Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

This really is a full service blog.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

People are weird.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 416: You Have More Questions, I May Have More Answers

War for Ukraine Day 416: You Have More Questions, I May Have More Answers

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(Current Mood!)

Last night commenter Sally asked:

Thank you.  I accept that he disclosed information in order to impress the members of his group.  Did he know exactly who those members were, and that they were not people who would utilise this information for nefarious purposes (rhetorical)?  Anyway, I shall let it go and await further developments.  Oh, just one more thing, can he also face a court-martial for this?

My understanding from the reporting is that he knew/knows who the members of the Discord channel are because he was the moderator. Additionally, from the reporting they were basically the teenage starter pack for an act of domestic terrorism or a mass shooting in the US and their equivalents in other states:

Well they seem nice…

RSA asked:

It’s not really spillage either. Frankly, I’m not sure we actually have a term for this kind of disclosure of classified information.

I don’t understand, or maybe I’m missing some subtlety here. A DoD memorandum says,

A spillage occurs whenever classified information or CUI is transferred onto an information system not authorized for the appropriate security level or not having the required CUI protection or access controls.

That seems to be a reasonable description of what happened.  Spillage plus unauthorized disclosure.

It is definitely unauthorized disclosure. It may be a type of spillage.

And Way2Blue asked:

My question is:  How did Airman Teixeira clear the rather invasive scrutiny required for TS/SCI (or even TS) clearance?  I would think any casual examination of his social media posts would raise a red flag or two.  Ack.

First, kudos for the Bill the Cat reference! Second, my understanding is that online activity is largely off limits in the investigative process.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump:

We will restore justice as a memory of all those whose lives were taken by Russia – address of President of Ukraine

15 April 2023 – 21:08

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!

I spoke today with French President Macron. The conversation lasted for almost an hour and a half. We had time to go through all the key security issues on the agenda – very important for us, in Ukraine, and in Europe in general.

It is the front, our opportunities to move, to act, to return freedom and justice to the people in those territories, which, unfortunately, are still occupied by Russia.

We also discussed international contacts – both ours and France’s. Emmanuel informed me about the details and results of his visit to China. And I am thankful for the clear support of those principles that unite our entire anti-war coalition.

Russia must withdraw from the territory of Ukraine. All Ukraine and all occupiers. And every point of the UN Charter must work again – none of Russia’s violations of international law can be ignored. It is on such principles that security and peace will return to international relations. It is precisely why there is a Ukrainian Peace Formula, which is absolutely realistic and quite concrete, and it was also discussed in detail with Macron today, as well as the international events we are preparing for this year, in particular, the Vilnius NATO summit.

Our joint position at the summit in Lithuania – of all participating states – can be just as ambitious as European security needs. I am sure of that. Effective security guarantees for Ukraine, and, in fact, for the rules-based international order, are needed even before we join the Alliance.

By the way, a meeting of the member states of the joint investigation team to investigate the crimes of the occupiers in Ukraine took place in Vilnius. One of the results of the meeting is an agreement – it was signed yesterday. The agreement on joint investigation of not only Russian war crimes but also crimes of genocide.

We will ensure Russia’s full accountability for what it has committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians at all levels, including at the legal level. And I thank all the partners who help bring the verdicts closer to the occupiers – Russian murderers and terrorists.

A rescue operation is still ongoing in Sloviansk, Donbas, following yesterday’s Russian missile strike. It is reported that under the rubble of buildings, there are still bodies of the dead, unfortunately…

This terrorist strike alone damaged and destroyed over 50 residential buildings, of which more than 30 are multi-apartment buildings. More than 20 people were injured, and as of this time, 11 have died. Among them is a very small child – a boy born in 2021. My condolences to the relatives, to all those who lost loved ones…

None of those who are guilty of this aggression can be forgiven and forgotten.

Today, two more decrees with sanctions against individuals and companies that share the blame for this terror or help it were issued. In particular, these are sanctions against persons who promote the terrorist state under the disguise of sports. Against those related to its officials. A separate list includes IT companies that sponsor terror or provide digital opportunities to continue aggression.

We synchronize all Ukrainian sanctions with global sanctions, it is an inevitable process. Thank you to everyone in international institutions and partner states who work with us, with government officials, the National Security and Defense Council, intelligence services, and our Office.

Sanction pressure on all those who are guilty of this aggression, blocking their assets and opportunities at the level of the whole world is the self-defense of the world and today against any other possibilities of aggression.

The return of peace and its stability have no alternatives.

Thank you to everyone who helps us, Ukraine! Glory to all our soldiers who are fighting against terrorists!

We will restore justice as a worthy memory of all those whose lives were taken by Russia and its terror…

Glory to Ukraine!

The Ukrainian MOD has still not posted an operational update. I know there’s a war they’re trying to coordinate, but I really do need knew content for these updates every night! What?

And, as Carlo has clearly and correctly identified, Chuck Pfarrer builds his battlefield maps based on the Ukrainian MOD operational updates. They’ve not updated since the 11th and, as a result, he’s got nothing to build a map on. And that’s why I was using his maps because it takes what the Ukrainian MOD is posting and makes the informational visual in regard to the battlespace.

Bakhmut:

Here’s a screen grab of Dmitri’s translation so you don’t have to click through:

Rubizne, Luhansk:

Vuhledar:

And the full text of the tweet:

Russian mobik says they are positioned right next to Vuhledar, although they should be in the territorial defence. All they can do is simply hide from shelling and pray to not get hit.

In addition, they are not paid daily allowances for the same reason – supposedly they are in the rear, and not on the front lines.

Sloviansk:

Well this is awkward:

As I wrote the other night, this war is going to be won or lost in Washington, DC. And as long as the exceedingly risk averse team around President Biden keeps making decisions like this, I am not very optimistic:

The Financial Times has the details of what is going on with Alexei Navalny:

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is severely ill and his condition is worsening rapidly, according to a key member of his team who raised the possibility that the politician may be being poisoned.

Navalny was suffering from stomach pains and had lost more than 8kg in body weight in just over two weeks, Ruslan Shaveddinov, a member of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a phone call on Friday.

An ambulance was called for Navalny to the prison last week, Shaveddinov said, but no medicines were prescribed. “He and his lawyers have repeatedly demanded access to doctors, a medical examination, a normal examination. But the prison authorities refuse,” he said.

Navalny, 46, is being held at a maximum-security penal colony in Melekhovo, east of Moscow. His lawyers and supporters were particularly concerned, Shaveddinov said, because Navalny’s health had already been weakened by the assassination attempt against him in 2020 using the nerve agent novichok.

“Russian prison is already a place where people’s health deteriorates, while Alexei has recently suffered a failed assassination attempt,” Shaveddinov said. “Now he is also constantly being placed in an isolator, a room sized 2.5 metres by three metres . . . without being given access to doctors. This is all very concerning.

“His lawyers suggest that a poisoning may have taken place,” Shaveddinov added. Speaking with Reuters on Thursday, Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh said that the team “couldn’t rule out” the idea of incremental poisoning.

More at the link!

Finally, for tonight, Prigozhin’s ally in Sudan, LTG Dagalo, is attempting to seize control of the country. The Telegraph, republished via MSN, has the details:

Sudan’s air force bombed Khartoum, the capital, on Saturday as the military fought back against an apparent coup attempt by a powerful paramilitary force following weeks of escalating tensions.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which accused the army of attacking first, said it had seized the presidential palace, the home of the head of the army, and Khartoum’s international airport.

At least three people were killed and dozens more injured in clashes, a doctors’ group said, as the RSF and military fought street battles after talks between rival military leaders over a power-sharing plan with civilians broke down.

In recent weeks, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the military, and Lieut Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the RSF, have been manoeuvring their forces as they vie for power after a deadline to hand power to a civilian government expired.

Heavy gunfire was heard near the Sudanese army headquarters and defence ministry in central Khartoum, and north of the city near the Marawi airbase. Videos shared online showed military vehicles and soldiers moving through empty streets and columns of smoke rising into the sky.

Ahmed Idriss, a witness, said RSF gunmen had dispersed through his neighbourhood and were spraying bullets “like rain”.  Eyewitnesses reported clashes between the RSF and army in the Darfur cities of El Fasher and Nyala.

This is important because Dagalo, who goes by Hemedti (probably a kunya or little name derived from his middle name of Hamdan), is contracted with a subsidiary of Prigozhin’s Concord Services Group known as Meroe Gold. Meroe Gold provides the gold and other mineral extraction services on Dagalo’s family’s properties in Darfur. It’s also how the Wagner mercs got into Sudan; they were the private security for Meroe Gold and Prigozhin’s other subsidiaries operating in Sudan. Prigozhin, through Meroe Gold, has access to the gold being mined in Darfur, which gives him a source of revenue that can be converted into and laundered as cash to fund his operations in Donbas. This is a source of revenue that Prigozhin does not want to lose.

That’s enough for a Saturday night.

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Open thread!

Reader Interactions

65Comments

  2. 2.

    Another Scott

    The Sudan / Prigozhin connection is interesting and isn’t mentioned in the latest DW and AlJazeera stories. Thanks for providing the program (as in “Get your program! You can’t tell the players without a program!”).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  3. 3.

    Anoniminous

    What is the NOËL clip is supposed to show?  Looks like a guy firing a RPG in an apartment, aka “standard urban infantry warfare.”

  5. 5.

    NutmegAgain

    The problem I have with labels like “spillage” is that (as I understand things) workers like this in a facility like the one at Otis AFB would be frequently and routinely drilled in the “Not Give the Secrets Away!! process”. Like, do not do that. So nothing that hints at accidental tends to let him off the hook. I don’t think it’s a good idea to let budding ChristoFascist gun nuts off the hook, especially the ones who record themselves screaming racist & anti-semitic slurs. Maybe that’s just me.

  6. 6.

    twbrandt

    Second, my understanding is that online activity is largely off limits in the investigative process.

    Sorry, this makes no sense to me. Why would online activity be off limits when investigating whether someone can have a security clearance?

  7. 7.

    Anoniminous

    Report of an explosion at a tank training facility in the Kazan area. Maybe somebody tried to fire some of that 70 year old 100mm tank ammo and blowed themselves up Real Good?

  10. 10.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NutmegAgain: That’s my issue with using spillage as well. I’ve always understood it being used for something that was unintentional.

  13. 13.

    Gin & Tonic

    Another twist in the “Donbass Devushka” story. Commenter Dan B said the town she was apparently from is near a naval base. Well, analysis of her LinkedIn and other data shows she was a clerk in the Navy. Was, meaning past tense, not currently employed.

  16. 16.

    Adam L Silverman

    @twbrandt: My understanding is that unless something is specifically illegal, or they have reason to believe it is from information collected in other portions of the background investigation, they don’t want to go combing through legal activities, such as one’s Twitter feed or Facebook page.

  19. 19.

    Tony G

    @NutmegAgain: If the United States had actual journalists working for actual, functioning news media organizations then I’d expect to see, in the near future, investigative reporting about how, exactly, the United States Air Force screwed up so badly as to allow this dumb, asshole, young man to have access to this sensitive information — along with reporting about why this incident is just the tip of the iceberg of incompetent (or compromised) security.  In reality, I expect that this will be swept under the rug.   US taxpayers shovel almost a trillion dollars a year into the budget of the US military — and this is the kind of nonsense that we’re paying for???  At a minimum, high ranking officers need to be fired — or even prosecuted for this.

  20. 20.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Tony G: This is the same AIr Force that has been a hotbed of fundamentalist Christianist nutjobs for …. decades?  So nutty that Jewish cadets at the Academy sued to stop the religious indoctrination and abuse?  That Air Force ?

  21. 21.

    Tony G

    @Adam L Silverman: A competent security system will prevent intentional or unintentional releases of classified information.  High ranking officers did not do their goddamn jobs, and should face consequences.  They probably will not face any consequences though, because they’re “too big to fail”.

  23. 23.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Adam L Silverman: One can only imagine the hue-and-cry from MTG and The Child Molester [which? which?] if the DOD was found to be denying RWNJs enlistment or even worse, blocking career advancement.  I remember what a ruckus those bastards kicked up every time the DOJ tried to even *report* on white supremacist terrorism in the US.

  24. 24.

    Andrya

    @twbrandt:  @Ohio Mom:  @Ohio Mom:   I also think that “don’t check the subject’s online activity, ever” is too broad a rule, but there is a real trade-off here.  In fact, two trade offs:

    First, in my experience, guys who handle security clearances are quite politically conservative and not always broadly informed.  There’s a definite risk that if turned loose on a candidate’s online activity, they might refuse a clearance for completely legitimate activity protected by the First Amendment.

    Second, I had a boss c. 2010 who had a policy of always demanding access to a job candidate’s Facebook page.  That wasn’t a problem with older candidates- but she immediately ruled out candidates who were recent college graduates if their Facebook page showed dumb pranks, drunkenness, etc. (while in college!)  The same thing might likely happen with security clearances.

    To get a feel for the potential problem, here are a couple true stories about the security clearance guy at the first aerospace company that I worked for.  (To be clear, he wasn’t the DoD guy with final authority over issuing the clearance- he was my employer’s liaison with DoD.)

    First story:   When I first applied for a clearance, I truthfully reported that I had smoked marijuana twice in college- both times were more than 5 years previous.  The clearance guy called me into my office and chewed me out- “You’re a disgrace!  I’ve been directed to issue the clearance but I’m mad as hell about it!  Of all the young people we’ve hired recently, you are the ONLY ONE who smoked pot!  Everyone else obeyed the law, but YOU SMOKED POT!!!!!”  While he was ranting, I was thinking “No, I’m the only one who ADMITTED to smoking pot…”

    Second, we had a colleague in my team who was a naturalized citizen born in Iraq.  One of my colleagues was interviewed about the Iraqi-American.  (This was in the 1990s, when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq.)

    Security clearance guy:  “Has he been back to Iraq since it became a communist country?”

    Colleague:  “Iraq isn’t a communist country.”

    Security clearance guy:  “Yes, it is.  Its leader, Nasser, is a communist.”

  25. 25.

    Tony G

    @Chetan Murthy: Yes, that’s true.  An entire branch of the U.S. military compromised by Christian-fascists.  One tenet of the Christian-fascist ideology these days is open support for Putin’s fascism.  So maybe the crummy security procedures are a feature, not a bug — deliberate sabotage done either for monetary payoffs or just for ideological agreement with Putin.  That’s another thing that actual journalists would investigate (in an alternate universe in which news media organizations have actual journalists instead of teleprompter readers).

  26. 26.

    catclub

    @Adam L Silverman:

    they don’t want to go combing through legal activities, such as one’s Twitter feed or Facebook page.

    That makes even less sense. Going deep into debt is legal. Traveling to other countries is legal. Lots of internet searches are legal.

  27. 27.

    Renie

    @Adam L Silverman: I find not checking online activity odd also.  My daughter has worked as a law clerk for federal judges and before each one they have checked her FB cuz they have referenced to her what they saw.  Luckily her FB is just full of CrossFit stuff and travel.

  28. 28.

    Tony G

    @Andrya: Well, I guess I can’t blame him.  All those brown people do look the same.  (More evidence that Catch-22 was a reference document, not a work of fiction.). I have zero military experience, but I did have a so-called-career of forty years in I.T.   In my experience, nobody really cared about security and the job of “enforcing” security would be given to the most incompetent manager, who would then go through the motions with minimal effort.  I was working in a hospital when the HIPAA regulations took effect in the late nineties.  A lot of words were solemnly spoken about the criticality of patient privacy — but no attempt was made to actually improve database security, because that would have involved time, effort and money.  Joseph Heller lives!

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Chetan Murthy: There is both a HR/personnel problem here and an information security/counterintelligence problem here. And they are overlapping. If we were better on the former, we’d have less of the latter in this case.

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    @catclub: Again, I don’t make the rules. I just update my forms every few years when instructed to do so and, if required, meet with an investigator.

  37. 37.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman: The Pentagon spokes-general who was giving a briefing when the National Guard guy was picked up (I believe you provided a transcript of his briefing the same day) said that he wasn’t going to talk about the details of what investigations they do, but that they do obey the laws and regulations when doing background checks, etc.

    GovExec.com (from 2022):

    By LINDY KYZER
    Editor, ClearanceJobs.com

    Social media monitoring used to be the elephant in the room when it came to the continuous vetting of employees working for the federal government. Security Executive Agent Directive 5 was signed in May 2016, paving the way for cyber vetting of cleared professionals. The policy came as the government was looking to advance its efforts to prevent insider threats following the 2013 “year of the insider,” when Aaron Alexis killed 12 people in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, and Edward Snowden conducted a massive data breach, revealing thousands of highly classified government documents.

    Addressing insider threats became paramount, and the government considered how its security vetting process could help identify red flags before they became security risks. Enter SEAD 5 and cyber vetting: another tool in the government’s insider threat arsenal.

    The policy was just that – a policy, not a procedure. In the years since, many security clearance applicants have been left wondering what – if anything – the government is considering in an online search of security clearance applicants. SEAD 5 created a framework for federal agencies to use as they implemented their own social media monitoring programs. And in many agencies the policy still hasn’t extended beyond pilots and possibilities.

    “There is one time, one case, where we found it as a part of the adjudicative process where security officials on their own motion issued a denial of a clearance on the basis of social media monitoring,” said Sean Bigley, a security clearance attorney with the law firm Bigley Ranish.

    That’s not to say social media couldn’t come up in the course of a background investigation, but in cases thus far, the social media aspect has generally been surfaced by human means versus mass monitoring – social posts get reported, and then disseminated to leadership, for instance.

    What Could the Government Consider as a Part of the Cyber Vetting Process?

    As those enrolled in the government’s continuous vetting program (which is 100% of all security clearance holders today) know – you shouldn’t expect a postcard from the government notifying you that you’ve been enrolled. With the same possibility around social media monitoring (while the government may not be widely doing it, individual agencies are, and more could in the future), what should security clearance holders be aware of?

    First, it’s worth noting that the government’s definition of social media is broad – the cyber vetting possibilities may not be endless, but as the government considers the topic the term “publicly available information” is a better way to consider the websites that may be looked at, including:

    * Social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn)
    * Microblogging websites (Twitter)
    * Blogging and Forums (WordPress, Tumbler)
    * Picture and Video Sharing (Flickr and YouTube)
    * Music Sharing (Spotify)
    * Online Commerce Websites (eBay)
    * Dating websites (Match.com)
    * Geosocial network websites (TripAdvisor)
    * News and media websites where people can comment

    Security clearance holders should know that comments made publicly can be used against them in the security clearance process. The best step to take to ensure information doesn’t come back to bite is to keep your accounts locked down and private. The policy is clear that clearance holders will not be asked to share information like passwords. If you keep your accounts appropriately protected, you help keep your personal identity – and clearance eligibility – safe.

    “The takeaway that I have from a legal perspective for that is to make yourself private,” advises Bigley. “That’s not to say everyone who makes their account private is trying to hide something, but if you don’t want the government prying on certain aspects of your private life — I think that is understandable for most of us.”

    (Emphasis added.)

    HTH a little.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  38. 38.

    Carlo Graziani

    @Andrya: This is very good.

    In a real sense, you’re pointing out the conditional fallacy. Screening thousands of people per annum for their social media embarrassments makes no sense, because it strains out too many perfectly competent, able people. But when the small failure rate from the resulting screening system singles out an individual who could have been screened out based on social media scrutiny, then that becomes a case to turn on that self-defeating screening.

    It just shows how hard it is to run an honest-to-reason cost-benefit analysis, when one perceives only costs, or only benefits.

  40. 40.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    A spillage occurs whenever classified information or CUI is transferred onto an information system not authorized for the appropriate security level or not having the required CUI protection or access controls.

    This almost sounds like the definition covers this happening within the government (transfer from secured government computer to an unsecured government computer).

  42. 42.

    Butter Emails

    @Adam L Silverman:

    This seems particularly short sighted given recent well known efforts to propagandize US soldiers through online and social media. Got caught with marijuana at 16? Fuck you you dirty hippie. Constant communication with Russian honeypots on Telegram discussing how much you hate the US government and all it stands for? Here’s some top secret documents for you. Did you also want us to fax them directly to the Kremlin?

  43. 43.

    ewrunning

    Re people’s online activities being “off limits” for background investigations for clearances, I have an anecdote. My last year in the State Department I was on the Foreign Service Board of Examiners which evaluates, interviews and selects candidates for Foreign Service positions. During my training/orientation for serving on the board, we were briefed by Diplomatic Security (DS) on the background clearance process. Having been through repeated background clearance investigations myself over my 26 year career as a holder of a Top Secret clearance, I well knew the process, including lengthy forms listing everywhere I lived for any length of time. The  clearance process often gets prolonged by DS’s determination to find and interview someone in who knew the individual and could attest to their loyalty and good behavior at each of their past addresses. As a military brat, I had a lot of these.

    When the time came for questions, I asked the DS rep if they were looking at people’s social media presence when considering them for clearance. This was in 2007. He looked at me as if I had two heads, and asked with evident sincerity, “Why would we do that?”

  44. 44.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: The one time I had to do a spillage report, or, rather, call the guy at my command in charge of information security, was at US Army War College. I was looking for the slide deck, which had been widely reported on, that Rumsfeld used to brief Bush 43 regarding Iraq. Rumsfeld punched it up with bible verses as an attempted PSYOP on W as I wanted to use it in seminar. I found an image, but it had the classification markings. So I checked with someone and was told to call and let the infosec point of contact know, which I did. He was just excitedly happy someone actually was paying enough attention and called him.

  45. 45.

    Butter Emails

    @Andrya:

    So basically we can’t use online activity to inform security access because the asshats in charge of granting that access can’t discern between material and immaterial issues due to their prejudices and cognitive biases.

  46. 46.

    Jay

    Most people who’s social media is exposed, shows that they never should have been hired, were already exposed through their actions.

    For example, Slava texted me today a photo of new growing green grass. Slava knows what it means, I know what it means, but some dweeb searching my text messages would have no clue.

    Take the latest reveals about “Donbass Devushka”,, civillian Navy Clerk, later fish food salesperson, LARPing as a “poor Donbass girl”, (Orc vatnick) on podcasts, with some of the worst Vatnicks in The West, guesting on her podcast.

    <blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Today at 1700 EDT/2300 CEST/midnight EEST, in a special, definitely not hastily thrown together episode, No Experts presents “Donbass Devushka – What We Know.” <br><br>Our panel <a href=”https://twitter.com/sichkovskyi? (@NoExpertsUA) <a href=”https://twitter.com/NoExpertsUA/status/1647283787594620928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

  47. 47.

    Anoniminous

    @Jay: ​

    it’s a Combined Arms team, every window is “manned”

    uh …. how else would you do it?

    & Thanks re: the other thing

  48. 48.

    Andrya

    @Butter Emails:  Yes, but I would say that the problem you describe is built into being human.  We didn’t evolve to pursue absolute truth and absolute objectivity:  we evolved to maintain our status in a small hunter-gatherer tribe. That meant we evolved to amplify the beliefs of our tribe, and ascribe evil to the other tribes.

    The ideal evaluator would set aside all personal and political biases, but that is a counsel of perfection.  If the people who evaluated security clearances were mostly leftists, would they give a pass to (for example) Rod Dreher, with his retrograde views on LGBTQ+ folk?   Or JK Rowling?  I don’t think either Dreher or Rowling would be a security risk, but I doubt they would get a pass from a jury of BJ jackals.

    Overcoming our biases is lifelong work.

  49. 49.

    Anonymous At Work

    Adam,

    Deeper question about how the classification system works.  I guess I can accept that computer techs need some form of protection/immunity for accidentally seeing classified images/information while working with/on technical issues.  Why isn’t there a dedicated system for such persons to cover the accidental exposure but prevent them, like Teixeira from independently accessing such information, like he did (before independently printing it and taking it home)?  Or is this getting nuanced for a government-run, government-scaled IT system?

  50. 50.

    Bill Arnold

    @Tony G:

    In my experience, nobody really cared about security and the job of “enforcing” security would be given to the most incompetent manager, who would then go through the motions with minimal effort.

    The problem with this now is that such organizations are hit by ransomware. And sometimes, paying the criminals does not result in a restoration of data. And if not ransomware, a breach and exfiltration and sale of data, or perhaps with a demand of cryptocurrency in return for not dumping the data on the open internet. Fairly high probability, by Russian criminals, some of whom also do work for the Russian government.

  51. 51.

    Jay

    @Anoniminous:

    no problem on the other thing,

    Quite often in Urban fighting, against “other” groups, it’s a single or a couple of shooters in one place, not a squad on each floor, of several buildings, with interlocking fire. The “Aughts” model was fighting “terrorists” , sometimes in a urban setting, not a professional CAT backed with drones, tanks and arty.

    Bakhmut still stands.

  53. 53.

    Butter Emails

    @Andrya:

    Well, if we’re assuming US security clearance then I’d say no to Rowling because she’s a foreign national and no to Dreher because he’s a bit too enamored with Orban and other fascist curious leaders. If we set aside the whole British thing I’d probably OK Rowling.

  55. 55.

    Andrya

    @Butter Emails:  Point conceded, I overlooked the Orban thing about Dreher.  I was trying to make a general point about human tribalism.  As for Rowling, given the very close US/UK military cooperation, it would surprise me if there are no UK people with access to US classified data, and vice versa.  Both US and UK people knew about the Normandy landings.  (Although I doubt either the UK MoD or the US DOD are urgently requesting JKR’s military expertise.)

  56. 56.

    Chetan Murthy

    From TPM: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/lets-not-kid-ourselves

    From the Journal …

    The people in the online spaces where Airman First Class Jack Teixeira spent his time and allegedly leaked highly classified documents had many things in common. In obscure game forums and private online chat rooms, his friends posted slurs against minority communities, Ukrainians and pretty much everyone else.

    Everyone, that is, except Russians.

    Members of that small community, hosted on the social-media app Discord, admired President Vladimir Putin’s regime and its war on Ukraine.

    Trump Youth.

  57. 57.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Andrya:

    The ideal evaluator would set aside all personal and political biases

    In an earlier time (probably  today too) membership in the Communist Party was surely grounds for denial of security clearance.  Today, membership in any of a number of right-wing movements, e.g. the GOP, should be such grounds.  And there you have it, laid plain: an entire political movement is riven thru with traitors, enemies of our Republic.  There’s nothing to be done to get rid of the Teixeras in our military, just as there was nothing to be done to get rid of the future commanders of the CSA Army, before the Civil War.

    Sigh.

  58. 58.

    persistentillusion

    @Tony G: USAF hs been inflitrated by religious nuts for twenty years. The shit they’ve put forth has been astounding.

    None of this is terribly surprising if you’ve been in USAF territory for very long.

  59. 59.

    Lyrebird

    @Gin & Tonic: A couple weeks ago it seemed like Mr. Kiyanyn was calling out some corruption in Kyiv.  Did you see that or know what he might have been referring to?  He himself sounds like a very interesting character.

    Note: I am not asking because of wanting to say, oh how awful.  I am just curious.  Also, since I have zero military strategy background, I am not going to ask questions about plans that Ukr armed forces prfer to keep secret anyhow.

  60. 60.

    Mike G

    @Chetan Murthy:   I’m willing to bet there are more than a few Russian trolls, promoting propaganda among budding fascist Trump Youth and possibly enticing this weak-minded braggart douchebag into dropping some military secrets.

  61. 61.

    Traveller

    A few points:I believe that Teixeras should face as many federal criminal charges as can be brought and with a significant sentence. However, he is a good looking white boy and therefore I think he will largely skate, (a criminal law Term of Art).
    Then I believe that this servicemen should be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice pursuant to the separate sovereigns doctrine and possibly shot.
    Service members who face a civilian trial, whether in a state court or a foreign court, can also be tried in a court-martial for the same crime. At first, this may seem like a violation of double jeopardy protections. However, it’s permitted because military and civilian courts are fundamentally separate systems, each with its own set of rules and regulations. This is known as the doctrine of dual sovereigns, which gives independent governments the right to enforce their own criminal laws.

    I confess that I am unusually inflexible in reference to matters that put troops in the field at risk. The real and complete sin of this serviceman, Mr. Teixeras, is that many young men will die because his foolishness. This to me is almost an unforgivable sin.

    I am a man of a generous & understanding soul and will forgive most anything, but it is not like Mr. Teixeras committed a single robbery or a single negligent homicide or even a murder, ultimately he will be directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of young vibrantly alive men on both sides of this conflict….Serviceman Teixeras is in effect a mass murderer and should be regarded and treated as such. Best Wishes, Traveller​​​

  62. 62.

    HeartlandLiberal

    “… online activity is largely off limits in the investigative process.”

    Say WHUT? Even I before I retired eleven years ago would look up applicants on the Internet to see what they had posted to social media. I CANNOT believe this is off limits in any serious investigation!

  63. 63.

    way2blue

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I read this definition of ‘spillage’ to imply moving classified information from a secure system to one that isn’t—in a work environment.  Or onto an unencrypted laptop or flash drive for example.  Teixeira’s breach was a deliberate online broadcast of realtime classified intelligence.  Not coming up with a better term though…

    A spillage occurs whenever classified information or CUI is transferred onto an information system not authorized for the appropriate security level or not having the required CUI protection or access controls.

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