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Octafish

(55,745 posts)
10. Mix in Secret Government and Spherical Snooping and its MONEY for those in the know.
Tue Jul 22, 2014, 07:13 PM
Jul 2014

The rest of us? Well, for 99-percent: We're not in the clear.



Behind the Curtain: Booz Allen Hamilton and its Owner, The Carlyle Group

Written by Bob Adelmann
The New American; June 13, 2013

According to writers Thomas Heath and Marjorie Censer at the Washington Post, The Carlyle Group and its errant child, Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), have a public relations problem, thanks to NSA leaker and former BAH employee Edward Snowden. By the time top management at BAH learned that one of their top level agents had gone rogue, and terminated his employment, it was too late.

For years Carlyle had, according to the Post, “nurtured a reputation as a financially sophisticated asset manager that buys and sells everything from railroads to oil refineries”; but now the light from the Snowden revelations has revealed nothing more than two companies, parent and child, “bound by the thread of turning government secrets into profits.”

And have they ever. When The Carlyle Group bought BAH back in 2008, it was totally dependent upon government contracts in the fields of information technology (IT) and systems engineering for its bread and butter. But there wasn't much butter: After two years the company’s gross revenues were $5.1 billion but net profits were a minuscule $25 million, close to a rounding error on the company’s financial statement. In 2012, however, BAH grossed $5.8 billion and showed earnings of $219 million, nearly a nine-fold increase in net revenues and a nice gain in value for Carlyle.

Unwittingly, the Post authors exposed the real reason for the jump in profitability: close ties and interconnected relationships between top people at Carlyle and BAH, and the agencies with which they are working. The authors quoted George Price, an equity analyst at BB&T Capital: " got a great brand, they've focused over time on hiring top people, including bringing on people who have a lot of senior government experience." (Emphasis added.)

For instance, James Clapper had a stint at BAH before becoming the current Director of National Intelligence; George Little consulted with BAH before taking a position at the Central Intelligence Agency; John McConnell, now vice chairman at BAH, was director of the National Security Agency (NSA) in the ‘90s before moving up to director of national intelligence in 2007; Todd Park began his career with BAH and now serves as the country's chief technology officer; James Woolsey, currently a senior vice president at BAH, served in the past as director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and so on.

BAH has had more than a little problem with self-dealing and conflicts of interest over the years. For instance in 2006 the European Commission asked the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Privacy International (PI) to investigate BAH’s involvement with President George Bush’s SWIFT surveillance program, which was viewed by that administration as “just another tool” in its so-called “War on Terror.” The only problem is that it was illegal, as it violated U.S., Belgian, and European privacy laws. BAH was right in the middle of it. According to the ACLU/PI report,

Though Booz Allen’s role is to verify that the access to the SWIFT data is not abused, its relationship with the U.S. Government calls its objectivity significantly into question. (Emphasis added.)

Among Booz Allen’s senior consulting staff are several former members of the intelligence community, including a former Director of the CIA and a former director of the NSA.


As noted by Barry Steinhardt, an ACLU director, “It’s bad enough that the administration is trying to hold out a private company as a substitute for genuine checks and balances on its surveillance activities. But of all companies to perform audits on a secret surveillance program, it would be difficult to find one less objective and more intertwined with the U.S. government security establishment.” (Emphasis added.)

CONTINUED w Links n Privatized INTEL...

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/15696-behind-the-curtain-booz-allen-hamilton-and-its-owner-the-carlyle-group



Apart from picking up the tab, that i$.
You can't have a security-based economy without some insecurity. arcane1 Jul 2014 #1
+1 Enthusiast Jul 2014 #6
Mix in Secret Government and Spherical Snooping and its MONEY for those in the know. Octafish Jul 2014 #10
So on-point. +1 Ed Suspicious Jul 2014 #37
i believe it renegade000 Jul 2014 #2
It's been brought up. More a testament to our weak political will DirkGently Jul 2014 #3
And in at least one case gratuitous Jul 2014 #5
The Informants: Terrorists for the FBI Octafish Jul 2014 #11
Kicked and recommended! Enthusiast Jul 2014 #27
Just watched the Newburgh Sting on HBO JaneyVee Jul 2014 #4
Thank you for the heads-up, JaneyVee! Will viddy. Octafish Jul 2014 #12
It was really good. The whole thing was a JaneyVee Jul 2014 #18
Trained by Hoover Octafish Jul 2014 #20
+1! Enthusiast Jul 2014 #26
Kicked and recommended! Enthusiast Jul 2014 #7
How FBI Entrapment Is Inventing 'Terrorists' - and Letting Bad Guys Off the Hook Octafish Jul 2014 #13
This is a clear abuse of power. Enthusiast Jul 2014 #23
Management seems to especially reward those who go along. Octafish Jul 2014 #25
Hoover.....a great American. Enthusiast Jul 2014 #28
Not all apples are rotten. Octafish Jul 2014 #31
Thanks. Geez. Enthusiast Jul 2014 #32
"Agent Donald Adams" Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2014 #55
Ironic. While very conservative, the FBI Agent Donald Adams was quite a compelling person. Octafish Jul 2014 #62
I'm more worried about the Feds arresting cancer grannies for growing pot Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #43
Well I'm shocked. Aerows Jul 2014 #8
That's the idea, Citizen. Octafish Jul 2014 #16
That is so fucking ugly. Enthusiast Jul 2014 #24
You always post the most Aerows Jul 2014 #48
This is reported once or twice a year the last few years johnnyreb Jul 2014 #9
Church Committee in 1976 reported CIA manipulated US Press... Octafish Jul 2014 #19
Jimmy Hoffa and the Church Committee MinM Jul 2014 #33
Like DCI William Colby said re Sam Giancana: ''We had nothing to do with that.'' Octafish Jul 2014 #35
@SpyTalker: William E. #Colby: The Gray Man MinM Jul 2014 #40
Philippines is how we got this way. Octafish Jul 2014 #60
Nixon talks about getting kickbacks from the Teamsters MinM Jul 2014 #56
Wealth and Crime often are co-dependent... Octafish Jul 2014 #59
Bebe Rebozo and his Pan American Airways Peeps MinM Jul 2014 #65
Wired: Pan Am & the CIA MinM Aug 2014 #67
Joseph & Stewart Alsop MinM Jul 2014 #66
Alsop's Fables .. "I'm Glad the CIA is Immoral" MinM Aug 2014 #68
Frank Wisner, Jr. today is a player... Octafish Aug 2014 #70
Frank Lowenstein MinM Aug 2014 #77
Absolutely, MinM. Octafish Aug 2014 #78
Some DUers pointed that out from day one malaise Jul 2014 #14
40 Years for Justice: Did the FBI Cover for the Birmingham Bombers? Octafish Jul 2014 #30
It worked so well with the Green Scare. joshcryer Jul 2014 #15
Exactly. LeftyMom Jul 2014 #22
Finally we agree on something. n/t Aerows Jul 2014 #49
How else can the establishment (TPTB) justify its humongous anti-terraist budget and its indepat Jul 2014 #17
That really is the heart of the matter... Octafish Jul 2014 #39
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jul 2014 #21
The Fear Factory Octafish Jul 2014 #58
Thank you for your many good works, Octafish. Uncle Joe Jul 2014 #61
I don't really buy the premise Lee-Lee Jul 2014 #29
Conversely, I can't imagine myself offering someone money to blow up people sabrina 1 Jul 2014 #38
Huge K & R !!! WillyT Jul 2014 #34
Bad blkmusclmachine Jul 2014 #36
They railroaded a kid here in Oregon. JEB Jul 2014 #41
You mean the creep who WILLINGLY pressed a button convinced he was going to blow up a crowd Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #42
The confused inept kid would have had no button to push without the FBI. JEB Jul 2014 #44
Mohamud: "I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured" Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #45
Bad thoughts, indeed. JEB Jul 2014 #46
He'll have plenty of time to work on his own head, now. Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #47
The FBI successfully thwarts its own Terrorist plot JEB Jul 2014 #50
And apparently a jury of 12 people didn't agree with Glenn Greenwald, who is one. Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #51
Well, if wanting to kill someone is a crime JEB Jul 2014 #52
I wouldn't. But this guy did considerably more than that. And I have to believe you grasp that fact. Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #53
This explains how a guy could lock himself out of his car. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2014 #54
Really? Maybe this will help: King Rats Octafish Jul 2014 #57
Back in the 80s a major drug bust went haywire as it turned out ALL of the players were cops.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2014 #63
Hoover's FBI infilitrated CPUSA... Octafish Aug 2014 #71
I know we had former SS working for us during the Cold War... Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2014 #72
Ours were infiltrated by Moscow... Octafish Aug 2014 #74
Yeah,....that's what happens when Right Wingers get together.... Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2014 #75
All This Is Why I Think Police Stings Should Be Banned. Wolf Frankula Jul 2014 #64
Pretty much off topic, Trillo Aug 2014 #69
And how many times does it have to be exposed? JackRiddler Aug 2014 #73
entrapment laws are a lot like vacation laws, maternity leave laws, sick pay laws Adam051188 Aug 2014 #76
Look at that, we found a new low. Jefferson23 Aug 2014 #79
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