Ineptitude, Stupidity and Thievery

[SuperScout]

In yet another example of the ineptitude of the Clinton administration in fighting terrorists, Sandy Berger, Clinton's former National Security adviser is now under criminal investigation for pocketing highly classified terrorism documents.

Berger is the focus of a Justice Department investigation for removing the documents and handwritten notes from a secure reading room, the Associated Press is reporting. He has been serving as a national security adviser to John Kerry's campaign.

FBI agents searched Berger's home and office after he voluntarily returned some documents to the National Archives. However, AP reports, still missing are some drafts of a sensitive after-action report on the Clinton administration's handling of al-Qaida terror threats during the December 1999 millennium celebration.

Berger and his lawyer told the news agency yesterday he knowingly removed handwritten notes he made while reading classified anti-terror documents at the archives by sticking them in his jacket and pants. They said he also inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio.

"I deeply regret the sloppiness involved, but I had no intention of withholding documents from the commission, and to the contrary, to my knowledge, every document requested by the commission from the Clinton administration was produced," Berger said in a statement to the AP.

According to the AP, Lanny Breuer, one of Berger's attorneys, said his client has offered to cooperate fully with the investigation but had not yet been interviewed by the FBI or prosecutors. Berger has been told he is the subject of the criminal investigation, Breuer said.

Berger served as Clinton's national security adviser for all of the president's second term and most recently has been informally advising Democratic presidential candidate Kerry. Berger was in the National Archives rifling through the files at the request of former President Clinton, who asked him to review and select the administration documents that would be turned over to the commission.

The FBI searches of Berger's home and office occurred after National Archives employees told agents they believed they saw Berger place documents in his clothing while reading sensitive Clinton administration papers and that some documents were missing, officials said. When asked, Berger said he returned some classified documents that he found in his office and all of the handwritten notes he had taken, but could not locate two or three copies of the highly classified millennium terror report.

The officials said the missing documents included critical assessments about the Clinton administration's handling of the millennium terror threats as well as identification of America's terror vulnerabilities at airports to seaports.

In the FBI search of his office, Berger also was found in possession of a small number of classified note cards containing his handwritten notes from the Middle East peace talks during the 1990s, officials and lawyers told the AP. "In the course of reviewing over several days thousands of pages of documents on behalf of the Clinton administration in connection with requests by the Sept. 11 commission, I inadvertently took a few documents from the Archives," Berger told the AP. "When I was informed by the Archives that there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had except for a few documents that I apparently had accidentally discarded," he said.

Breuer said Berger believed he was looking at copies of the classified documents, not originals.

Berger took handwritten notes on the classified papers, which his lawyer claims was "technical violation of Archive procedures, but it is not all clear to us this represents a violation of the law."

Berger testified at one of the commission's public hearings about the Clinton administration's approach to fighting terrorism. The former president answered questions at a private meeting.

The former national security adviser had ordered his anti-terror czar, Richard Clarke, in early 2000 to write the after-action report and has spoken publicly about how the review brought to the forefront the realization that al-Qaida had reached America's shores and required more attention.

Berger testified that during the millennium period, "we thwarted threats and I do believe it was important to bring the principals together on a frequent basis" to consider terror threats more regularly, according to the AP report.

The missing documents involve two or three draft versions of the report as it was evolving and being refined by the Clinton administration, officials and lawyers say. The Archives is believed to have copies of some of the missing documents.

Berger immediately returned all the notes he had taken, and conducted a search and located two copies of the classified documents on a messy desk in his office, Breuer said. An Archives official came to Berger's home to collect those documents but Berger couldn't locate the other missing copies, the lawyer said.

Justice Department officials have told the Sept. 11 commission of the Berger incident and the nature of the documents in case commissioners wanted more information, officials said. The commission is expected to release its final report Thursday.

Berger is the second high-level Clinton-era official to face charges over taking classified information home.

[Editor's Notes: how can a person, who had been the National Security Advisor, be so stupid, clumsy, or inept that he would casually throw away a highly classified document? Anyone who has ever dealt with classified material knows that there are specific methods of disposing of unneeded material, and simply casting it in a garbage can ain't one of them. One of Clinton's other appointees, a former director of the CIA, was also caught with classified documents at his home in an unsecured place. These two examples of blundering lack of sensitivity to classifed material is symptomatic of the entire Clinton administration's approach to national security matters, including dealing with terrorists.]

[Seascamp]

And all for not I reckon. The majority of the 9/11 Commission had zero interest in truth or facts, only in grandstanding, bullying, stringing up the pre-identified hangees and competing for the ?most offended award?. And it was all for no good purpose beyond gaining or protecting political traction.

Zo, Berger caved in to some yet to be identified pressure and went on to play ?secret agent man? then proceeded to get all wrapped around the axel in the best tradition of Peter Sellers and the Pink Panther. Does this suggest that the Commission information regarding the Clinton Administration had been high-graded, sifted and manipulated beforehand? Hmmm, mayhaps a Tjbillygate in the making, eh, and certainly nothing the Commission had in mind, not even close.

So once again we see the second law of sewage synergism in action I?m thinking. Therein, one tablespoon of sewage in a vat of wine yields a vat of sewage. Osama has to be getting quite a kick out of all these Keystone Cops/secret agent man antics.

Scamp

[MarineAO]

Clinton has been out of office how long now? and this idiot Berger is still around digging into archives covering his ass for him? PLEASE.... we know he (Clinton) is a liar (so are most politicians) but when it comes to National Security let's stop dicking around and GET THINGS FIXED!!!!!!!

[SuperScout]

Contrary to what was reported by the mainstream blather earlier, about hwo Slick Willie appeared all by his ownself with the 9-11 Commission, we now learn that ZOUNDS and Aw Shucks, he had his lawyer with him, and Sandy Berger (or is that Sandy Buglar) with him to keep him from lying too much. Berger should have been way too smart to get caught stuffing his pants with zeecrets, so something else must be untold. It will get curiouser long before it gets done!

[Stick]

This man didn't have just little unit based classified material available to him. He had National level material. Can you imagine if, when you were in the service, going home with any classified documents? You know that those document are clearly marked Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. What would have been the repercussions of your actions? Can you imagine sitting in on a meeting where classified material was discussed with a note pad and pencil in your hand? Now you?re the responsible for the security of the United States of America and you take some of these documents home and throw them out in the trash. This guy had knowledge of actions taken against our whole country and attacks were made against us. What did he know? "Duh!!! I don't know! I guess that I just threw those papers out in the trash." And our legislature seems content with that answer. I heard just now on one of the news networks that it?s just ?some silly little thing that Berger took those papers home.? What the HELL is wrong with this picture? The evidence showed that Al Qida had future plans to attack America long in advance of 9/11/01 but now a chunk of the written evidence of that is in a land fill or incinerator hopefully but it could be in a Al Qida trash pickers pocket just as easily. Berger was in charge of ?security? in this country for years before commercial airlines were used to attack targets in this country.

[Seascamp]

The objective of the drill was to hang, draw and quarter anyone in the loop after Jan 2001 and totally exonerate and whitewash anyone in the loop before that time. The supposed bi-partisan make up of the Commission was only eye and ear candy such that the partisan axe men could have a degree of legitimacy to go about their pre assigned agenda and conclusions.

The Berger incident only further defines and clarifies what a complete sham that commission was and is and is a huge fly in the medicament now. Mayhaps the DNC stepped on their own burning dog poop bag, eh.

Zo, what do ya suppose was on those bits of paper that silly old Berger misplaced/lost. How cute, ha, ha, ha.

I am not laughing.

Scamp

[SuperScout]

In typical "let's deflect the interest away from the subject matter," the Demos are now wringing their hands, and whining about the timing of the release of the Berger bungling. Not one word about what the documents might contain, what secrets might have been compromised, what person or group of persons who might have been jeopardized, but timing of the release. Now, while I'm still embracing the principle of "innocent until proven guilty," I also fully understand the bromide of "where there's smoke, there's fire."

If there's anything worthwhile that exudes (or is that oozes) from the 9-11 Commission Report, it will be the subtle indictment of the Senate Select Intelligence Oversight Committee. Talk about asleep on guard duty, while they were endorsing the output of the CIA and other spook groups.

On a side note, but still related to intelligence, I find it increasingly odd how the collective and individual intelligence agencies of the United States of America, of Germany, of France, of Russia, and of the United Nations, all could come to the same conclusion that SH had WMD, and now, all of a sudden when these weapons can't be found, start changing their collective and individual tunes that the WMD didn't exist in the first place. Who's conning whom?

[Seascamp]

When the sad and horrid day comes that all that Saddam?s WMD becomes self-evident it can be assured that the cover story will shift dramatically. When I see one of the advocates of the no WMD myth suggest that the US Military turn in their bio-chem gear and cease drills, monitoring and inspections as a cost saving measure, then I?ll know some idiot has really bought into the Tjite con job. Until then, it?s a full scale exercise in politico know nots, knowing not, but pretending they do. Zo, which one is going to put it all on the line and try to call off the military bio-chem equipment and prep procedures and infrastructure? Let?s see who has some balls, eh.

And so the DNC/Clinton are hollering about timing? Jasus, this whole 9/11 Commission scam has been about timing, timing and more timing, so why they bitchin at being snagged in their own concertina wire, pitfalls and trip flares, hmmm? :cd:

Scamp

[Stick]

Sandy Berger: How much in liquid assets does he have? How much money is he getting in wages and pension? What's his/his families net worth? Does he still have a security clearance?

[SuperScout]

In yet another startling bit of unreported news by our mainstream propagandists is the fact that the Kerry campaign staff folks have now blundered twice in selecting staff and advisors. First, the Kerry krowd glomed onto Joe Wilson, the investigator of inexhaustible talents, who claimed that the 'yellow cake' story was all baloney. Now, it turns out, other more credible reports, one out of England and the other in the 9-11 report, that Iraq indeed was trying to buy 'yellow cake' for its nascient nuke program. So Travelin' Joe now becomes Lyin' Joe. Then here comes stumbling, bungling Sticky-Fingers Berger, a part-time foreign policy/national security advisor to Teddy Jane, and he's brought down by is own stupidity and thievery. I wonder how many other stupid White Men Teddy Jane has on his staff?