White House reportedly let Bergdahl parents take part in secure video conferences

[EC]

The White House allowed the parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to take part in a series of secure video conferences with State Department and intelligence officials and senior military commanders, according to a published report.

The Washington Times reports that Bob and Jani Bergdahl were allowed to join the conferences remotely from the Idaho National Guard headquarters in Boise soon after their son was captured by the Taliban in June 2009.

A spokesman for the Idaho National Guard told the paper that the Bergdahls participated in up to 20 video conferences per year.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl were regularly informed about what was happening throughout the duration using video teleconferencing [with] various military and other government agencies," said Air Force Col. Anthony Marsano. "There was a great effort to keep Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl updated on developments."

Larry Johnson, a former State Department official who worked on the cases of American citizens taken hostage in Lebanon during the 1980s, told the Times that granting such access to the family of a missing person was "wrong."

"The Bergdahls shouldn't have been part of that for no other reason than on the off chance they may inadvertently divulge some tactic," Johnson told the paper. "I mean, it's one thing for government officials to interview the family, get insights from the family about what’s going on."But to put them in the middle of what is essentially a classified secure video conference is ridiculous."

Col. Marsano told The Times that he was not aware that the Bergdahls had exposed any sensitive information and would not discuss whether the couple had a security clearance or if any classified matters were brought up in the briefings.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/09/white-house-reportedly-let-bergdahl-parents-take-part-in-secure-video/


Amateur hour? Try amateur champions. What sort of bleep moron would even consider this?

[SPQR]

 I would say that Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton, and Chuck Hagel signed off on this. I cannot the imagine the Joint Chiefs of Staff going along with this.If they did, we are in serious trouble.

[EC]

Oh no. You ARE in serious trouble.

A man and a woman being conference called about secure details. The same man and woman have contact with the Taliban, and the man, at least, is sharp and has a damned good memory. You don't learn both Pashto and Arabic in 5 years without one.

Who the hell knows what got passed on? It doesn't have to be much, or even deliberate on the Bergdahl's part. A random observation or comment is way more likely to screw up an intel network than a deliberate door to door search.

And before anyone thinks that the Taliban and AQ are not sophisticated enough for that - they have some of the most intelligent and finest psychologists on the planet, trained in the West and refined by practice.

[SPQR]

Oh no. You ARE in serious trouble.

A man and a woman being conference called about secure details. The same man and woman have contact with the Taliban, and the man, at least, is sharp and has a damned good memory. You don't learn both Pashto and Arabic in 5 years without one.

Who the hell knows what got passed on? It doesn't have to be much, or even deliberate on the Bergdahl's part. A random observation or comment is way more likely to screw up an intel network than a deliberate door to door search.

And before anyone thinks that the Taliban and AQ are not sophisticated enough for that - they have some of the most intelligent and finest psychologists on the planet, trained in the West and refined by practice.

I would think some organzation like the CIA or the NSA tapping the phone line and listening in.

[EC]

I would think some organzation like the CIA or the NSA tapping the phone line and listening in.

I would expect so, but listening in has one flaw. You could sit down at a dinner table and listen to the family laughing and joking anywhere in the world - even the USA - and half of the information would pass over your head because you don't have the "code book" even though you understand the language itself.

One of the oldest ways of coding messages is using books. Only short and ungrammatical messages, usually, but a few numbers can be peppered into a conversation without being noticed too much, even by an observant listener. Even if the numbers are recorded - what book are you using and what page are you using that particular day? It's an almost perfect cypher.

And, I would remind you that Bergdahl did send books home well before he took his walk.

[SPQR]

I would expect so, but listening in has one flaw. You could sit down at a dinner table and listen to the family laughing and joking anywhere in the world - even the USA - and half of the information would pass over your head because you don't have the "code book" even though you understand the language itself.

One of the oldest ways of coding messages is using books. Only short and ungrammatical messages, usually, but a few numbers can be peppered into a conversation without being noticed too much, even by an observant listener. Even if the numbers are recorded - what book are you using and what page are you using that particular day? It's an almost perfect cypher.

And, I would remind you that Bergdahl did send books home well before he took his walk.

I  am willing to bet that the Israelis have that capability. They have the best intelligence in that part of the world. Nothing escapes Mossad in the Middle East. If they can assassinate nuclear scientists in Iran in broad daylight, they had tabs of what was going. They had to have an inkling as to what was happening and passing that information to the United States.

[EC]

No one does. In the book example, there are several million books a year published or self published. Someone writes a Harry Potter fan fiction, puts it up for sale and gets a couple of extra sales beyond the immediate family and the friends they can guilt into buying it. Author is thrilled, and the two extra copies are an unbreakable code because they are not even archived. It is too insignificant to be archived.

In terms of a verbal code book, I can give you one example from personal experience. Well - more than one, but one is all you get. Moss means "base is on the line, hopping mad, and wants to talk to you right the hell now." It's both a pun and a reference to an old advert, and no one outside of the close knit circle of the unit would ever work out what it means.

[mystery-ak]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/09/white-house-reportedly-let-bergdahl-parents-take-part-in-secure-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29

White House reportedly let Bergdahl parents take part in secure video conferences
Published June 09, 2014
FoxNews.com

The White House allowed the parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to take part in a series of secure video conferences with State Department and intelligence officials and senior military commanders, according to a published report.

The Washington Times reports that Bob and Jani Bergdahl were allowed to join the conferences remotely from the Idaho National Guard headquarters in Boise soon after their son was captured by the Taliban in June 2009.

A spokesman for the Idaho National Guard told the paper that the Bergdahls participated in up to 20 video conferences per year.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl were regularly informed about what was happening throughout the duration using video teleconferencing [with] various military and other government agencies," said Air Force Col. Anthony Marsano. "There was a great effort to keep Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl updated on developments."

Larry Johnson, a former State Department official who worked on the cases of American citizens taken hostage in Lebanon during the 1980s, told the Times that granting such access to the family of a missing person was "wrong."

"The Bergdahls shouldn't have been part of that for no other reason than on the off chance they may inadvertently divulge some tactic," Johnson told the paper. "I mean, it's one thing for government officials to interview the family, get insights from the family about what’s going on."But to put them in the middle of what is essentially a classified secure video conference is ridiculous."

Col. Marsano told The Times that he was not aware that the Bergdahls had exposed any sensitive information and would not discuss whether the couple had a security clearance or if any classified matters were brought up in the briefings.

Bob Bergdahl has been criticized for expressing sympathy for Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Five detainees were released from captivity in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bergdahl May 31. 

[flowers]

Wow it just gets worse and worse with this administration. I shutter to think of the things they have done and are doing that we don't know about.