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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday May 13 2015, @12:10PM   Printer-friendly

The Intercept's Lee Fang has highlighted a few examples of loud National Security Agency allies that have financial ties to the agency and mass surveillance. The list includes Stewart Baker, the general counsel to the NSA from 1992 through 1994, Fox News military analyst Jack Keane, Retired General Wesley Clark, former Central Intelligence Agency chief James Woolsey, former Republican National Committee chair Jim Gilmore, former NSA director Mike McConnell, and Center for Strategic and International Studies President John Hamre. They have surfaced regularly in the media to denounce Snowden, and in the case of Woolsey, to call for Snowden to be "hanged by his neck".

These NSA cheerleaders have received millions of dollars from their involvement with NSA contractors. For example, Clark and Woolsey are advisors to Paladin Capital Group, "an investment advisor and private equity firm whose Homeland Security Fund was set up about three months after the September 11th attacks to focus on defense and intelligence-related startups":

At the time of Woolsey and Clark's anti-Snowden statements it included a stake in Endgame Systems, a computer network security company that had worked with the NSA, having reportedly counted the agency among its largest customers. Paladin was also invested in CyberCore, which had provided technological work to the NSA. Later, in 2014, Paladin invested in Shadow Networks, formerly known as ZanttzZ, which also provided tech work to the NSA.

Since 2009, [Jim] Gilmore has also worked for a major NSA contractor as member of the board of CACI International, for which he has been compensated with more than $1 million in cash and stock awards. CACI, the firm whose contractors were behind the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, has steadily increased its stake in the cyber intelligence business, acquiring the firm Six3 Systems, an NSA contractor, for $820 million two years ago.

Hamre received close to a quarter of a million dollars as a board member to NSA contractor Leidos, as he had the year prior. In 2013 and again in 2012, Hamre took close to quarter of a million dollars as a board member at SAIC, which has served as a major NSA contractor and which split to form Leidos. Also responsible for the [CSIS] report was former NSA director Mike McConnell — only identified by "Former Director of National Intelligence" rather than as vice chairman of NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, his role at the time.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Mr Big in the Pants on Wednesday May 13 2015, @05:04PM

    by Mr Big in the Pants (4956) on Wednesday May 13 2015, @05:04PM (#182470)

    What I find most amusing is that your are unwittingly advocating for the "revolving door" which has, along with other forms of greed and corruption, absolutely devastated democracy in the US. And in the out of control, constitution-ignoring, money sucking security fiasco known as the NSA?!

    Good job citizen! And make sure to report anything suspicious you see in your neighbourhood or at work to your nearest friendly authority figure!

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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by looorg on Wednesday May 13 2015, @06:11PM

    by looorg (578) on Wednesday May 13 2015, @06:11PM (#182510)

    I'm not sure I would classify it as unwittingly since I am aware of the problem. The system isn't perfect, I don't think I claimed that. I think the way I stated it was even quite clear. What I was wondering is why things should be different for people people in the military and the intelligence field compared to professionals in other fields. People there jump around between companies and agencies and nobody care all that much. People with just as much power and knowledge. At worst or most there might be some non-compete clause in a contract that have to be adhered to. Instead of answering that I get the same tired anti-government tirades. Just for once answer me why they should get punished for serving the government.

    Lets just say that you had worked for the CIA for 25 years. During that time you accumulate some knowledge that others find interesting, others in related fields, and they offer you a job. How is that wrong? You utilize things you have learned to further your career. Just like anyone else. Are you this upset about everyone using knowledge gained leaving one place and setting up business somewhere else or is your mistrust reserved for members of what you believe to be the military-industrial-complex?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 13 2015, @06:39PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 13 2015, @06:39PM (#182532)

      He has the same selfish complex that most whiners here have: if it is something I want or is important to me, it is my right; if it isn't important to ME, it is an abuse of power, socialism, government out of control, etc., etc., etc.

      I'd bet he'd be out in front of the whiners on something like no-compete stipulations for programming jobs. "They can't tell me what kind of work I can do!!!"

      As for revolving door, there are existing laws against that.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 13 2015, @06:48PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 13 2015, @06:48PM (#182536)

        it is an abuse of power

        Well, yes, mass surveillance is an abuse of power (as well as a violation of the constitution), and the people who work at the NSA but are not planning any leaks are true criminals, as well as the people in the government who allow these abuses to continue. Defending the NSA is betraying the principles to which the US is supposed to aspire, so it's interesting to see they have financial ties to NSA contractors. We know why they're defending it.

        As for you, I hope, at least, that mass surveillance is an abuse of power to you. It's a shame you have to make these random assumptions about people who just want the government to follow the constitution.

      • (Score: 2) by Mr Big in the Pants on Wednesday May 13 2015, @07:23PM

        by Mr Big in the Pants (4956) on Wednesday May 13 2015, @07:23PM (#182557)

        Nope, I don't. But I'll hazard a guess this is not the first conspiratorial, ad hominem you have engaged in right?

        Please pick up your knuckles...they are dragging on my carpet.

    • (Score: 2) by Mr Big in the Pants on Wednesday May 13 2015, @07:28PM

      by Mr Big in the Pants (4956) on Wednesday May 13 2015, @07:28PM (#182562)

      If you are aware of the problem that just makes the irony of your statement even more ironic...but I think your understanding of it is somewhat lacking from what you have said.

      - They are not serving the government, they are serving themselves and their vested interests so your argument there is just ridiculous.
      - The government is supposed to serve the people and these people clearly serving their own best financial interests.
      - They have VESTED FINANCIAL INTERESTS.

      Try looking up "conflict of interest" and why that is a bad thing...

      If you cannot see why this is wrong then I give up. There is no hope for you...

      • (Score: 2, Disagree) by looorg on Wednesday May 13 2015, @07:59PM

        by looorg (578) on Wednesday May 13 2015, @07:59PM (#182583)

        Two out of three bullet-points are true for everyone, the one in the middle is open for interpretation. I believe all these people served the government, they also served themselves as we all do. Everyone has a vested financial interest in their careers, it's not a unique identifier for these people. I'm asking why it's or should be different for these people compared to other professions. Job-jumping or whatever you like to refer to it as is normal these days. It's what I have been asking from the start. You, or perhaps I should say The Intercept, have a clear issue and an axe to grind with parts of the US Government and the what they imagine to be the military-industrial-complex. I can only assume they believe them to have some kind of power and influence never before seen in any other profession; that or they don't care about other professions since they are more interested in government-bashing then anything else. But why not then just answer the question of how long should someone that leaves the government, military or intelligence community be isolated from the workforce. How long and how much are you willing to pay the head of some agency to spend at home doing essentially "nothing"? Because in the end that is what it comes down to. You can't become some kinda of eternal employment pariah just cause you once worked for some part of the government, that would be utterly cruel.

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 13 2015, @08:39PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 13 2015, @08:39PM (#182608)

          > But why not then just answer the question of how long should someone that leaves the government, military or intelligence community be isolated from the workforce.

          The answer to that question is meta. The problem is not these specific individuals it is the existence of the industry itself. The outsourcing of government functions to corporations is the problem. Cut back on that and your question becomes moot. A major problem is that these people are responsible for the out-sourcing to begin with, in effect they create the jobs they then jump to.