calls from Abu Zubaida, bin Laden’s chief of operations, to the United States. The intercepts were never passed on.
And Raw Story wrote in 2008:
Author James Bamford looked into the performance of the NSA … and found that it had been closely monitoring the 9/11 hijackers as they moved freely around the United States and communicated with Osama bin Laden’s operations center in Yemen. The NSA had even tapped bin Laden’s satellite phone, starting in 1996.
“The NSA never alerted any other agency that the terrorists were in the United States and moving across the country towards Washington,” Bamford told PBS.
PBS also found that “the 9/11 Commission never looked closely into NSA’s role in the broad intelligence breakdown behind the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. If they had, they would have understood the full extent to which the agency had major pieces of the puzzle but never put them together or disclosed their entire body of knowledge to the CIA and the FBI.”
In a review of Bamford’s book, former senator and 9/11 Commission member Bob Kerrey wrote, “As the 9/11 Commission later established, U.S. intelligence officials knew that al-Qaeda had held a planning meeting in Malaysia, found out the names of two recruits who had been present — Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi — and suspected that one and maybe both of them had flown to Los Angeles. Bamford reveals that the NSA had been eavesdropping for months on their calls to Yemen, yet the agency ‘never made the effort’ to trace where the calls originated. ‘At any time, had the FBI been notified, they could have found Hazmi in a matter of seconds.’”
Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer told PBS, “None of this information that we’re speaking about this evening’s in the 9/11 Commission report. They simply ignored all of it.”
Spying Unrelated to Keeping Us Safe
As we’ve previously documented, the spying isn’t being done to keep us safe … but to crush dissent …
and to help the too big to fail businesses compete against smaller businesses (and here).
Indeed, the NSA monitoring efforts will not focus on spying on potential terrorists – or even criminal activity – but in recording every phone call, email, internet search or other communication in the country.
Not Just the NSA: Other Agencies and Shady Foreign Groups Spying on Americans As Well
It’s not just the NSA.
As Nat Hentoff writes:
Thirty years after Church’s principled stand, the Washington Post reported that the NSA had already been enlisting other intelligence
agencies to assist its surveillance of “people inside the country suspected of having terrorist connections” (“Bush Authorized Domestic Spying,” Dan Eggen, Dec. 16, 2005).
On what basis? That’s classified.
And Bamford reports that shady companies with ties to Israel are wiretapping Americans for the NSA:
One of the [National Security] agency’s biggest secrets is just how careless it is with that ocean of very private and very personal communications, much of it to and from Americans. Increasingly, obscure and questionable contractors — not government employees — install the taps, run the agency’s eavesdropping infrastructure, and do the listening and analysis.
And with some of the key companies building the U.S.’s surveillance infrastructure for the digital age employing unstable employees, crooked executives, and having troubling ties to foreign intelligence services, it’s not clear that Americans should trust the secretive agency ….
***
Secretive contractors with questionable histories and little oversight were also used to do the actual bugging of the entire U.S. telecommunications network.
According to a former Verizon employee briefed on the program, Verint, owned by Comverse Technology, taps the communication lines at Verizon, which I first reported in my book The Shadow Factory in 2008. Verint did not return a call seeking comment, while Verizon said it does not comment on such matters.
At AT&T the wiretapping rooms are powered by software and hardware from Narus, now owned by Boeing, a discovery made by AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein in 2004. Narus did not return a call seeking comment.
What is especially troubling is that both companies have had extensive ties to Israel, as well as links to that country’s intelligence service, a country with a long and aggressive history of spying on the U.S.
In fact, according to Binney, the advanced analytical and data mining software the NSA had developed for both its worldwide and international eavesdropping operations was secretly passed to Israel by a mid-level employee, apparently with close connections to the country. The employee, a technical director in the Operations Directorate, “who was a very strong supporter of Israel,” said Binney, “gave, unbeknownst to us, he gave the software that we had, doing these fast rates, to the Israelis.”
Because of his position, it was something Binney should have been alerted to, but wasn’t.
“In addition to being the technical director,” he said, “I was the chair of the TAP, it’s the Technical Advisory Panel, the foreign relations council. We’re supposed to know what all these foreign countries, technically what they’re doing…. They didn’t do this that way, it was under the table.” After discovering the secret transfer of the technology, Binney argued that the agency simply pass it to them officially, and in that way get something in return, such as access to communications terminals. “So we gave it to them for switches,” he said.
“For access.”
But Binney now suspects that Israeli intelligence in turn passed the technology on to Israeli companies who operate in countries around the world, including the U.S. In return, the companies could act as extensions of Israeli intelligence and pass critical military, economic and diplomatic information back to them. “And then five years later, four or five years later, you see a Narus device,” he said. “I think there’s a connection there, we don’t know for sure.”
Narus was formed in Israel in November 1997 by six Israelis with much of its money coming from Walden Israel, an Israeli venture capital company. Its founder and
former chairman, Ori Cohen, once told Israel’s Fortune Magazine that his partners have done technology work for Israeli intelligence. And among the five founders was Stanislav Khirman, a husky, bearded Russian who had previously worked for Elta Systems, Inc. A division of Israel Aerospace Industries, Ltd., Elta specializes in developing advanced eavesdropping systems for Israeli defense and intelligence organizations. At Narus, Khirman became the chief technology officer.
A few years ago, Narus boasted that it is “known for its ability to capture and collect data from the largest networks around the world.”
The company says its equipment is capable of “providing unparalleled monitoring and intercept capabilities to service providers and government organizations around the world” and that “Anything that comes through [an Internet protocol network], we can record. We can reconstruct all of their e-mails, along with attachments, see what Web pages they clicked on, we can reconstruct their [Voice over Internet Protocol] calls.”
Like Narus, Verint was founded by in Israel by Israelis, including Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, a former Israeli intelligence officer. Some 800 employees work for Verint, including 350 who are based in Israel, primarily working in research and development and operations, according to the Jerusalem Post. Among its products is STAR-GATE, which according to the company’s sales literature, lets “service providers … access communications on virtually any type of network, retain communication data for as long as required, and query and deliver content and data …” and was “[d]esigned to manage vast numbers of targets, concurrent sessions, call data records, and communications.”
In a rare and candid admission to Forbes, Retired Brig. Gen. Hanan Gefen, a former commander of the highly secret Unit 8200, Israel’s NSA, noted his former organization’s influence on Comverse, which owns Verint, as well as other Israeli companies that dominate the U.S. eavesdropping and surveillance market. “Take NICE, Comverse and Check Point for example, three of the largest high-tech companies, which were all directly influenced by 8200 technology,” said Gefen. “Check Point was founded by Unit alumni. Comverse’s main product, the Logger, is based on the Unit’s technology.”
According to a former chief of Unit 8200, both the veterans of the group and much of the high-tech intelligence equipment they developed are now employed in high-tech firms around the world. “Cautious estimates indicate that in the past few years,” he told a reporter for the Israeli newspaper Ha’artez in 2000, “Unit 8200 veterans have set up some 30 to 40 high-tech companies, including 5 to 10 that were floated on Wall Street.” Referred to only as “Brigadier General B,” he added, “This correlation between serving in the intelligence Unit 8200 and starting successful high-tech companies is not coincidental: Many of the technologies in use around the world and developed in Israel were originally military technologies and were developed and improved by Unit veterans.”
Equally troubling is the issue of corruption. Kobi Alexander, the founder and former chairman of Verint, is now a fugitive, wanted by the FBI on nearly three dozen charges of fraud, theft, lying, bribery, money laundering and other crimes. And two of his top associates at Comverse, Chief Financial Officer David Kreinberg and former General Counsel William F. Sorin, were also indicted in the scheme and later pleaded guilty, with both serving time in prison and paying millions of dollars in fines and penalties.
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin
@ Centurion
I thought your comments were very interesting and I like your style of writing. But just to clarify, you apparently believe the official version of events of 9/11, you think that Constitutionalists favor a "libertarian based anarchy", the "good men and women" are really protecting us and not the big banks, oil comapnies, and big pharma, and lastly, whatever the NSA is doing is needed because there are wackos out there like GW.
I don't think you're going to win any popularity contests on this blog, but I'm sure you don't care; as for me, I honestly enjoyed your comments, as ridiculous as they are.
CarelessW,
Your answers, no, no, they believe they are protecting you & the rule of law - not banksters, absolutely NOT - "whatever" the NSA is doing is good or legal.
But crying out with BS "facts" the way Georgie does is wrong on far more dangerous levels. GW is a classic Brownshit type guy, he will tell you partial truths, that conceal the whole truth, and create lies that forment hatred.
That's why I shoot against Georgie.
Better yet, Centurion, (why not "Praetorian"? Too gaudy?) kindly explain how that "they're Protecting you and The Rule of Law" jive squares with the one aspect of the myriad 9-11 conspiracies that pretty much none of the debunkers *ever* wants to address. 4 planes, a minimum of 8 guys on the various flight decks. Each pilot & co-pilot trained over & over & over again to radio in a hijack squawk code in case of hijacking; and each one had only to *push a special button designated just for this purpose* should they be unable to radio out.
Yet not 1 hijack call was ever made. I know airline pilots: most are ex-military, and all are trained & tested rigorously. They wouldn't have NOT made the call/pushed the buttons. They just wouldn't. Even if the hijackin' hajis took each flight deck in just 2 seconds, 8 calls _would have_ gone out. None did.
What possible reason for that can there be except that someone with a badge and a senior GS rank, someone "protecting [us] and the rule of law", told 'em beforehand, "Don't". Hmmm??
9-11 aside, your argument is that we should trust a government agency that A) denied its existence for 25 years B) whose annual budget is highly classified C) whose technical capabilities, while generally assumed to be prodigious, are even more classified D) is expanding rapidly, dare we say exponentially and E) whose promises not to abuse any juicy information they steal about US citizens & businesses they won't be misused aren't viewable, verifiable, or reliable in any way other than blind faith. We've already seen the folly and astonishing growth & abuse of powers that comes from Blind Faith in the FBI and their star employees Robert Hanson & Lon Horiuchi, the CIA and its star employees Rick Ames along with so many others, the military (Operation Northwoods, anyone?) - none of whom/which the vaunted NSA apparently ever caught wind of or told any lowly civilians about - and our ever-more trigger-happy, militarized, ninja wannabe cops. Yet you're still selling that "trust 'em!" snake oil in re the NSA.
That's why I shoot against you.
A Praetorian did not humble himself before Christ. And the only words of man spoken at every Mass are those of the Centurion.
First of all, I spent 20 years as a pilot. So you venture onto something I know a bit about. There are no "special buttons" to squawk of hijacking; it's a dial code, usually 4 dials or thumb wheels. Regardless, it is not at all hard to fly a large jet, away from the ground. As for "calls", you're really reaching on creating fantasies on the way it went down or didnt go down. And to think that a pilot, with a family, would simply take the orders of some government agent shows how stupid you are.
Lastly, I never asserted the littany of things you claim I think. I very simply, and clearly, and have more than once said, if Georgie wants to have crediblity he needs to focus on facts not fantasy. Otherwise impressionable ignorant imbiciles like yourself get all worked up. Which maybe is what Georgie wants.
Keep shooting their Poco, you're such a bad shot it will never hurt me.
I would think most 9/11 conspiracy loons suffer some sort of mental issue, as does a few percent of the general population.
I once met a man who claimed to be controlled through messages sent by the late Beatle George Harrison.
People claiming holographic planes and the like make about as much sense to me.
Fascinating insight there, "Doctor". So perhaps you'll grace us with your *medical* opinion as to why 8+ flight-deck pilots apparently ignored years of training and didn't get off a single 'hijack' call, or manage to do so much as *push a button* located within arm's reach. Do you suppose they all suffered from some sort of mental issue? All at exactly the same time? Might that be it, old sport?
Then explain operation "Able Danger".
And, btw, this is very old information...
Maybe so, but the trickle of BS that comes from GW pales in comparison to the volcano of rancid bullshit from you.
Boy howdy.
Give us a rest from the bullshit, we're all stocked up here.
Professional engineer Jon Cole cuts steel columns with thermate, debunks Nat Geo & unexpectedly repr, page 1
swissair 111
+ magnesium + Copper + a Saudi prince + a pi-rat`s chest of rubys and diamonds worth a half billion
but the TSB says nothing to see here move right along sheeps bahaaa bahaaa bahaa
Fucking impostor cunt.
No really. This guy is an impostor of the real Slewie...
Sorry Georgie, you've obviously spent too much time watching Jack Bauer & James Bond shows. You are confusing the skill of gov. Scientists with the jackasses who won the awards in Vegas. Govies are simply not that good, not even NSA ones.
Now, here's a real world Zombie infection on going in Vietnam http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/244434.php
Its just a hidden depot from operation ranch hand seeping into the local water suppy, no need for alarm. Im sure Monsanto and Dow are taking good care of it, besides, who ever heard of tcdd?
Georgie saw the look on GW's face, when told about the attack, while reading children's stories. Hard to believe he foreknowlege. (or did he just forget the breifing he had that morning.)
Would you trust that information with the Retard in charge? GWB was only the guy sitting in the POTUS chair ,just another employee. Just like who we have now, at least the jewish mafia is an equal opportunity employer.
Yes, and we still get two "Retards in charge" to choose between.
This article is a picture perfect example of how conspiracy buffs ruin the causes they try to support.
The story here is a very real one of erosion of liberties and the gradual introduction of a US police state.
Instead this article manages to turn into conspiracy lunacy seeming to show the gov knew about 9/11 and let it happen?! WTF?
The story here is a very real one of erosion of liberties and the gradual introduction of a US police state.
Instead this article manages to turn into conspiracy lunacy seeming to show the gov knew about 9/11 and let it happen?! WTF?
_________________________________________________
WTF?
US citizens require that reality at hand is mediated through fantasy.
The reality is too gross to be accepted right up, so fantasy is welcomed.
The monster is never big enough.
US world order.
.
Wrestling Takedown Federation
Sure, sure, Chinese US citizenism promotionist advocator is as Chinese US citizenism promotionist advocator does.
And this is the reason for your worship of US citizenism? On every day?
Such is the eternal nature of Yangtze River Dolphinism.