Posted on 03/08/2005 1:20:21 PM PST by LouAvul
Terrorist organizations may be trying to place spies inside U.S. intelligence agencies in order to spy on American counterterrorism efforts, the Los Angeles Times reports.
About 40 Americans who applied for jobs at U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have been turned away for possible ties to terrorist groups, the Times said in Tuesday's editions.
"We think terrorist organizations have tried to insinuate people into our hiring pools," said Barry Royden, a CIA counterintelligence instructor. Royden spoke at a weekend conference on counterintelligence at Texas A&M University
Three senior U.S. officials also said they feared terrorists may be trying to place one of their own inside fast-growing U.S. intelligence networks as part of a long-term plan to compromise U.S. counterterrorist efforts.
The officials said the suspects were filtered out for giving false information, failing lie detector tests and flunking other parts of the application procedure.
The officials added that there had been no arrests in the matter and no indications of any new terrorist sleeper cells in America.
But they warned that fear of terrorist infiltration had risen as a result of the "intense competition" among U.S. intelligence organizations to hire linguists, analysts and clandestine operatives who can blend into Middle Eastern or South Asian communities.
The 15 U.S. intelligence agencies have all significantly stepped up their recruitment programs since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. CIA Director Porter J. Goss announced plans last month to increase the number of CIA clandestine officers and analysts by 50 percent.
Paul Redmond, a veteran CIA counterintelligence official, told the Times it was an "actuarial certainty" that U.S. intelligence agencies have been infiltrated by spies. He said the danger of espionage was growing.
"I think we're worse off than we've ever been," he said.
Separately, a government report released Thursday says that more than 40 terror suspects on federal watch lists were allowed to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks found no reason to stop them.
Under current law, belonging to a suspected terrorist organization does not prohibit a person from owning a gun, the Government Accountability Office noted in its study.
The GAO recommended that the attorney general clarify procedures to ensure that information from gun purchase background checks is shared with counterterrorism officials and that the FBI should either monitor such checks more frequently or oversee all checks related to terror suspects.
The report showed that from Feb. 3 through June 20, 2004, 35 known or suspected terrorists purchased guns in the United States. From July 1 to Oct. 31 last year, 12 more suspected or known terrorists were allowed to buy firearms.
It said that background checks on these individuals did not provide any prohibiting information such as felony convictions or illegal immigrant status.
Currently, records related to gun purchases must be destroyed within 24 hours as mandated by Congress last year. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who requested the GAO study, planned to introduce a bill Tuesday to require the Justice Department to keep records of such transactions for 10 years.
"When the Justice Department destroys these records in 24 hours, they are essentially aiding and abetting terrorist organizations," Lautenberg said. "It's time to end this nonsensical and dangerous policy."
Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the American people should pay attention to the GAO report.
"For the last four years, the Bush White House and Republican leaders in Congress have been pursuing gun policies that are on the wish list of the National Rifle Association despite repeated warnings form law enforcement leaders," Hamm said. "These policies benefit terrorists and benefit criminals."
The NRA did not immediately comment on the report.
To the adminmods: I absent mindedly cited the Sacbee as the source. It's actually CBS. Could you change that please? Thank you.
((( TM ping )))
..yeah, those were the ones who didn't get thru.
"For the last four years, the Bush White House and Republican leaders in Congress have been pursuing gun policies that are on the wish list of the National Rifle Association despite repeated warnings form law enforcement leaders," Hamm said. "These policies benefit terrorists and benefit criminals."I suppose we should ban box cutters too.
bump
Well, duh. It'd be stupid of them not to attempt to spy on us.
Not that attempted spying for a terrorist organization shouldn't be punished by a long stay as a "guest" of the U.S. government..!
Sounds like it came right out of 24!!
Why not let them in, give them BS jobs, feed them false/worthless information, and trace where they are sending the information?
Then round up their contacts, and execute the traitors.
Actually, the real problem is when they get to somebody already "inside" the spook world...
Well, certaintly Barry is not an English instructor. Maybe thats part of the problem right there.
... yeah, those were the ones who didn't get thru.I wonder how many moles and sleepers are still on the federal payroll from the Cold War era? I hope they enjoy their generous retirement benefits.
We need Jack Bauer on the case!
Yes! I heard this on Fox News this afternoon.
They do some serious "anal" examine to obtain a high-level security clearance. My spouse just went from CIA (very involved background investigation) to another agency and they did brand new complete investigation.
CBS, do you really wonder why you are hated?
What a POS.
WWJD.....What would Jack do?
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