On the word "inadvertently" (From someone who has worked with classified documents)

Captain's Quarters ^ | 7/20/04 | Captain Ed

[Brian Mosely]

The Washington Post essentially recaps the AP story last night on Trousergate, Sandy Berger's theft of classified documents from a secure room last October, although they manage to leave out the trousers from their article. However, the story has shifted into a more muted tone in the hands of Susan Schmidt and Dan Eggen:

The FBI is investigating Clinton administration national security adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger's removal of classified documents from the National Archives, attorneys for Berger confirmed last night.

Berger inadvertently took copies of several versions of an after-action memo on the millennium bombing plot from the Archives last fall, said his attorney Lanny Breuer. The lawyer said one or more of the copies were then inadvertently discarded. ...

Berger discovered several versions of the classified memo in a leather portfolio he had taken to the Archives, his attorney said. He returned them and papers on which he had taken notes about materials he had reviewed. Those notes, Breuer said, were not supposed to have been removed from the Archives without review by employees there. Berger's actions, said Breuer, were the result of "sloppiness" and were unintentional.

For my money, that's at least one "inadvertently" too many, and that is not a literary criticism. Perhaps this explanation will fly for those who have never worked around classified documents, but since I spent three years producing such material, I can tell you that it's impossible to "inadvertently" take or destroy them. For one thing, such documents are required to have covers -- bright covers in primary colors that indicate their level of classification. Each sheet of paper is required to have the classification level of the page (each page may be classified differently) at the top and bottom of each side of the paper. Documents with higher classifications are numbered, and each copy is tracked with an access log, and nowadays I suppose they're tracking them by computers.

Under these rules, it's difficult to see how anyone could "inadvertently" mix up handwritten notes with classified documents, especially when sticking them into one's jacket and pants. Furthermore, as Clinton's NSA, Berger would have been one of the people responsible for enforcing these regimens, not simply subject to them. The DOD makes these rules crystal clear during the clearance process at each level of access, and security officers (which Berger clearly was) undergo even further training and assessment on security procedures. "Inadvertent" and "sloppiness", in the real context of secured documentation, not only don't qualify as an excuse but don't even register as a possibility.

[Reactionary]

It was merely another one of those Clinton national security "snafus," folks. No need to worry.

Stealing secrets is something the liberal traitors always do on accident. Everyone knows that.

[MEG33]

The lamestream media will bury or excuse this...

[DoctorMichael]

JMHO......................................

There are many types of lies.

One way to lie is the 'Lie of Omission'.

Lies are usually told for some personal benefit.

Sometimes however, lies told for personal benefit end up affecting many other people and the results are catastrophic.

The 911 Committee was set up to learn from past mistakes by looking at all the information available. To peform it's mandate, come to the best possible conclusions, and protect the American people properly, it must have ALL the information.

Sandy Berger ommitted information. Sandy Berger lied. I'll leave it to you what he hoped to gain from this 'Lie of Omission'.

More to the point though, Sandy Berger interfered with the ability of the Committee to perform its duty of protecting the American people.

Information he ommitted may make the Committee come to the wrong conclusions since they did not have the full picture.

Sandy Berger has endangered every man, woman and child in this country.

[WoodstockCat]

Kondrake on Fox News was already spinning,
"other copies of the documents still existed", "didn't steal anything..etc...etc."

says the leaks come from Republicans in the Justice Department..

[Diogenesis]

Sandy Burglar: "Brian Mosely, you dont understand.
Why steal them, you ask? Well, because I could
after finally getting my own copy of Gorelick's book "Destruction of Evidence"."

---

Anna Deavere Smith became (Dr.) Nancy McNally, "National Security Advisor"
on THE WEST WING on the Orders of NSA Chief Sandy Berger-Burglar.

---

"I was summoned to the office of National Security adviser Sandy Berger,
who chewed me out for not having a national security adviser.
So I opened the next season with Anna Deavere Smith as the national security adviser" -
Aaron Sorkin

"Mr. Berger, please this is urgent.
We can take out Osama, now. Please answer!!! We have him in our sight."

Berger-Burglar: "Nope. Forgetaboutit. No big deal. I am watching the West Wing."

---

Consider: If Berger-Burglar, Gorelick, Clarke and Clinton had been completely HONEST
to the American public about the Islamic-crashed airplanes, like TWA800, in the 90's
or the other Islamic terror attacks, then Americans WOULD have been on alert on 911
and would have had the opportunity to prevent the 911 Atrocities.

---

PARTIAL LIST OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES IGNORED BY BERGER-BURGLAR, GORELICK, CLARKE and CLINTON

1993 Attempted Assassination of Pres. Bush Sr., April 14,1993
1993 First World Trade Center bombing, February 26th, 7 Killed, Hundreds injured, Billions
1995 Attack on US Diplomats in Pakistan, Mar 8,1995
1996 Khobar Towers attack
1998 U.S. Embassy Bombing in Peru, Jan 15, 1998
1998 U.S. Kenya Embassy blown up, 100's murdered
1998 U.S. Tanzania Embassy blown up, 100's murdered
1999 Plot to blow up Space Needle (thwarted)
2000 USS Cole attacked, many U.S. Navy sailors murdered

---

[DoctorMichael]

Sandy Berger is a selfish SOB.

To paraphrase a famous Senator who was grilling a certain Admiral Boorda..................

..............he should "commit suicide".

[R. Scott]

Documents with higher classifications are numbered, and each copy is tracked with an access log, and nowadays I suppose they're tracking them by computers.

I’m sure they still have “Copy 2 of 10” notations - but now with a bar code.
From my limited experience, he had to have the help - possibly unintentionally - of some one at the Archive. When he checked out X number of pages, he should have had to turn each of them back in before leaving.
But then again, there are different rules for an Army Sargent and those with high placed political connections.

[Poohbah]

Agreed. The material was Top Secret, which is that information which, if divulged to unauthorized persons, can cause "exceptionally grave damage to the security of the United States of America." Top Secret material is handled with extreme care.

[Bean Counter]

So until informed otherwise, I see no reason not to speculate a bit.

What the hell was he up to? Trying to get his hands on something that might give John F'ing Kerry an edge, perhaps??

The Kerry camp dropped Berger so fast he hasn't even bounced yet...must be something wrong here...

[tet68]

Here is what I think Brian,
I think they want us to focus in on these documents when
what they really spirited away was something else.
Some bit of horridly compromising documentation that escaped
their shredders, something folded in with the wrong stuff
that they have been searching for for years.

This guy isn't going to take a fall for something trivial.

[JustaCowgirl]

Please let there be videos of this. If these documents were in folders, that would explain why he put those documents in his briefcase, but put his own notes in his pants and/or socks. But it would also establish that there was NO WAY he inadvertently mislaid/threw away/lost any such folder after he got it home, or wherever he took it. This isn't the end of it, we're going to find out what was in those documents, what kinds of folders, etc. the documents were contained in, and who else might have seen or stood to gain from that info being out of circulation.

[Fintan]

"Okay, Maddy, here's the deal...suppose you stuff them down your, uh, um...in your...Oh, never mind. Sandy's already

got 'em buried in his pockets and down his pants. And this meeting never happened."

 

 

 

[LasVegasMac]

Agreed. Something stinks here.

I know the rules and procedures, the job requires it. If anything is removed or brought in - paper work, paper work.

You do not "inadvertently" remove classified material from a secure area.

Los Alamos (again), didn't the State Dpt lose another laptop (or disk) recently, now this.

I did hear (some talking head from the DNC) that there were other copies of these "inadvertently" missing documents. I sure hope so. If not, someone needs to go to jail.

LVM

[tomnbeverly]

I too have worked around classifed documents for more then 22 years. I fully concur with your assesment it is totally impossible to inadvertently handle documents and depending on the sensitiviy of some documents you must have two personnel involved in the handling and securing of the document.
Either the National Archives has a serious security lapse or there is possible conspiracy.

We did learn lessons from Ames, Walker, et al. and the DOD made serious changes in handling classified documents.

There should be a full accounting ASAP.

[LasVegasMac]

Tinfoil hat time!

Jokingly.

I hope.

Ummm.....

LVM

[Brian Mosely]

Either the National Archives has a serious security lapse or there is possible conspiracy.

Or a sting...or a combination of all three: a conspiracy surrounding a serious security lapse that was turned into a sting.

[Bottom_Gun]

This stuff was acually above Top Secret, in the Compartmented classifications. These types of Documents have Bright colored folders/covers and are seralized and such. Having been a secret control officer, while in the Navy...there is no way in he** you can 'inadvertently" mistake this stuff!!

[Snoopers-868th]

This may sound pretty simple but I don't know! Why, when he was no longer on the staff did he have access at all to these documents. When does their security clearance run out? Never?

[Our man in washington]

This past April, I was working on a military base for two weeks. We were dealing with classified secret (not top secret) material.

We were all told on the first day the importance of following the rules. I was doing a presentation, so I spent much of the time writing down classified information from the network on to notecards. Those notecards never left the secured room. On the last day, they were shredded. I also shredded my lecture notes, which likewise never left the room.

Unfortunately, I got in trouble when I was down there. I was often the last one there, so I'd close the down and sign out at the end of the evening. The door automatically locked behind me. One day, someone changed the lock setting on the door. The door didn't lock when I shut it at that night. Following habit, I didn't check to make sure the door was locked. I was given a severe dressing down for that and embarrassed in front of the whole class. I deserved it too.

Now, for someone to steal anything, they would have had to sneak on to a military base and get into a secured and heavily guarded building just to get to the room. The risk was virtually nil. Still, rules were rules.

In short, I have no patience for any of Berger's lazy excuses. "It was just my own notes" is not an excuse. If you "inadvertantly take them" and you notice it at three in the morning, you get out of bed and go back, return them or shred them, and report the compromise of intelligence.