1+ YEAR Ago: General Hayden warned Congress "What I really need you to do"

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

he told members of of the intelligence committees, "is to talk to your constituents and find out where the American people want the line between security and liberty to be."

The above is from this article:

"'CHATTER Dispatches From the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping'
By Patrick Radden Keefe. Random House.
Reviewed by James Bamford
Sunday, February 20, 2005; Page BW05

Deep in a North Yorkshire moor, in a part of England where sheep and cows outnumber residents and crumbling stone walls snake through endless green pastures like stitches on a quilt, a secretive moon base comes suddenly into view. Low, moss-covered walls give way to tall, barb-crowned fences; weathered farmhouses are replaced by dozens of massive white spheres, pock-marked like giant golf balls shimmering in the sun; farmers on tractors disappear, and heavily armed guards in armor-plated vehicles take their place. Welcome to Menwith Hill, the largest eavesdropping base on Earth and America's ear on the world.

What goes in and out of those domes -- used to hide satellite dishes shaped like giant ice cream scoops -- is the subject of Patrick Radden Keefe's first book. At least, that was his hope. Unfortunately, he could find few who would cooperate with him, and the U.S. National Security Agency, which operates the base, refused to respond to his many queries. As the author of two books on the agency, I have found that silence is a reception common to most who dare knock on its door. After all, NSA's initials have long been said to stand for No Such Agency or Never Say Anything....

In the end, Keefe argues that the vital debate over where to draw that line should not be left just to intelligence officials and Congress. The public, he insists, must educate itself as best it can and weigh in on the decision: "The one conviction I came away with is that if we ignore this issue, put off by the level of secrecy or the technical complexity involved, we do so at our own peril." His concern is reflected in another old Latin phrase, Quis custodiet ipsos custodies: Who is watching the watchers?..."

I searched for info on this book when I was looking at some notes I have from an old post someone did about anthrax, and found that this was a part of the post:


After the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration repeatedly tried to link the anthrax attacks to Saddam Hussein and Iraq...unsuccessfully. It was to be yet another pretext for war with Iraq. But UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter knew this to be false information. He knew the strain of anthrax that Iraq had and knew it was not the same one mailed here in the U.S. He said there was "no verifiable link whatsoever" See his article; "Don't Blame Saddam for this One". At the time, according to the new book "Chatter" by Patrick Keefe-- Mr. Ritter was being surveilled and bugged by our own NSA listeners on a regular basis.

[alfredo]

1. That must be Harrogate (Menwith Hill Station)

http://www.fas.org/irp/facility/menwith.htm






Glad I didn't go there, it looks cold and forbidding.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

3. Yep, doesn't look like a nice place to visit, OR LIVE. n/t

[alfredo]

4. It's probably better than Shemya Alaska

BTW, I recommend "Body of Secrets" James Bamford.
On the far left.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

5. Probably beautiful scenery, but very harsh environment. n/t

[alfredo]

6. I've known people at both locations.

They didn't have much good to say about it.


On Shemya they built the Shemya national forest. Some guy fashioned a tree out of scrap metal and stuck it in the ground. They used to say that on Shemya there was a woman behind every tree, so I guess that is why he made the tree. One officer would go into the PX each week and buy a box of condoms. He did that for several months. It drove the clerks crazy.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

2. Link to the story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33494-2005Feb17.html