Well This Explains a Lot: The Less than Stellar Hunter of OBL

Adam L. Silverman*

Penn Bullock and Brandon Thorp of Gawker, based on culling reporting from the NY Times, the Washington Post,  MSNBC, McClatchy, and other sources, have reported that the head of the unit tasked with hunting and finding bin Laden from 2002-2004 went on from that position to a lucrative career helping to profiteer off of US operations in Iraq, as well as trying to bribe the Jordanians and providing illegal campaign contributions from non-Americans.  Moreover, based on his own emails he seems to be too enthused by the unfortunate realities of what is going on in the war zone he and they company he went to work for were profiting off of.  

Its this very lucrative market that is going to make it very hard to actually adjust our policies, strategies, and operations.

I know a number of very, very professional, dedicated, and highly qualified people who have worked for the Agency.  Its a testament to their professionalism that when the politicized shenanigans that have seemed to reoccur there over the past decade that they keep plugging away doing their jobs.

* Adam L. Silverman is the Culture and Foreign Language Advisor at the US Army War College.  The views expressed here are his own and do not represent those of the US Army War College or the US Army.

Comments

[Mj]

It's Obama's fault.

[Adam L. Silverman]

MJ: I hope you're being facetious, given that President Obama wasn't president when this happened, and he wasn't even in the Senate yet when the individual in question was the head of the bin Laden unit.

[highlander]

Bin Laden? Bin Laden? Isn't that the raggedy arab guy, we just burned through 3 trillion $ in order to kill him?

It isn't about 3,000 dead New Yorkers, and some demolished half empty govt. subisdized buildings. It is about the conulting contracts......the moola!

[Roy G]

Great title, indeed it says it all.

[William R. Cumming]

It would be of interest if the post-employment of CIA employees could be studies by a creditable organization. What exactly are the rules for CIA employees using classified information brought to their attention during their working years?

[Fred]

Maybe someone could post his home address in papers across the arabic world so that those enraged by what happened to their loved ones will know where to go to settle the blood debt rather than just blowing up a random building in the US.

[Yellow Dog]

Isn't it always Obama's fault?

[Mj]

Indeed, sir, indeed I was.

[Twit]

WRC: re "What exactly are the rules for CIA employees using classified information brought to their attention during their working years?"

That is a very good question. I guess as long as you aren't trying to sell a document with TOP SECRET stamped all over it, it's fine. Less facetiously, and I hope someone here can tell me how wrong I am, but it doesn't appear like there are many, or at least many that are enforced. For example, it doesn't seem all that unusual for even case officers to leave the agency and continue to run their networks for profit, both for the USG and for others. This is my impression from both reading the news and working with some of them.

But less dramatically I think by far the vast majority of former CIA employees sell their services (and acquired knowledge and contacts) back to either the Agency or another part of the US government via a corporation. The irony of course is that these former employees generally make roughly (say, plus 0 to 25%) as much in salary as they did before: the real profit is reserved for those who own the companies that keep and run these stables of former-whatevers.

[William R. Cumming]

Making personal use post-employment of classified info obtained during employment is actually a federal crime IMO! Other opinions?

Although the US does not have an official secrets act like Great Britain, the law is quite clear. Thus I interpret non-enforcement by the INTEL agencies and DOJ as an understanding that some are so loyal as to beyond reproach which of course is a ridiculous assumption.

At one time lover 2000 FEMA personnel and contractors held CIA clearances, meaning clearances to CIA programs, when I suggested that there less than 200 FEMA and contractor personnel who should have that clearance I was instructed to not so notify the GC office of the CIA with my position. For other reasons, kept quiet. Later General Trefy's Blue Ribbon Panel on Personnel Security Clearances (a report available now virtually) supported my position. Disclosure of raw INTEL data to FEMA personnel IMO was inappropriate and unnecessary and FEMA was never part of the INTEL community although domestic INTEL was one of the primary reasons DHS was created. DHS was to be the leading expert on protection of civil rights, civil liberties and privacy on domestic INTEL issues and of course that remains a fiction.

[arbogast]

I'll see you one, and I'll raise you one.

Obama got serious about finding Osama, found him, killed him, and...

And collected what is described as a small college library of intelligence at the bin Laden compound.

Then, Obama turned around and a very short time later got very, very tough on Israel over the Palestinians. Something that, I believe, surprised everyone on this list. Certainly me.

What was in that intelligence treasure trove? A lot of YouTube "publish yourself" videos of bin Laden with a died beard? I.e. trash?

Or was there something in there that pissed Obama off enough to do something that he knew would be followed up, *knew*, by Bibi making a triumphant speech before a joint session of Congress with the leches bottes fawning and clapping for all they were worth?

[mbrenner]

I believe that we all find it hard to appreciate the full implications of the progressive deterioration in the ethic and ethos of public service that has developed over the past 30 years or so. What has happened to our politics and to our public discourse is matched by, and a main contributor to a drastic decline in the competence, coherence and honesty of our government - at all levels in nearly very domain. The causes are many; the manifestations everywhere.

In these circumstances, anything can occur - as we are reminded weekly. There will be no pattern to these oddities and embarrassments since the words and actions our leaders, and those whom they are supposed to direct and supervise,conform to no logical pattern. They are a random phenomenon. The one constant is selfishness and non-responsibility in every form.

[Highlander]

actions our leaders, and those whom they are supposed to direct and supervise,conform to no logical pattern.

Mr Brenner,

It is getting late in the day in Rome. What else would you expect?