Bammx2
2nd Black Belt
23/1/2005 5:23:22 AM ( Source: Reuters)
Pentagon said operating secret spy branch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defence Department has created a new espionage arm and is reinterpreting U.S. law to give Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wide authority over spy operations abroad, the Washington Post has reported.
Citing Pentagon documents and interviews with participants, the newspaper on Sunday said Rumsfeld created the organization, called the Strategic Support Branch, to end "near total dependence" on the Central Intelligence Agency for human intelligence.
A Defence Department spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The Strategic Support Branch, which has been operating for two years, deploys teams of case officers, linguists, interrogators and technical specialists with special operations forces, according to the Washington Post.
It has operated in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other undisclosed locations, the newspaper reported. The group's focus, according to an early planning document, was on Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia, Philippines and Georgia, the Post said.
Quoting a Defence Department memo, the newspaper said the Pentagon may recruit foreign spies that include "notorious figures" whose links to the U.S. government would be embarrassing if disclosed.
The newspaper said the Defence Department's espionage activities include missions in both friendly and unfriendly states when conventional war may be distant or unlikely. Those activities traditionally fall to the CIA's Directorate of Operations, the Washington Post said.
The Strategic Support Branch was established with "reprogrammed" funds and without explicit authority from the U.S. Congress, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed Pentagon officials.
Rumsfeld's efforts are aimed at giving combat forces more information about their immediate enemy and to penetrate organizations such as al Qaeda, the newspaper reported.
The Post said the Defence secretary also is seeking greater independence as intelligence departments and agencies are placed under a newly created position of national intelligence director, an office approved by Congress last year.
The Washington Post said Lieutenant General William Boykin, deputy undersecretary for intelligence, acknowledged Rumsfeld intends to direct some missions previously undertaken by the CIA.
The newspaper also quoted Assistant Defence Secretary Thomas O'Connell, who oversees special operations policy, as saying Rumsfeld discarded the "hidebound way of thinking" and "risk-averse mentalities" of previous Pentagon officials.
ANY THOUGHT ON THE NEW SPY ORGANISATION?
Being a conspiracy "listener"...I find it a little froggy that big brother needs a bigger brother.
Or they just expanding the family??
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defence Department has created a new espionage arm and is reinterpreting U.S. law to give Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wide authority over spy operations abroad, the Washington Post has reported.
Citing Pentagon documents and interviews with participants, the newspaper on Sunday said Rumsfeld created the organization, called the Strategic Support Branch, to end "near total dependence" on the Central Intelligence Agency for human intelligence.
A Defence Department spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The Strategic Support Branch, which has been operating for two years, deploys teams of case officers, linguists, interrogators and technical specialists with special operations forces, according to the Washington Post.
It has operated in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other undisclosed locations, the newspaper reported. The group's focus, according to an early planning document, was on Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia, Philippines and Georgia, the Post said.
Quoting a Defence Department memo, the newspaper said the Pentagon may recruit foreign spies that include "notorious figures" whose links to the U.S. government would be embarrassing if disclosed.
The newspaper said the Defence Department's espionage activities include missions in both friendly and unfriendly states when conventional war may be distant or unlikely. Those activities traditionally fall to the CIA's Directorate of Operations, the Washington Post said.
The Strategic Support Branch was established with "reprogrammed" funds and without explicit authority from the U.S. Congress, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed Pentagon officials.
Rumsfeld's efforts are aimed at giving combat forces more information about their immediate enemy and to penetrate organizations such as al Qaeda, the newspaper reported.
The Post said the Defence secretary also is seeking greater independence as intelligence departments and agencies are placed under a newly created position of national intelligence director, an office approved by Congress last year.
The Washington Post said Lieutenant General William Boykin, deputy undersecretary for intelligence, acknowledged Rumsfeld intends to direct some missions previously undertaken by the CIA.
The newspaper also quoted Assistant Defence Secretary Thomas O'Connell, who oversees special operations policy, as saying Rumsfeld discarded the "hidebound way of thinking" and "risk-averse mentalities" of previous Pentagon officials.
ANY THOUGHT ON THE NEW SPY ORGANISATION?
Being a conspiracy "listener"...I find it a little froggy that big brother needs a bigger brother.
Or they just expanding the family??
