And here is the ring in question:
Posted on 10/07/2007 2:15:27 AM PDT by tlb
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gary Maziarz said patriotism motivated him to join a spy ring, smuggle secret files from Camp Pendleton and give them to law enforcement officers for anti-terrorism work in Southern California.
He knew his group was violating national security laws. But he said bureaucratic walls erected by the military and civilian agencies were hampering intelligence sharing and coordination, making the nation more vulnerable to terrorists.
Details of Maziarz's case emerged after he pleaded guilty to mishandling more than 100 classified documents from 2004 to last year. The overall breach could be far larger: Investigators believe that as far back as the early 1990s, the intelligence-filching ring began taking hundreds of secret files from Camp Pendleton and the U.S. Northern Command, which tracks terrorist activity in the United States.
In a plea agreement, he received a 26-month jail sentence in exchange for detailing the spy ring. He also agreed to testify against his alleged accomplices if they are charged.
The case is an intelligence nightmare, said defense analysts briefed on it.
They also said it unmasks the military's growing role in post-Sept. 11 domestic security and confirms that U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda is active in the United States.
“It gives operational security people brain cooties to think about an incident like this,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a think tank that focuses on emerging security concerns.
In the big picture, defense experts said, the Maziarz case isn't just about patriotism. They worry that foreign agents might find it easier to steal secret documents from law enforcement groups, which generally have fewer measures for protecting classified information than federal intelligence agencies.
(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...
First flag I noticed hanging from a window after the toppling of Saddam was the good ol' hammer and sickle on a field of red. That was even before Old Glory was raised in the town square, then ordered taken down. That proves the point democrats are truly Marxists, Stalinists and Trotskyites, they have a party discipline conservatives and Republicans lack. I have yet to hear or read a democrat state "they will be staying home if they run "X" candidate. Only Republicans/conservatives take that luxury, generally claiming the false flag of "principle".
DUH!!!!!!!
Anyone who DOESN'T believe radical Islam is a threat isn't paying attention or is a moonbat or democrat, but thats redundant, isn't it?
The most deadly Islamic terrorism in the US may turn out to be Muslims running for political office and getting elected. Just the fact that we are building prayer rooms and foot baths for these rugriders is treason in my view.
I am sure there is a group in CAIR that is against using explosives in a country which they believe they will control in the near future.
That sounds very much like the reason Jonathon Pollard is still serving a life sentence for passing US secrets about Arab order of battle information to Israel back in the ‘80s. His defenders, of which I am not one, claim he was only helping an ally, however he compromised US security and violated his oath. There was talk that the info passed to the Israelis fell into Soviet hands due to leaks in their security services.
During the same era a naval analyst by the name of Morrison, from a family of distinguished historians, sold a satellite photo of a Soviet aircraft carrier under construction to Jane’s Defense Weekly, it was the cover photo one week.
I remember that he too was prosecuted though I don’t recall his punishment.
People entrusted with secret information have no business deciding for themselves what to do with it if no other reason that they may compromise methods and reveal capabilities by doing so.
Doc, thank you for your service.
I do not think there was anything illegal in the way that the military was handling their information. Essentially, we’re dealing with a disagreement over how best to protect the country.
Releasing classified documents should not be one’s first course of action. That would mean that anyone with access to classified info can release it whenever they “feel” they are right.
That is a direct attack on our constitution and our system of voting and balancing power.
A sad development ot be sure. Here are real patriots, and they will find themselves in prison. But they knowingly broke laws.
Bump
However well they meant, they have to be punished.
The temptation to use the info for national security may have been great, but they may well have rendered more significant plans useless with their actions.
Imagine if in WW2, a British soldier became aware that the Brits were aware of German plans and were not forewarning their troops in danger? It would be natural fo him to warn them, but it would have let the Germans know that Enigma was cracked and thus cost many lives indirectly.
The government may well be ‘sitting’ on this information for good reasons.
Thanks for bringing up “The Fourth Protocol”.
I’d forgotten the name of that movie...but it sure did influence
the way I feel about government operatives that decide they are
suddenly the owners and dispensors of state secrets.
They are the “loose cannons” that need to be securly stowed away...
behind bars.
I saw/heard the author of the book (linked below) on Pollard give
a presentation on BookTV (C-Span2; weekends) maybe six months ago.
Before the appearance of this book, I suspected that Pollard is
doing hard-time for espionage AND for having been able “to get away
with it” for so long.
I suspect that some of the people that were in positions to catch/stop
Pollard during his career were NOT happy to see this book come out!
Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious
Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice
by Ronald J. Olive
Yes, I do. And I say that as a current member of the military.
There are proper channels and methods for reclassifying and declassifying information. All of these guys know that. And they chose to break the law instead.
ping
That was exactly the point of the post. A goverment cannot tolerate individuals (no matter how well-meaning) making decisions of this type.
If an individual feels conscience/duty-bound to do so anyway, then they must accept the cponsequences for having violated their oaths.
And here is the ring in question:
Sorry, I knew that's what you meant, don't know why my response came off the way it did.
I think it's that I was getting a little peeved at what these guys did.
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