Did Echelon Overlook Terrorist Threat?

Cosmiverse /IDGNews ^ | September 14, 2001 | NA

[prisoner6]

Did Echelon Overlook Terrorist Threat?

September 14, 2001 07:45 CDT

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) engaged the so-called Echelon communications monitoring network, following on warnings of possible terrorist attacks, as long as three months ago, a German publication has reported.

Western and Middle East intelligence services received warnings more than six months ago that terrorists were planning attacks using hijacked airplanes against "prominent symbols of American and Israeli culture" in the United States and elsewhere, IDG News cites Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) as saying in its Wednesday edition, citing "information available to this newspaper."

According to IDG, the report says that warnings had circulated among U.S., Israeli, and apparently also U.K. secret services. The report cites sources in German security agencies. Israeli authorities also were following indications that Arab extremists planned to hijack Western planes within Europe and divert them toward Tel Aviv and other coastal cities, the reports went on to say.

According to IDG, Echelon is widely believed to be a satellite-based espionage network capable of monitoring worldwide communications. Echelon is reportedly managed by the United States and shared with other English-speaking countries. An electronic intercept program, Echelon is said to scan all Internet traffic, cell phone conversations, faxes, and long-distance telephone calls. Through a unique filtering process, it searches electronic communication for key words that indicate evidence of terrorist activity, military threats, and international crime.

While U.S. authorities have never officially admitted to its existence, a European Parliament investigative committee has concluded that Echelon is real. It is reportedly aimed primarily at communications occurring between people in the United States and other countries.

According to IDG, human rights and free-speech groups that have been critical of the use of Echelon as well as other electronic monitoring systems have restated their position that the technology is ineffective, since it failed to head off Tuesday's attacks. But some acknowledge that while they stand for information privacy for citizens in general, they do not oppose the use of Echelon in the fight against terrorism.

IDG reports that Richard Tomlinson, a former employee of the U.K. intelligence service MI6, told the FAZ that a terrorist organization large enough to pull off Tuesday's attack should have been obvious to secret services. Tomlinson spoke of an "obvious total failure" of intelligence, the paper reported.

Source: IDG News

[prisoner6]

According to IDG, human rights and free-speech groups that have been critical of the use of Echelon as well as other electronic monitoring systems have restated their position that the technology is ineffective, since it failed to head off Tuesday's attacks Well either it IS ineffective or they just didn't bother to chase down the source of the messages.

Maybe >they< didn't want to know...

prisoner6

[Right Face]

To much raw intelligence coming in and not enough analysts?

[prisoner6]

My view is that the echelon folks are very, very selective about what they are looking for. They passed things like the attack warning perhaps looking for "hate" crime, militia activity...you get the idea.

prisoner6

[prisoner6]

Yes, perhaps, but doesn't it give you the creeps, at least a tiny bit, to know that the message you just posted has been examined and analyzed by a government computer?

Oh, I totally agree with you! I'm not an echelon fan by any stretch of the imagination. In fact it gives me more than the creeps. It makes me downright angry.

prisoner6

[mtemisan]

Dick Cheney won't even admit to the existence of the Echelon system.. or the Carnivore system. Infact, most govt. officials wouldn't, either. Too many secrets.

[slowhandluke]

Carnivore plugs into the network of an ISP and watches all network traffic. They have had trouble getting the ISPs to agree to let the FBI plug in these boxes, but that trouble might be over. Once the box is in, you have to trust the FBI to only look at stuff they have a warrant for; though if I understand the recent Senate action, they won't need a warrant.

Previously, the FBI would show up with a wiretap warrant and the ISP would forward or log a copy of all mail to & from a given address & possibly other stuff for http traffic. I am only familiar with the email side of things.

[Right Face]

After the attacks on Tuesday, I saw posts here saying that the FBI had been contacting ISPs about installing the software or whatever they use.

[VRWC For Truth]

This attack was planned for 2 or more years, the attackers exploited every hole in our security system, and they blended in with society. Finding this in the massive amount of electronic gathering would be like finding a needle in the haystack. Besides the Klinton administration never gave a DAMN about security, and was more worried about internal enemies than foreign.

[Mannaggia l'America]

I saw a report on the news yesterday that said that the US had been listening in on bin Laden while he was using a satellite phone. Then a reporter (traitor) found out about it and published a story on it. bin Laden found out from that story began using some sort of communication with encryption (perhaps voice over Internet with encryption), and physically exchanging data using ZIP disks instead of sending files.

Echelon/Carnivore would have a tough time picking things out of encrypted data.

[cicero's_son]

Fortunately, we can rely on you Christic Institute types to invent lies that put such secrets to shame.

I am on to you. You will be off this board soon.