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Here are a few things we know about the U.S. intelligence infrastructure: * They couldn't find WMD in Iraq -- because they weren't there. * They couldn't find

by fixxer 13y ago

Here are a few things we know about the U.S. intelligence infrastructure: * They couldn't find WMD in Iraq -- because they weren't there. * They couldn't find bin Laden for 10 years. * They thought Snowden was on a plane with Evo Morales -- and were wrong. So, given these observations, I wouldn't be too surprised that one guy was able to get access. Like all big organizations, I'm sure the NSA & CIA have some amazing small groups capable to Bond-like performance. But as a whole, they are probably a nightmare of incompetence. Therein lies the reason I'm not in favor of giving them Carte Blanche for domestic surveillance: they will fuck up on an epic scale with probability=1. It is only a matter of time until their infrastructure becomes a tool for some oppressive politician or bureaucrat. HUAAC 2.0.

rantanplan 13y ago
I'm not a US citizen so I am not the one to judge its efficiency. Nevertheless I agree with the general idea of what you say. However it is highly peculiar if he legitimately had so much power. It doesn't matter if he is an uber-hacker or not, as some others point out. No government or agency would structure its hierarchy such that a simple cog in the machine could bring the whole thing tumbling down. Unless of course the high ranking officials are like the regular PHB's we know - clueless about technology issues.
- fixxer 13y ago
  > Unless of course the high ranking officials are like the regular PHB's we know - clueless about technology issues. Bingo.
lukifer 13y ago
> They couldn't find bin Laden for 10 years. I realize this puts me in tinfoil-hat territory, but I'm not sure this wasn't intentional. He was of greater strategic value while still "alive", both to the U.S. and to the jihadists. Moreover, he had serious health problems for the last decade, and quite possibly has been dead for years of natural causes. The rapid and secret funeral at sea also seemed odd, as well as the timing, just before the election. I have no evidence, so I can't square that circle. But given the record of shady behavior (competent and otherwise) by the three-letter agencies, neither would it surprise me.

by fixxer 13y ago

rantanplan 13y ago

I'm not a US citizen so I am not the one to judge its efficiency. Nevertheless I agree with the general idea of what you say. However it is highly peculiar if he legitimately had so much power. It doesn't matter if he is an uber-hacker or not, as some others point out. No government or agency would structure its hierarchy such that a simple cog in the machine could bring the whole thing tumbling down. Unless of course the high ranking officials are like the regular PHB's we know - clueless about technology issues.

fixxer 13y ago
> Unless of course the high ranking officials are like the regular PHB's we know - clueless about technology issues. Bingo.

lukifer 13y ago

> They couldn't find bin Laden for 10 years. I realize this puts me in tinfoil-hat territory, but I'm not sure this wasn't intentional. He was of greater strategic value while still "alive", both to the U.S. and to the jihadists. Moreover, he had serious health problems for the last decade, and quite possibly has been dead for years of natural causes. The rapid and secret funeral at sea also seemed odd, as well as the timing, just before the election. I have no evidence, so I can't square that circle. But given the record of shady behavior (competent and otherwise) by the three-letter agencies, neither would it surprise me.