U.S. Military Secrets for Sale at Afghan Bazaar

[sjdnb]

By Paul Watson, Times Staff Writer
April 10, 2006

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — No more than 200 yards from the main gate of the sprawling U.S. base here, stolen computer drives containing classified military assessments of enemy targets, names of corrupt Afghan officials and descriptions of American defenses are on sale in the local bazaar.

Workers are supposed to be frisked as they leave the base, but they have various ways of deceiving guards, such as hiding computer drives behind photo IDs that they wear in holders around their necks, shop owners said. Others claim that U.S. soldiers illegally sell military property and help move it off the base, saying they need the money to pay bills back home.

Bagram base, the U.S. military's largest in Afghanistan and a hub for classified military activity, has suffered security lapses before, including an escape from a detention center where hundreds of Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects have been held and interrogated.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-disks10apr10,0,7789909.story?page=1&coll=la-home-headlines

[LynnTheDem]

1. Gee, damn good thing we're "the best"

or we'd REALLY be deep in shit.

[tocqueville]

2. it's worse than you think....

A reporter recently obtained several drives at the bazaar that contained documents marked "Secret." The contents included documents that were potentially embarrassing to Pakistan, a U.S. ally, presentations that named suspected militants targeted for "kill or capture" and discussions of U.S. efforts to "remove" or "marginalize" Afghan government officials whom the military considered "problem makers."

The drives also included deployment rosters and other documents that identified nearly 700 U.S. service members and their Social Security numbers, information that identity thieves could use to open credit card accounts in soldiers' names.

After choosing the name of an army captain at random, a reporter using the Internet was able to obtain detailed information on the woman, including her home address in Maryland and the license plate numbers of her 2003 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicle and 1998 Harley Davidson XL883 Hugger motorcycle.
.....

A flash drive also contained a classified briefing about the capabilities and limitations of a "man portable counter-mortar radar" used to find the source of guerrilla mortar rounds. A map pinpoints the U.S. camps and bases in Iraq where the sophisticated radar was deployed in March 2004.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

all this for a handfull dollars... I can understand it from afghani workers (who by the way should never access that kind of stuff)... but from US soldiers... !!!!

and I bet that all those guys are waving flags back home...

[jamesinca]

6. Here is the problem, and it has a lot to do with Bush

"saying they need the money to pay bills back home." The soldiers are trying to survive and feed their families. Cutting of benefits, extended tours for the National Guard, stop loss/back door draft, new bankruptcy laws etc.... These guys have been put in an impossible position and are trying to survive.

Maybe it is a bad analogy, but I don't see this as much different then Katrina survivors looting for a loaf of bread and some bottled water. Are they criminals or are they trying to survive?

[madmark]

12. when they talk about the army "breaking", this is the consequence and

its absolutely unacceptable.

[htuttle]

3. Starting to sound like the Red Army, circa 1989.

[drm604]

4. K&R

:kick:

[donsu]

5. america is a crime scene where ever it is

at home and abroad

[genieroze]

7. Isn't this treason?

[icymist]

8. K & R!

:kick:

[sabra]

9. kick

:kick:

[AnneD]

10. It would be hysterical

if it weren't so tragic. God Help us all.

[WhiteTara]

11. kick

:kick:

[Up2Late]

13. The BBC just reported this too

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4905052.stm>

How much you wanna bet that, since they couldn't get a replacement for a broken drive, they just tossed the disks (or cards)?

[Moderator]

14. kick

[cal04]

15. US secrets for sale outside Bagram airbase

Top-secret US military intelligence documents which could compromise Hamid Karzai's government have turned up for sale in an Afghan bazaar, after apparently being stolen from a nearby US military base. The security lapse will embarrass the US military, and the Afghan and Pakistani governments. The files are stored on computer memory sticks and among those to come to light so far are lists of top Afghan officials, including cabinet members, suspected of involvement in the drugs trade or of supporting the Taliban insurgency.

One of the most potentially damaging files, which was bought unwittingly by an Afghan journalist, names senior Afghan ministers whom US intelligence agencies believe to be drug smugglers. Described as "Tier One Warlords", they include Marshal Mohammad Fahim, former defence minister and now a member of the upper house of the Afghan parliament; General Rashid Dostum, Chief of Staff of the army; and General Mohammad Daoud,presently the Interior Minister for Counter-Narcotics. The Interior Ministry has refused to comment.

All three have denied past speculation that they were involved in Afghanistan's £1.5bn drugs trade. Another file includes a list of 12 senior provincial officials the US wants removed from office. These include provincial governors and police chiefs believed to be involved with the drugs trade or supporters of the Taliban. One of those on the list is Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, until recently governor of Helmand province where the first of 3,500 British troops are currently deploying.

Mr Akhundzada was given a seat in Afghanistan's new upper house of parliament by President Karzai in December, shortly after 10 tons of opium were found stored in his offices. The "promotion" followed intense pressure from British and US officials to remove him. The current police chief of Helmand, Abdul Rahman Jan, is accused on the list of providing security for heroin shipments through the desert borders with Pakistan.

more
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article357406.ece

[DemoTex]

16. JUST-LIKE-VIET NAM!

The VC/NVA knew way before we did.

[CottonBear]

17. There's nothing new under the sun. n/t

[DianaForRussFeingold]

18. I want to buy back my country.

BushCo. is Embarrassing :banghead:

[cliss]

19. Afghanistan!

Afghanistan, isn't that one of Bush's success stories? Yes, by God it is!!! He's called it a "Young Democracy", and "Quiet Progress". YES Bush has chalked this one up as a real success.

Now as far as Quiet Progress, can we include 10 tons of opium in that? Mr. Akhundzada was quiet about it.

[Moderator]

20. kick

[Supersedeas]

21. another heck of a show of competence