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thedrifter
03-27-04, 06:20 AM
03-23-2004

Perfunctory Security Clearances a Threat to All


By David DeBatto



The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) is truly the first “war of intelligence.”



To be sure, every army in every war ever fought has relied on both tactical and strategic intelligence to accomplish its objectives, but the current struggle America and its allies are involved in has – at its very core – the gathering and analysis of intelligence.



It is not simply a tool of the military and civilian leadership in their overall war-fighting strategy, it is the strategy. Not only that, but the way in which we have traditionally collected that intelligence has been discovered since 9/11 to be woefully inadequate. Multi-billion dollar gadgets failed to intercept and foil plans made in caves and disseminated by couriers on foot and horseback, and even sometimes by donkey. Welcome to 21st-century warfare.



That being said, it should come as no surprise that the U.S. military will be entrusting more and more of its classified material and instructing more service people in more classified operations than ever before in the nation’s history. The special ops folks are receiving a bonanza of money and equipment that only a couple of years ago would have been unthinkable.



Human intelligence (HUMINT) is slowly ratcheting up in an attempt to deal with the incredible shortfall of counterintelligence agents and other HUMINT operatives that have plagued us since forever. All of the Pentagon’s military intelligence branches are reviewing the way in which they do business.



This will hopefully result in more funding and personnel for HUMINT operations in the future. That is what should happen, but it does not mean that is what will happen.



Even with all of the reviews, realignments, increased funding and additional personnel, the entire system of American intelligence gathering and analysis is not worth the untranslated paper it is printed on right now.



Why? Because the system for obtaining security clearances for people handling sensitive information is broken.



It is not uncommon for a security clearance to take one to one and a half years to complete today. I personally knew counterintelligence agents and interrogators who were working in-theater in Iraq for 12-18 months, at the highest operational levels, with only interim clearances.



It is not common knowledge that one can obtain an interim clearance at the Top Secret or TS level, but that is true. One can even be “read on” for SCI or Special Compartmented Information. These are some of the most sensitive secrets our nation possesses. Do you know what a rigorous process one has to go through in order to obtain an interim TS/SCI? Are you sitting down?



All that is required to obtain the highest level of security clearance this nation has to offer is a simple local police check, provost marshal check (post MP) and an FBI and CIA database check. That’s it.



It usually takes 24-48 hours and you have a perfectly valid clearance that allows you access to a treasure trove of secrets contained within America’s intelligence agency’s files.



I am not saying that everyone who gets an interim clearance is a KGB mole or an al Qaeda sleeper agent. But with the GWOT in full swing and the increased emphasis on intelligence of all kinds, it is absolutely unconscionable for the U.S. government, and the Pentagon in particular, to allow people access to highly sensitive information and methods without performing more than the most minimal of background checks, What are they thinking?



I know officials will cry poverty and say they just do not have enough funding to do the job in as timely a fashion as they would like. That is rubbish. The Pentagon just farmed out the whole function from the DIS (Defense Investigative Service) and the DSS (Defense Security Service) – the agencies that had been responsible for conducting personnel background investigations (PSI) in the past – to private contractors. And why not use Army counterintelligence agents? One of their jobs is performing PSI’s.



We are starting to see some of the problems associated with using un-vetted (un-cleared) personnel in Iraq.



There have numerous incidents involving Iraqi police and other Iraqi civilian employees spying on coalition forces and transmitting sensitive information to terrorist operatives. Some have resulted in attacks and ambushes against American and coalition forces.



One such incident was thought to have been the cause of the ambush of Centcom commander Gen. John Abazaid’s convoy in Baghdad a few weeks ago. We can expect more of the same if we continue to rely on American citizens, and in some cases non-American citizens, being used in sensitive positions within the military without having the proper security clearances.



With the money that has been saved not buying the proper body armor or vehicle armor or ammunition for National Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq, surely the Pentagon can find the funds to conduct proper background checks.



Contributing Editor David DeBatto is a retired Army staff sergeant and Counterintelligent Special Agent who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was injured in combat. He is currently writing a novel based upon his military service. He can be reached at info@mrdavid.net. Send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com. Ó 2004 David DeBatto.


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Ellie