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posted by martyb on Saturday May 24 2014, @10:55AM   Printer-friendly

Wikileaks revealed Friday that Afghanistan is the second of two countries, the first being The Bahamas, to have every phone call recorded by the NSA.

My personal opinion: While this may not come as a surprise to many (given Afghanistan's recent history and strategic location) one must not forget the ramifications of having an NSA hub in the Middle-East, as that may have been a contributing factor to Hamid Karzai's animosity towards America and its continuing involvement in Afghanistan.

Another note: I was the first person to guess the country here, based on an unusual experience years ago as outlined in the linked post -- I was told in a bong shop by the daughter of an NSA employee stationed in Afghanistan years ago!

Cf SN's earlier story: Wikileaks Threatens to Name NSA-target

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Saturday May 24 2014, @06:35PM

    by frojack (1554) on Saturday May 24 2014, @06:35PM (#47156) Journal

    The entire cellular system in Afghanistan was built by the US.
    It was in total ruin during the Taliban era, and the remaining parts were among the first targets taken out by US air strikes in the early days.

    There was no mystery about the un-named country being Afghanistan.

    It stands to reason that the cellular network built by the US government in an occupied country with with a key NSA installation would be a full-take network. And there was little choice but for the citizens, the government, and the taliban to use it, since the land line situation in Afghanistan was abysmal.

    There are a lot of ME countries with no significant NSA presence IN COUNTRY. (a couple lone operatives does not a presence make).

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  • (Score: 2) by bill_mcgonigle on Saturday May 24 2014, @08:04PM

    by bill_mcgonigle (1105) on Saturday May 24 2014, @08:04PM (#47168)

    There was no mystery about the un-named country being Afghanistan.

    I have to admit to falling for the disinfo myself - we were told if the second name were released there would be bloodshed.

    But since we were told 5-ish years ago that all the warlords had stopped using cell phones, there's no surprise at all and there's no bloodshed to speak of. WTF, Jacob?

    • (Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Tuesday May 27 2014, @11:23PM

      by Yog-Yogguth (1862) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 27 2014, @11:23PM (#48089) Journal

      Maybe the bloodshed will be in the US, maybe that's what they meant but I'm not proficient in speaking Nsaise nor in operating their "future machine" :3

      Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong, maybe they're just lying like always.

      How would they be able to tell the difference to the "crazies" that have already killed? Couldn't those people (some of which were employed in various governmental and military services) simply be people opting for the ammo box? Wouldn't that easily explain most things? Things like why an American Buddhist chooses to go on a shotgun shooting spree in Navy offices?

      What would you do if you realized you were working for evil, that you were right in the middle of it? Special forces suicide rates anyone?

      I am not making "value judgements"; I am merely saying it would make a lot of sense if this interpretation of events was true. Much more sense than anything else being said.

      Like anyone would ever be told if they left behind their reasons or after they've been "legally" drugged into not knowing who they were.

      Blind violence is a myth. If people are angry enough they won't care what's between them and their target as long as they have a chance at the target, and the target won't only be against the people in charge but whatever they can reach that fits the bill.

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