How Chinagate Led To 9-11

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | May 25, 2004 | Jean Pearce

[timestax]

bttt

[lmailbvmbipfwedu]

The way I understand it the creator of the wall was one of hillary's buds

[Wiseghy]

While I hate to interrupt the Clinton bashing, we should probably take a hard look at the limitations of our current intelligence network.

The FBI is a LAW ENFORCEMENT agency, not a domestic intelligence service, like MI-5. However, many in the US (and on this forum) are deeply suspicious of the prospect of our government collecting and analyzing intelligence on our own citizens.

It's food for thought. However, in an era of Nuke and Bio-terror, we had better soon decide which is more important, our "privacy" or our safety.

[YaYa123]

I decided a long time ago, "safety" far outweighs "privacy".

As for the FBI, I would hope its assigned role has been expanded since 9-11. No longer just law enforcement, but even in that area the FBI failed us. For many reasons, Freeh's FBI leadership was disasterous. I'm not sure all the flaws have been corrected even yet, but I do think Mueller is doing an outstanding job.

[dennisw]

bttttttt

[YaYa123]

http://www.fbi.gov/priorities/priorities.htm

"1. Protect the United States from terrorist attack.
2. Protect the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage.
3. Protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes.
4. Combat public corruption at all levels.
5. Protect civil rights.
6. Combat transnational and national criminal organizations and enterprises.
7. Combat major white-collar crime.
8. Combat significant violent crime.
9. Support federal, state, county, municipal, and international partners.
10. Upgrade technology to successfully perform the FBI's mission."

[UglyinLA]

what does "bttt" mean??

[YaYa123]

Oh I forgot to respond to you on "Clinton bashing". If there's any area where Clinton, both of them, deserve to be bashed, it's their total corruption of the FBI and the Dept of Justice.
I couldn't decide which Clinton scandal best illuminated my point, but finally decided this one would work. This CNN article is from 1997, but it involves Clinton - FBI corruption back in the first Clinton term. Oh, and who "cleared" Shapiro? That would be Janet Reno's Justice Dept.

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/03/28/fbi.counsel/

"Internal Review Clears FBI Counsel
Justice Department finds poor judgment, but no politics in Shapiro's contacts with the White House
By Wolf Blitzer/CNN


WASHINGTON (March 28 1997) -- An internal Justice Department review has concluded that FBI general counsel Howard Shapiro made a mistake in judgment in providing sensitve information [the "sensitive information was FBI personnel files on prominent Republicans], to the [Clinton]White House, but there was no misconduct or political motivation on his part.


A 29-page report released by the Justice Department today says Shapiro "...made a very serious mistake and exhibited very poor judgment" in tipping off the White House, but "...did not engage in professional misconduct" and was "...not motivated by any alleged personal or political ambitions."

The report was compiled by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility. The deputy attorney general's office and an FBI board will now have to determine whether Shapiro should receive any discipline as a result of the findings.

At issue were a series of contacts last year between Shapiro and the White House, including a heads-up that he provided the White House with details of a congressional investigation of the White House's improper handling of FBI files.


At the time, Shapiro told the White House of a document in the possession of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee and Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr that showed former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum saying that first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had personally recommended the hiring of former White House security aide Craig Livingstone.

The White House, the first lady and Nussbaum later denied she had made any such recommendation. Livingstone was forced to resign after disclosure of the handling of hundreds of sensitive FBI files on former Republican officials by the Clinton White House.

The Justice Department report says Shapiro should have made certain that Starr's office had no objection about his advising the White House in advance about the document.


The contacts between Shapiro and the White House were sharply criticized by congressional Republicans and he was forced to apologize to Congress. The contacts also helped create the current climate of strained relations between the FBI and the White House.

Those strains surfaced again this week with reports that FBI Director Louis Freeh withheld information from the National Security Council on China's alleged effort to funnel campaign money into U.S. elections.

Press Secretary Mike McCurry says the White House has imposed strict new guidelines on how to handle sensitive contacts with the Justice Department and the FBI. "If the White House has a need to transact business with the Justice Department or the bureau on any sensitive matter, it is handled by the counsel's office," McCurry said. "It is handled counsel to counsel."



(PS: When Shapiro quit the FBI he went to work for Terry Lenzer, the PI who worked for the Clintons, digging up dirt on bimbos and other assorted Clinton enemies.)

[YaYa123]

It means "bump to the top", and it's usually a courtesy to others, to keep an important thread prominently displayed.

[Wiseghy]

I agree with your points and applaud your research.

I only wish to point out that the overriding culture at the FBI is still oriented toward criminal prosecution, an inherently plodding, slow and reactive process.

It is remarkable that we still seem to be waiting for another disaster before we will consider changing this.

The result of this organizational culture is that the FBI still fails promote culturally astute regional experts, out of the box thinkers, or to investigate things that might be construed as un-PC.

Intelligence gathering should be inherently proactive. However, the specter of a government agency pro-actively looking at "innocent" people is just too much for some.

[UglyinLA]

Thanks YaYa123.

Looks like the Gorelick Wall is crumbling rapidly.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

Just wanted to make sure you saw this post as well.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463397/posts