The NRO- before they attacked us with their rogue spy satellite

[underpants]

Since we all are being reintroduced into the “Super secret” world of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) this morning you might find this bit of information helpful or at least entertaining when the NRO and this rogue spy satellite that threatens life, limb, and property value (not necessarily in that order) comes up at the watercooler.

The NRO is a contracting agency. It allocates its budget to build and launch spy satellites a normal part of a sophisticated national defense system. Only problem is that the NRO is also a slush fund for defense contractors who just can’t seem to make enough money off their existing operations. This may seem hard to believe…. but defense contractors have executives privately heeled and educated along side the masters of capitalism who head Ford, Countrywide Financial, etc., so maybe it’s not so hard to believe. This was not very "super secret" in and around the Beltway mind you in fact it was the normal course of business.

Seems that the NRO over the years had stowed away about a billion dollars (commonly referred to as $1,000,000,000) and was, in a “super secret” way, able to keep these funds in an account outside the normal budget and spending constraints. The NRO had plans for this money-an office building. Now you might be thinking, “What another billion dollar boondoggle of an office building why we already have the 'Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center'?" which cost at least TWO billion of your tax dollars but to ease your selective attention span this office building was not going to be for government bureaucrats. This office building was to be built, remember with YOUR tax dollars, for defense contractors’ lobbyists. Honestly how *IS* a lobbyist supposed to do his job without a billion dallar facilty to do it in?? I mean have you forgotten 9/11!?!?!? (even before it happened)

Well who should step in but the junior Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry. He proposed in a defense spending bill to give the NRO two options: one, give back the billion dollars it had been hoarding or two, face a budget cut to reclaim 150% of these funds over 5 years. *ATTENTION SPAN ALERT*—that is $1.5 Billion over 5 years or $300 Million PER year. Kerry proposed that these funds would be taken out of their general operations funds and specifically NOT out of counter terrorism funds. * ALERT* over

One of the odder elements to the 2004 Presidential election was Sean Hannity’s take on this story. Seems he started to tell this story as Sen. Kerry CUTTING a billion dollars out of counter terrorism (all implications of Democrats weakness on defense and blame for 9/11 in effect) then as the weeks and months went on it grew. 2 billion then 3 then 4 then 4.5 then 5.5. Even casual observers like myself couldn’t figure out where he got these numbers from and why they ever so slowing were changing. His audience clearly was being lead by the nose (not new for him or the right wing media). Finally in about September of 2004 Hannity got to his number- 7.5 BILLION that Sen. Kerry had tried to cut out of the COUNTER TERRORISM budget. GASP! SHOCK! And HORROR. Notice what he did there? He multiplied by 5 instead of dividing by 5.

Anyway it all turned out that that Kerry amendment was scuttled, as was the NRO plan for the office building and the billion dollars was recouped without any counter terrorism funds ever being affected.