Admin. Official: Existence of Washington Post Database ‘Troubling’
The database the Washington Post compiled during its "Top Secret America" two year investigation is "troubling," one administration official told me this morning, saying it could become a road map for adversaries – a charge reporter William Arkin denied on "GMA."
"We’ve been through months now of negotiations and discussions with the government. I don’t think there is anything here that would do harm to national security," Arkin told me. "And frankly I’m an American as well and I don’t want to do any harm to American national security."
The official also told me that President Obama and his team are committed to intelligence reform — calling it a "central issue" – and said the system basically worked preventing another major attack and taking out 10 of the top 20 Al Qaeda leaders. But Arkin argued otherwise – saying it is important to counter what "the government would like to put out as the good news."
"The evidence shows that, in fact, in the case of Major Hasan in Ft. Hood last year that the vast apparatus of counterintelligence and force protection in the part of the military completely and utterly failed to detect someone who was right inside the ranks of the U.S. army and I think that is a massive failure," he said.
Arkin said that Secretary Gates and Leon Panetta would agree with their reporting, that "this is a system which has grown so vast that no one really has a full handle on it, no one really is fully in charge of it."
Click here to watch my interview with William Arkin, and see my full analysis below.
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Which will get us, radical Islam or the National Debt?
Will the Democrats destroy America? The current debt would require 100 years to pay down, if we were willing to pay 320 billion dollars per year. But if we wait just until 2012 to start payment the payments would increase to 380 billion per year. But let’s not stop there, if we wait until 2020 to start the interest payment alone would be 900 billion dollars per year. Obama and Biden may say we are on the right track, but I say do the math and call them out for a FACT CHECK!
Posted by: Ed Taylor | July 19, 2010, 10:21 am 10:21 am
@ EdTaylor Let’s see. Clinton leaves the WH with a surplus, but eight years of Bush tax cuts and out-of-control spending leave us with record deficits. But according to you, the National Debt is the Democrats fault. Right.
Posted by: Richard Karpel | July 19, 2010, 10:26 am 10:26 am
The economy will go up and down, no matter who is in office. However, how those ups and downs are handled, matters.
The bubble that brought us this recession, was actually permitted by legislation passed under Clinton, so accusing Bush for everything wrong in Washington, is simply exhibiting a lack of knowledge about the facts.
There is no question however, that the Mexican border is our number one, unattended matter, that can lead to a major attack, probably with a back-packed nuclear weapon, and that issue MUST be addressed.
The failure of the Obama administration to address that issue, and seal the border, is the greatest security threat we have.
As of this time, Obama is not only avoiding the issue entirely, he is literally refusing to stop the flow of illegals across that border. That is unacceptable.
The other issues surround the Islamists in our midst. The religion is so extreme, it is nearly impossible to determine how many threats exist, from those in our midst.
While we would like to continue to be the land of freedom of religion, is this religion too extreme, for anyone to allow? That is not for me to answer, but I must raise the question.
For the Bush bashers, get on with your lives and get something else to hate. One man is not responsible for all of this, and you might as well recognize that fact. While I do not agree with Bush, on everything, I do respect what he actually did, to try to make this country safe, and strong, in the face of attack. Yes, the wars raised the deficit…..military spending is not cheap……but in the analysis of world conditions, and what was necessary, I don’t think there were a lot of options.
Right now, I am much more concerned, about a President who basically ignored the will of the people, who opposed his ObamaCare, and imposed on the public, increased costs, increased taxes and deficits, and decreased care for the elderly, in imposing his will on the public.
I am much more concerned about a President, who ignored the millions of jobless people, while working on a health care bill, that was against the public’s wishes.
I am also concerned about an administration, who has no idea, where jobs are going to come from, for all the unemployed.
I might also remind you that the wars are continuing, that politicians are meddling in the war in Afghanistan, and not allowing the military to do their jobs, and that Obama has not kept his promise to end those wars……partly because it cannot be kept, and partly because he simply doesn’t have the understanding to deal with what is needed, to make that happen.
Personally, I don’t think anyone who would really be good at the job, would want it. Just my view.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | July 19, 2010, 10:54 am 10:54 am
1. This story illustrates why big government is a bad thing. I’ll bet $20 right now that at least some of the information collected in this vast system is being provided to the IRS – that is, supposedly confidential tax information on US citizens. Anyone care to cover that bet?
2. Bill Clinton did NOT leave office having established a budget surplus. The so-called “Social Security Trust Fund” was counted against the debt – which means the “money” in it was counted twice (first as being in the fund, and second as being in the Treasury and applied against the budget deficit).
3. The problem described in the WaPo article will not be solved under Obama. He has already said he will not freeze national security spending, which means that the whole apparatus will continue to grow like weeds until it has its tentacles in every nook and cranny of our society and literally chokes off what little freedom is left in this country. Every President since FDR has been complicit in this problem – that means Republicans AND Democrats. Not one of them has done a darned thing to reign in the national security apparatus. Welcome to the Winston Smith Experience.
Posted by: Segodnya | July 19, 2010, 11:37 am 11:37 am
Clinton did leave office with a SURPLUS, however,that surplus was used up to start a war based on a LIE. A LIE that has and still is costing our young men and women the ultimate sacrafice, THEIR LIVES.
Yes, we have issues; (terriorism, illegal aliens, reigious issues, etc.) and we will always have issues that people don’t agree with, however President Obama inherited the heavy burden of cleaning up someone else’s mess. Bush’s mess. Did Bush miss a meal, have no roof oover his head, lose a love one in the war, even know how much gas costs the american people to get to work? Was he worried about how his bills would get paid, his medical bills? No! he just made sure his cronies got richer! Bush has suffered little, but the American people have suffered a great dealin more ways than one.
I’m an American who knows we live in the greatest country in the world in spite of some of the people who hold the highest office in the land.
Posted by: parker | July 19, 2010, 12:13 pm 12:13 pm
This administration gives our nuc levels to the Russians, is going to let Iran have nucs, hates Israel, can’t stand up to anyone, rather bow. I don’t want anyone giving away our secrets, especially the President.
Posted by: Freedom | July 19, 2010, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
This administration gives our nuc levels to the Russians, is going to let Iran have nucs, hates Israel, can’t stand up to anyone, rather bow. I don’t want anyone giving away our secrets, especially the President.
Posted by: Freedom | July 19, 2010, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
For 6 years of Nixon, 2 years of Ford, 8 years of Reagan, 4 years of GH Bush, 8 years of GW Bush there has been nothing but Government control over the news, with Washington post being the poster child for the Republican party’s control of the news along with fox news network in recent years.
And now the Washington Post wants to pretend that they care about Freedom of the Press by trying to get away with exposing our National Security? What Hypocrites!!!
Posted by: Angie | July 19, 2010, 12:50 pm 12:50 pm
You mean the rag that cheerleaded the Iraq war and is silent on the buildup in Iran, is supposed to not be doing what the military orders them to?
Black is white, up is down… People, the Post is the mouthpeice of warmongers… These fools never met a war that wasn’t good for buisness, or big government… Of course they can be trusted… to perpetuate WAR… Don’t worry, go back to bed.
Posted by: CBA | July 19, 2010, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
To Parker: Without commenting on whether or not we should have gone into Iraq, claiming that the Bush administration lied about WMD’s indicates that you have a selective memory and/or are unfamiliar with the historical record. Prior to Bush taking office, Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Mikulski, Tom Daschle, & John Kerry signed a letter to Pres. Clinton urging action that included, if necessary, air & missile strikes to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs. Since this letter was written prior to the Bush Administration, Bush could not have influenced anyone in the intelligence community to mislead these Democrats. There are numerous other examples if you wish to do the simple research (google the phrase “democrats who said that Iraq had WMD’s”). Add in the fact that Iraq had in fact used WMD’s in the past, and it seems a reasonable, if mistaken, assumption that Iraq did have WMD’s. This opinion was also shared by numerous world leaders and intelligence services prior to the Bush administration.
Posted by: Ken | July 19, 2010, 2:16 pm 2:16 pm
Look, he government’s intelligence apparatus has gotten so big and so out of control that it is turning this country into a police state. This White House has shut down website for merely being critical of it. A young soldier was arrest for espionage for merely releasing information about indiscriminate murders of civilian’s by the Army and CIA for merely being a whistle blower. Daniel Ellsberg, in today’s US, wouldn’t even be possible. He would have been identified as a domestic terrorist and imprisoned.
Everyone keeps pointing to Al Qaida. This isn’t much more than a collection of nuts living in some mountain cave. They killed a total of around 4,000 American’s. (And most of them were Wall Street traitors in the Twin Towers. Given what we know about the machinations that went on in those buildings, a lot of people would thank them for a job well done, if it weren’t for the few innocents that got caught up in the cross fire.) Wall Street or any insurance company, has killed more American’s than that by wrecking their lives to such an extent that they commit suicide. The ruling class of this country has wrecked more havoc, ruined more marriages and families, done far greater harm than any terrorist organization in the world. We do it need and most of us do not want the Byzantine intelligence mess we have today.
Posted by: Mike Brooks | July 19, 2010, 2:26 pm 2:26 pm
I don’t think there is anything here that would do harm to national security,” Arkin told me. “And frankly I’m an American as well and I don’t want to do any harm to American national security.”
Well Mr. Arkin, that’s one. But only one.
Posted by: dmon | July 19, 2010, 2:59 pm 2:59 pm
So let me see if I really understand this…our problem with the Obama administration is not that they know too little, but that they know too much? I’m sorry. I’ll get back to you when I quit laughing.
Posted by: wantingbalance | July 19, 2010, 3:46 pm 3:46 pm
Rick McDaniel: “…while working on a health care bill, that was against the public’s wishes.”
I’d be much more inclined to agree if anyone truly knew what the public’s wishes were. This was part of his election platform, and one could argue that, after all, it was the majority that voted him in.
What I am very careful of is the fact that: The “loudest” are not always the majority.
I am not crazy about everything the current administration is doing. I am VERY disappointed they continued some of the domestic spying for which I despised Bush.
I am also alarmed at how much the government is spending, but as you cut Bush a break for the unusual circumstances of his Presidency, I think you should for Obama as well. This guy has had to deal with problems I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
Posted by: Troy Street | July 19, 2010, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
angie, what world are you living in where the washington post is the arm of the republican party? were woodward and bernstein in nixon’s back pocket while they were bringing his administration to its knees during watergate? liberal journalists even admit the post is a liberal paper. honestly, you get the award for the most at odds with reality post of the day.
Posted by: davidfrat21 | July 19, 2010, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm
It seems to that,
some of you forgot that during the Clinton administration America had
a republican house and senate starting
in 94 .Lawmakers kepp him and his ideas
on a leash.That made the decade of roses.
Posted by: marisa | July 20, 2010, 12:35 am 12:35 am
The Federal Reserve Bank stops and starts all recessions and depressions to harvest the wealth of the nation. President Garfield said this and they killed him. David Rockefeller is no longer a closet conspirator with the publishing of his new book he congratulates the press for keeping mum about the globalization until it was to late to stop it.
Insanity is letting the pressure build in the Gulf when the food supply of the Islands is at risk. Are THEY looking to take over Caribbean oil with relief supplied by suckers paying into the Haiti fund. THEIR greed is boundless.
Posted by: Steven126 | July 20, 2010, 11:21 am 11:21 am
The surplus attributed to Clinton was due to the WINDFALL from the end of the Cold War. No one seems to understand this. The Cold War was finished off by Reagan.
Posted by: somehwereoutwest | July 23, 2010, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
Sorry, let me also add that Gorbachev was equally responsible for ending the Cold War (he also deserves great credit in this).
Posted by: somehwereoutwest | July 23, 2010, 1:06 pm 1:06 pm