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In reply to the discussion: Snowden Has A Simple Solution To Get To The Bottom Of The US Afghan Bombing ''War Crime'' [View all]Octafish
(55,745 posts)28. Good question. I think Snowden is against terrorism.
That's why he went to work for NSA and/or Booz Allen Hamilton.
Behind the Curtain: Booz Allen Hamilton and its Owner, The Carlyle Group
Written by Bob Adelmann
The New American; June 13, 2013
According to writers Thomas Heath and Marjorie Censer at the Washington Post, The Carlyle Group and its errant child, Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), have a public relations problem, thanks to NSA leaker and former BAH employee Edward Snowden. By the time top management at BAH learned that one of their top level agents had gone rogue, and terminated his employment, it was too late.
For years Carlyle had, according to the Post, nurtured a reputation as a financially sophisticated asset manager that buys and sells everything from railroads to oil refineries; but now the light from the Snowden revelations has revealed nothing more than two companies, parent and child, bound by the thread of turning government secrets into profits.
And have they ever. When The Carlyle Group bought BAH back in 2008, it was totally dependent upon government contracts in the fields of information technology (IT) and systems engineering for its bread and butter. But there wasn't much butter: After two years the companys gross revenues were $5.1 billion but net profits were a minuscule $25 million, close to a rounding error on the companys financial statement. In 2012, however, BAH grossed $5.8 billion and showed earnings of $219 million, nearly a nine-fold increase in net revenues and a nice gain in value for Carlyle.
Unwittingly, the Post authors exposed the real reason for the jump in profitability: close ties and interconnected relationships between top people at Carlyle and BAH, and the agencies with which they are working. The authors quoted George Price, an equity analyst at BB&T Capital: "[Booz Allen has] got a great brand, they've focused over time on hiring top people, including bringing on people who have a lot of senior government experience." (Emphasis added.)
For instance, James Clapper had a stint at BAH before becoming the current Director of National Intelligence; George Little consulted with BAH before taking a position at the Central Intelligence Agency; John McConnell, now vice chairman at BAH, was director of the National Security Agency (NSA) in the 90s before moving up to director of national intelligence in 2007; Todd Park began his career with BAH and now serves as the country's chief technology officer; James Woolsey, currently a senior vice president at BAH, served in the past as director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and so on.
BAH has had more than a little problem with self-dealing and conflicts of interest over the years. For instance in 2006 the European Commission asked the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Privacy International (PI) to investigate BAHs involvement with President George Bushs SWIFT surveillance program, which was viewed by that administration as just another tool in its so-called War on Terror. The only problem is that it was illegal, as it violated U.S., Belgian, and European privacy laws. BAH was right in the middle of it. According to the ACLU/PI report,
Though Booz Allens role is to verify that the access to the SWIFT data is not abused, its relationship with the U.S. Government calls its objectivity significantly into question. (Emphasis added.)
Among Booz Allens senior consulting staff are several former members of the intelligence community, including a former Director of the CIA and a former director of the NSA.
As noted by Barry Steinhardt, an ACLU director, Its bad enough that the [Bush] administration is trying to hold out a private company as a substitute for genuine checks and balances on its surveillance activities. But of all companies to perform audits on a secret surveillance program, it would be difficult to find one less objective and more intertwined with the U.S. government security establishment. (Emphasis added.)
CONTINUED w Links n Privatized INTEL...
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/15696-behind-the-curtain-booz-allen-hamilton-and-its-owner-the-carlyle-group
While I don't think they share it with Russia in their fight against terrorism, I do wonder who Carlyle Group shares all that inside information they gather for the NSA?.
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Snowden Has A Simple Solution To Get To The Bottom Of The US Afghan Bombing ''War Crime'' [View all]
Octafish
Oct 2015
OP
It's the difference between hearing you tell me about it and seeing it with my own eyes.
Octafish
Oct 2015
#4
That's one way of looking at it. I'd say it would prove or disprove a war crime.
Octafish
Oct 2015
#7
No, it's the illusion of transparency. Because while you're gawking at the footage
jeff47
Oct 2015
#63
Wikileaks is too biased against the U.S., so it's not like they would be an impartial party
Blue_Tires
Oct 2015
#11
Obviously, right? Russia has zero to do with USA strafing the MSF hospital in Kunduz.
Octafish
Oct 2015
#16
Not even Congress can see the tapes -- it's like the cops and an 'ongoing investigation'
Octafish
Oct 2015
#18
My Lai would have been hidden forever if not for military whistle blower
Ichingcarpenter
Oct 2015
#19
It's called due process.... evidence isn't general released into the public domain
msanthrope
Oct 2015
#32
A special investigatory sub committee of the Armed Services Committee nt
riderinthestorm
Oct 2015
#37
That doesn't matter, though. Were this a democracy, Congress would demand accountability.
Octafish
Oct 2015
#42
How about the Russian bombing of Syria Edward, tell us how you feel about that while you are at it
still_one
Oct 2015
#27
No question about it, the Carlyle Group has and has had some questionable dealings.
still_one
Oct 2015
#29
When Mr. Snowden turns over the tapes of what he said and is saying to the Russians and Chinese he
kelliekat44
Oct 2015
#52
Listen, there isn't anyone here more against this god damn war than I. We need to bring our troops
B Calm
Oct 2015
#58
Re: the last sentence of post 57-so do I, and many of US respect Ed Snowden for what he did. K&R n/t
bobthedrummer
Oct 2015
#61