Bushies Tip Off al Qaeda…Again!
By Leslie on October 9, 2007 at 1:36 PM in Current Affairs
A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release.Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company’s Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to cable television news and broadcast worldwide.
The founder of the company, the SITE Intelligence Group, says this premature disclosure tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group’s communications network.
“Techniques that took years to develop are now ineffective and worthless,” said Rita Katz, the firm’s 44-year-old founder.
The Bush administration leaks classified intelligence to the media—again—and destroys a years-long investigation of al Qaeda. The incompetence is unbelievable.
UPDATE: The NY Sun has more information, although you’ll note that the Sun tries to blame ABC for the leak. Later in the article, the Sun reports that the leak allegedly came from the administration:
WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda’s Internet communications system has suddenly gone dark to American intelligence after the leak of Osama bin Laden’s September 11 speech inadvertently disclosed the fact that we had penetrated the enemy’s system.The intelligence blunder started with what appeared at the time as an American intelligence victory, namely that the federal government had intercepted, a full four days before it was to be aired, a video of Osama bin Laden’s first appearance in three years in a video address marking the sixth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. On the morning of September 7, the Web site of ABC News posted excerpts from the speech.
But the disclosure from ABC and later other news organizations tipped off Qaeda’s internal security division that the organization’s Internet communications system, known among American intelligence analysts as Obelisk, was compromised.
Al Qaeda’s internet communications system went dark within minutes, which is quite an amazing feat of coordination and communication.
The head of the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors Jihadi Web sites and provides information to subscribers, Rita Katz, said she personally provided the video on September 7 to the deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter.
Ms. Katz yesterday said, “We shared a copy of the transcript and the video with the U.S. government, to Michael Leiter, with the request specifically that it was important to keep the subject secret. Then the video was leaked out. An investigation into who downloaded the video from our server indicated that several computers with IP addresses were registered to government agencies.”
Of course, the Bush administration denies it was the source of the leak. They’d never do that….
A former counterterrorism official, Roger Cressey, said, “If any of this was leaked for any reasons, especially political, that is just unconscionable.” Mr. Cressey added that the work that was lost by burrowing into Qaeda’s Internet system was far more valuable than any benefit that was gained by short-circuiting Osama bin Laden’s video to the public.
UPDATE II: The New Yorker wrote a lengthy article titled “Private Jihad,” about Rita Katz, SITE and the privatization of intelligence gathering here.
I was going to comment on this story in the open threads..This is unbelievable!
The story on the msnbc site was really good and covered lots of details.
Plus they burned SITE’s business, how is she going to get customers if she has been shut down by the Bush WH.
She should have known better than to trust this WH and gone directly to the CIA..
Yeah, SITE lost revenue as a result. But that’s the least of it for us. As soon as al Qaeda realized we’d infiltrated their internet communications, they shut them down literally within minutes. Can you imagine the coordination that took, how organized they are, and we blew it?
How come I haven’t heard this on CNN?
Great job, Leslie. Had seen the headline for the NY Sun story but didn’t know they’d blamed it on ABC. Typical.
One thing that I’m stating more out of curiosity — because I’d like people’s responses to this thought — while this destroyed SITE’s surveillance, it also destroyed Al Qaeda’s complex network and it will be very difficult for them to restore it, especially now that they know they were penetrated. (I wonder if some very pissed-off Al Qaeda leaders executed or punished their tech people.) So their communications have been hurt as well. Well, I suppose it depends on how much they trust their tech people to rebuild a system that they have full confidence is penetration-proof. If they do, SITE has its work cut out for it. And will still be making a living.
I dunno. Susan, you’re asking about the MSM? [to use a Susan-ism, "Snort."] Bet you Keith Olbermann picks it up tonight?
RawStory picked up the Washington Post story, and Huffington picked up the Sun story. It hasn’t made it onto any of the other big blogs yet either, as far as I know…not even Daily Kos. Maybe because they’re digging into it and just haven’t posted anything yet?
Oh, no doubt SITE will continue to do well and their services will be needed. Frankly, I could care less about al Qaeda’s techies though. I care more about the fact that we had access to their communications, their expense reports apparently, and other items of intelligence value and now we don’t anymore…because some moron in the administration thought a video was more important.
By the way, The Sun tries to blame ABC, but the Washington Post quotes Katz saying that she can confirm the Bush administration was the source of the leak, and they leaked to Fox News first.
Al Qaeda seems to make few bad steps. A back-up network and a disaster plan would have been part of a well-thought out IT/COMMS operation. It might be simplistic for us to think that, having dumped one network, that they have no redundancy.
They can create new internet blocks on their current system too.
Just because they speak Arabic and eat goats doesn’t mean that they can’t be some Crackerjack hackers/crackers/network nabobs.
Oh Susan, Atrios picked it up too…it’s making the blog rounds. You know if the MSM are reading the blogs, maybe the story will make it into “the news”?
ThinkProgress, MyDD, Firedoglake are among the left blogs that have it. Many of the ‘winger blogs have it. And Kos has just linked it in his mid-day thread that also includes his troubles with his HMO (hope he’s alright):
Now listening to the pre-debate nonsense on MSNBC and they haven’t said boo either. Maybe CNN and MSNBC are shying away from the story since they all showed the video? (Snort #2)
ThinkProgress and Firedog didn’t have it earlier. Laura Rozen at War and Piece posted it too.
Maybe CNN and MSNBC are shying away because it would hurt their [Bushie] bottom line to report on another national security leak? Britney’s latest faux pas is much more interesting.
Just thinking out loud, but is it possible that the video could have been leaked by someone inside of one the the federal intelligence agencies, unhappy with the fact that their turf is being invaded by private contractors?
Someone with access to classified intelligence regarding an ongoing al Qaeda investigation leaks it to the media, thus destroying the investigation…and the first place they think of to leak it is Fox News, which happens to be a friend of the White House?
If someone high up didn’t approve of the leak then wouldn’t you expect the White House to be screaming bloody murder about this? Have you heard them screaming bloody murder, or calling for an investigation, or __________?
“An investigation into who downloaded the video from our server indicated that several computers with IP addresses were registered to government agencies.”
You know, when I heard the wingnuts crowing that, “…the Adults are now in charge…” I had a really queasy feeling.
So, let’s see: having screwed the pooch vis-a-vis al Qaeda in the interest of showing off how smart they are, they also want to start a war with Iran, which is, to put it scatologically, the equivalent of pissing on a spark plug.
Don’t these people have a clause in their contracts where we can simply buy them out?
Maybe get two mimes, a stripper and a rodeo clown to run the governmnet?
right Fred..After all this time there are still people that trust the Bush White House..Its almost laughable if it wasn’t so sad..
Fred, you do have a way with words. You make me laugh. “… the equivalent of pissing on a spark plug” … “Maybe get two mimes, a stripper and a rodeo clown to run the government?”
I finally saw “V For Vendetta” the other night. Full of dangerous ideas for what to do with the government.
It seems that this leak was, again, intentional. Al Queda is this administration’s Paper Tiger.
Someone within that elite WH group leaked this info to Fox. Maybe our NSA can help us find out which rat did this. They are supposed to be listening to all this fine stuff, right?
How many times can these kind of leaks and near misses on Osama’s capture, etc., etc. be passed off as incompetence rather that collusion. Evidently the number approaches infinity.
“My Dear, the government are the terrorists.”
–Sam’s Mother in response to the protagonist Sam’s question, “Why doesn’t the government do something about the terrorists?”. from the Reagan suppressed movie “Brazil”
See:
Brazil and Bush’s War on Terror
by Robert Blumen
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/blumen3.html
See Also:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/movies/brazil-faq/
Funny they protect the contractors they want as in Blackwater and screw the ones they want as in SITE. The bigger problem here is the outsourcing of intelligence. Almost 85% of our intel analysis and ops is now outsourced. Why do I believe there is another story we are not being told here.
I get a kick out of what SITES competitor had to say. This is not about patriotism its about making a buck… Bunch of war-whores….
Possibly, some (or many) individuals with the cognitive abilities or language skills to do that work are unwilling to do so directly (W-2) for Uncle Sam. Some reasons for this might be:
Authoritarian Workplace
Low Pay
Easy entry into the ranks of Government Contractors.
If I could speak Arabic fluently, I’d have a chew-tobacco office space somewhere near Langley with a T-1 connection, an Ice Princess with an English accent to answer the phone, do up a slick PowerPoint about how great I am and start spinning my Rolodex and punching buttons on the phone.
Just a bush-league Beltway Bandit.
And, just like selling any other Service…get an SBA loan and a Grant for Start-Up coins, rather than burden my Amex card.
When do these constant betrayals become Treason? We’re being sold out on a daily basis. Is there a Treason cume factor? I thought one instance was enough.
Maybe the the WH house will punish the leaker in the same way they took care of who leaked Valerie Plame’s name.
Or maybe we can Fitz on it and with full WH cooperation get a conviction by 2010.
For all of you in the government that read this site;
They are throwing bandini at you and you need to decide if you want to eat it or throw it back. I understand how difficult it may be for you to say and do some things, but when does your oath to the constitution trump this government?
and thanks for your work by the way
Funny how the SITE keeps showing up in different circumstances. They produced several tapes of threats from AQI against Sweden after the affair with the cartoonist vilks. Threats supposedly coming from omar al-bagdadi a guy the US military in july called a hoax.
The website they produced the video from I assume is the same on that showed of the BBC reporter johnston located in malysia. Something even more stranger is why nobody kicked down the doors and seized the server.
I’v been trying to do a little background research on the people running SITE which made me even more wary of them. I belive Mike Scheuer among others in the New Yorker piece also expressed some scepticism of there trackreckord.
Basically can you trust businesses who makes a living producing intel packages on terrorist for media and goverments to produce an independent and correct analysis.
In the New Yorker article, Scheuer’s criticisms are limited to SITE’s Arabic translations. He finds them too incendiary. But I don’t think Scheuer speaks or reads Arabic himself, so I don’t know what he’s basing his criticism on. What others told him?
But SITE’s credentials and the outsourcing of intelligence is a side issue. The point of this story is about the leaking of intelligence, the destruction of an investigation into al Qaeda, at the behest of someone in the Bush administration who had access to classified intelligence. Something the Bush administration has a bad habit of doing, for example: Valerie Plame, the Pakistani source named Khan who was exposed during the run-up to the 2004 election.
Thank you cktantz. I don’t trust SITE or the neocon NY Sun as far as can I throw my house.
Even Michael Ledeen didn’t believe the last Osama tape SITE released was real.
[...] security information the jury is in–throw the bums in jail. Today’s news detailed in Leslie’s post below describes how the Bush Administration’s eagerness to brief Faux News resulted in blowing a [...]
They used to say, ‘loose lips sink ships’
Currently:
Loose nets, increase our threats.
Lost information, worse for the nation.
It’s a good thing that this compromise was perpetrated by a political appointee rather than a career intelligence officer. Had it been the latter, s/he would’ve been cuffed and stuffed, given a free room at the graybar hotel, and enjoyed hours of polygraph fun. And rightfully so.
It would appear that political operators are not eligible to play for this prize.
Retired,
You’re forgetting the anal probes on Casual Friday.
S.I.T.E sends WH officials a link to a video they claim is legit and asks pretty please don’t tell anyone?
And, the only people claiming their sources were burned is this private terror surveillance company.
This Katz woman isn’t what she claims to be IMHO
If the Bush officials didn’t think that it was legit, why did they leak it? Perhaps in light of the number of scandals they needed some good news? Wasn’t it leaked during the Petraeus situation?
This reeks of the same opportunism that the outing of Valerie Plame. Take attention away from the real national secuity situation and lay it off. Typical Bait and Switch methodology utilized by retail structures. Disgusting. National security is not retail marketing, or at least, it didn’t used to be.
No where do I see any reference to who actually leaked this info.
The “government” or “administration” covers a lot of people.
Could it have been leaked by the WH? Sure.
Could it have been leaked by CIA or State? Sure… and more likely.
My problem with Bush is that he has been too weak/inept to prosecute previous leakers.
NO, not Scooter Libby, but the traitors who leaked the black prisons and the NSA surveillance program.
The public needed to know about black prisons, extraordinary renditioning, and illegal domestic surveillance, due to there being rule of law codified in the Constitution. There was not a need to disclose sensitive intelligence details of the hunt for al-Qaeda; quite the opposite.
[...] agencies from the United States and several other countries. I first ran across this story on No Quarter. There are other versions, but the gist of things is all the same. The government leaked this story [...]
How will the Bushies raise “funds” for “fighting” AQ if they defeat AQ. Bush & AQ are a marriage made in right wing financial heaven. Don’t expect BinLaden’s capture any time soon. Bin Laden is a gold mine to the Bushies and the right wing GOP. Read Naomi Klein’s book on “disaster capitalism.” Create a problem (or enemy) then charge the tax payers to fix it (while privatizing everything along the way.) That is the Republican motto, and the Libertarian motto as well. It’s also a good definition of fascism.
Grover Norquist is the most successful Republican Leader out there. Norquist makes Karl Rove look like his btt-boy.
*****
Think about the framing of the word “funds” vs the word “money.” What are the different values given to the two terms?
I think if a real investigation was done into this event we would find that the privately owned intelligence company was CREATING those darned handy Al Qaeda videos. Ever notice how politicly expedient Osamas group is with their videos?
The terrorist threats we see today are mostly used for political blackmail purposes. Oppose the Administrations policies? Have a terrorist threat. Vote against our authoritarian power grabs? Here have another terrorist threat.
Again and again I’ll point to the fact that 24 to 27 thousand children die every day from starvation. Close to 40 thousand auto accident deaths per year, just in the U.S.. And were afraid of a “dirty bomb”?
Don’t be afraid of the crazy power hungry factions with in our own government folks. Be afraid of those crazy Arabs.
I mean really, insane psychopaths do have control of nukes. Unfortunately they run parts of our government.
(I think I may have just earned an invitation to a “re-education” camp : )
And isn’t it oh-so convenient for the Bushies?