United States Intelligence truly has become an Oxymoron!

Definition of OXYMORON

: a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness); broadly : something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements

Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary

I'm not sure if the following story has been covered already in specific reference. It isn't important. I'm not posting this to hash out the 'here and now' immediacy of whether something happens today or not. I'm posting this because the sheer, unmitigated stupidity is enough to leave me numb. Just...numb...

Here is the outrage, my fellow Netizens:

Senior U.S. Official: Intercepted Al Qaeda Communications Indicate Planned Attack ‘Big,’ ‘Strategically Significant’

Now, you may have to read that a few times to really grasp the sheer unmitigated level of pure STUPID involved here. However, it's there, I assure you. Oh, it's there in spades with bells on!!


let's look at recent history, yes? The spy systems for the United States and Great Britain have been the subject of public headlines, expose' stories and detailed files never before seen or (in many cases) even suspected for capabilities. In recent times, we have learned the NSA not only CAN monitor and record every communication on the Planet Earth, they *DO* in fact record and monitor them all. If they miss one or two? Well...some goober in outer Mongolia needs to update their Telcom systems from the days of a recorded dial tone spinning up when the first line picked up for a day.

In this environment of the whole world knowing now that U.S. officials hear and see EVERYTHING that is said by way of electronic or convention communication ...........What happens?

Oh my golly goodness... Al Qaeda just blabs over open lines that they intend a massive strategic attack! RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!! ....or take a damn moment to realize WE JUST GOT PLAYED like a grand piano.

I don't know which pisses me off more, to be honest. The sheer gullible and foolish nature of those we trust to do something like a good job by our nation? ...or the fact we assume and actually take for granted our enemy is SO simple minded and outright stupid, they would use precisely those methods they KNOW the U.S. is listening to?! (That would be EVERY method short of ..well, I'll just say there are some secure ones....and they damn sure didn't choose them here).


So enjoy the Sunday as I am sure our President is on his Birthday. Enjoy our peaceful day, knowing we moved great resources and spent ungodly sums of money to respond to a crank who yanked our chain so hard, I swear Uncle Sams eyes rolled like a slot machine. It sure hit the jackpot too. Al Qaeda got the JACKPOT of Propaganda victory.

All they had to do was act as patently stupid as our side believes they are.

One of these days they'll MEAN to do this and we'll be reminded ....we don't get neon signs of warning over monitored communications methods IN ADVANCE. They may be dying to become Shaheed, but they aren't looking to be martyrs to the monument of a Darwin award. That takes American Intelligence to achieve these days. Ask people like Ambassador Stevens. .....with a Ouija Board.

My biggest gripe about all this spying - Those who it's supposedly aimed at DONT USE PHONES or INTERNET.

All this spying is aimed at us ordinary folk.

You can be sure though that THEY will have a success or two just so they can justify it.

Maybe this could be one of them?

It crossed my mind that not everyone checks the same news sources, and so, the reason for my outrage on this stupidity and apparent need our Government has to wear it like a badge of honor got my goat so much may not be immediately obvious.

First..this is the first story I came across to be specific about where and how this all came to be "known". That is/was the result of intercepted communication. Now we can understand just why it's kinda specific ..but still SO vague as to normally be among the pile termed worthless.

However, the major thing that burned my buns was just HOW public this foolishness has gotten. What ELSE is going on today that we're NOT hearing about? WHAT is being done and covered in some or all of those areas where Embassies are closed? I have to wonder with this.

How public is this story? It's currently the screaming top position headline on Drudge Report. Now why should that matter? Drudge is just another typical news aggregation site like thousands of others...right?

Well.. no.. Drudge isn't quite like 'everyone else'.


(Source)

I believe their sheer traffic volume lend added meaning to what they choose to display. Not that it makes any one story more credible, because it doesn't. It does impact public opinion though. When it's 'the source' or at least one of the sources for 10's of millions of people? Well, I suppose they could have written "We got played" across the sky with sky writing planes...but that wouldn't have been as bad. Only the city below the planes would have seen THAT. This is currently being clicked and read all over the planet.

(hides face in shame) (puts on Alcoholics Anonymous voice and stands) Hello, I'm Wrabbit and I'm an American.

We no longer have a media.

We have lapdogs auditioning for high paying government jobs.

We really should be taking our anger out on the media...

Government does what Government does.

Without a real media...We must do it ourselves.

S&F

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


It's not that simple.

For starters, it's my understanding that the original source of communication was another Al Qaeda video released by al-Zawahri last week, which is the exact same thing that happened one day before the Benghazi attack. I'm guessing that online buzz surrounding the video reached a peak level that was concerning to them.

Secondly, intel already knows that terrorists do "dry runs" and play mind games all of the time, just waiting for the day we let our guard down.

The question is, how do you know when to take a threat seriously (or not) when the terrorists are crying wolf constantly through every kind of communication imaginable. They do this on purpose.

reply to post by Deetermined


You know.... The other side knows everything about method and technique at this point too.

The "It's not that simple" sounds really good if we want to out think ourselves in this....and hey, why not. It seems that's the order of the day in US Intelligence. Watch every warm body on this planet. Hear everything they say. Know everything they intend. Then be so sure that the objects of that attention are oblivious, that observation is pure for reaction to be correct,

Umm... The enemy has counterintelligence the same as we do. I know it's a shocking thing for many in the west to realize....having been given the impression that Al Qaeda are cave dwellers with just a hair over grade school levels of education. Yet, when you look at things like major attacks in the past? The idiots becoming Shaheed are the drop outs and uneducated. The ones planning it are often college educated and hold advanced degrees in one area or another.

It's the total and almost absurd level of underestimation we engage in daily that blows me away. Cave dwellers with low to no education would not still be a viable force across nations spanning the globe, giving as much as they get (within their means vs. ours) 20 YEARS after their first big public splash to declare war on us.

Yet.....We can assume they are so ignorant as to plan a MAJOR offensive move in a way that would be intercepted so we can ..in the nick of time...foil the dirty deed and save the world.

This whole B.S. situation has become SO cliche' it's amazing to me that anyone is taking them seriously. It doesn't even pass a basic laugh test unless we DO assume our enemy are bumbling idiots.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

It's the total and almost absurd level of underestimation we engage in daily that blows me away.

I guess I still don't understand what you're saying.

What do you consider to be "absurd level of underestimation"?

I don't think our government really underestimates anything, although I can certainly understand how the average person might view it that way from the limited information we're given through reporting and media.

I personally don't feel like our government considers Al Qaeda a bunch of cave dwellers, otherwise, they wouldn't have shut down so many embassies for the next couple of days.

The truth is, we don't have all of the details on how intel collected all of their information. In a day of double and triple agents and informers, we're never going to know how much they really have and how they received each one.

I'm already reading reports that intelligence agents are bitching that the administration and the media have given out too much information already.

reply to post by Deetermined


The belief that they would use communications and methods (video tape and other) after being told, basically in billboard level news headlines world wide, they are being watched in every such method of communication and will be heard, whatever they say in ANY such method is my point.

Through Snowden particularly but others as well, Al Qaeda knows precisely how NOT to get caught at this moment and until we develop new methods.

Now... again... RIGHT AFTER LEARNING ..they *WILL* be busted and in this game, KILLED for using those methods? They use those methods.

Which do you think is more likely here? They really did this in a legitimate and operational planing phase of a major attack? Or ... They followed the sage advice of their mentor and former leader, Bin Laden, when he said before 2001 that the goal was never to defeat America on the battlefield. It was to bleed us dry and destroy us economically.

The goal ... by their OWN statements...hasn't been to attack us more than needs done to keep the fish biting the bait. We be the fish. $100 in video equipment and a $1 VHS tape? Probably just ran the Government 10's of millions in tail chasing and public humiliation to actually make a world public deal of it.

When absolutely nothing has happened ...AS USUAL... then perhaps we can accept we did get screwed with, AS USUAL and we've got enough egg on our face to feed a platoon of hungry men.

....and when the heck do capable military forces (which..yes..they really are at the upper levels) KEEP on coming when the whole world is "aware" of their master plans of doom? This was a bad bad case of biting bad bait so big we're choking on it. I wasn't really sure in that feeling until seeing the ridiculous sources they've actually DONE all this from.

However, your first instinct is to believe those whose entire careers and purpose in life is the dissemination of disinformation and propaganda. Not even theory. It's the mission statement of these agencies. They just aren't supposed to be turning that AT US ...but then, recent headlines have shown that rule went out the window too.

So we'll agree to disagree on suddenly saying the people paid to lie are now 100% sincere and accurate in crying wolf. They got played or WE (The public) got played. I'm not sure which.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


The truth is, people are going to bitch and complain either way.

If anyone found out there was a true threat in advance and the knowledge wasn't given to the people, the government would be blamed.

If there's a true threat and we take extraordinary precautions to keep another Benghazi from happening, the government is still going to take blame.

As for Al Qaeda videos, they serve their purpose. Usually, the information on the video is distributed among the terrorists without anyone else's knowledge for months before it goes public. Make no mistake about it, when or if something truly happens, Al Qaeda wants to make sure that they get acknowledged for it so people know that they aren't dying out, as Obama would like for people to believe.

Personally, I'd would rather see the extraordinary precautions over another Benghazi incident.

In the meanwhile, the video also states that Al Qaeda plans on releasing Guantanamo prisoners come hell or high water, so it will be interesting to see what happens there. It will be done from the inside I'm sure, just like some of the other terrorist escapees and prison breaks in the last week.

reply to post by Deetermined

Personally, I'd would rather see the extraordinary precautions over another Benghazi incident.

Complete safety can be had. We simply need to cut all international relations beyond trade and commerce. Shut down every embassy and compound in the world and become isolationist like the Japanese before the turn of the 20th. Or the Chinese after their exploration fleets of a past era.

If safety over ability to function is now that priority? Then I damn sure will be immigrating out of this country as soon as it's become clear that it's not turning back. Simply put? TRYING to be "totally safe" without DOING it? Will invite the worst fears to become reality and will encourage every enemy we have to take their best shot.

You mention Benghazi. That showed they CAN take their best shot now and we won't even arrest 1 man involved. not 1. We'll withdraw, run like whipped puppies and whine all the way home.

I really enjoyed living in a nation that projected strength in the face of uncertainty. Confidence in the face of weakness and power where there was need for it. Jimmy Carter on steroids is killing everything this nation has had in it's history for pride and ability to function with a head held high.

Shutting down up to FORTY facilities (Numbers themselves seem wild based on source) because of THIS intelligence?! That's about as cowardly as I've ever seen this nation react to anything. Ever. That's 4 decades of seeing FAR MORE than mere threat come and go. Only this period has seen us turn tail like this. Pathetic.


You know the WORST thing??? When absolutely NOTHING happens...as usual....It will just be said "SEE! We succeeded! We saved the world!" or some such nonsense. Never, ever, might it be considered that NO real threat actually existed in the first place .....except the threat to our own ability to function. It's a paranoid freaks best dream. They're right to be paranoid when the threat is made. They're right to be paranoid when nothing happens. There is NO outcome where a paranoid isn't right when they've fallen fully into that mental trap of darkness.