Ukraine V

[notaclue]

Good analysis here https://theconversation.com/ukraine...-that-cant-be-won-but-must-not-be-lost-203698

"Classified Pentagon documents leaked last week paint a grim picture of the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. While it may well be the most significant national security breach since the Snowden leaks of US National Security Agency material a decade ago, the fact that the leak occurred is almost certainly more significant than what was revealed about Ukraine.

"The leak reveals how apparently easy it was for a low-level employee on a US military base to obtain and then share highly sensitive US government information. By comparison, the contents of the documents on Ukraine leaked are far less explosive in nature – they mostly confirm existing battlefield assessments that cast doubt, in the eyes of US intelligence officials, on any major breakthroughs in a widely expected Ukrainian spring offensive."

 

[DimitryZ]

If "OG" didn't present any issues during vetting (he may, for example, have become radicalised after that point), then unless his activity is monitored and on-site security is good enough to stop him taking his 'phone into the same room as the documents, he wouldn't get picked up until his clearances are reviewed again. This is not new, we saw it with both Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.

If he worked on the base administering classified documents, he may have access to a lot.

Having spent time in classified computing facilities, leaving the phone out is on the honor system. There is usually a pile of phones on the table in front of the door.

 

[Seeker_UK]

...leaving the phone out is on the honor system.

Well, there's your problem, right there.

 

[DimitryZ]

Well, there's your problem, right there.

Reminds me of an old British cartoon showing an American nuclear weapons depot with an open door and the secretary at lunch - handwritten sign on her desk says "Nuclear weapons MUST be signed for!"

 

[DonQuixote99]

Reminds me of an old British cartoon showing an American nuclear weapons depot with an open door and the secretary at lunch - handwritten sign on her desk says "Nuclear weapons MUST be signed for!"

Makes me think of the time a base got nuke and conventional missiles mixed up, and a B-52 flew long distance across the country with nukes on board and no one knowing it.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Well, there's your problem, right there.

Indeed. I’ve been in the occasional location where, for security reasons, phones were not permitted. We were always asked for our phones and they were locked somewhere safe. Unless you intended to smuggle in a second phone, you’d not get in with your phone.

 

[DimitryZ]

Indeed. I’ve been in the occasional location where, for security reasons, phones were not permitted. We were always asked for our phones and they were locked somewhere safe. Unless you intended to smuggle in a second phone, you’d not get in with your phone.

Actually, during breaks, some people pick up their phones to check messages or make calls and others don't. So when returning, some people have phones to leave outside and others don't - perfect opportunity to come in with a phone unnoticed.

It's all very lightly checked, if at all.

 

[DonQuixote99]

NY Times story is out front with big break in this case. Seems an Airman with the Air National Guard somehow had access to briefings he should not have, shared them with a small group of friends, and one of the friends then posted some publicly. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/...0327&user_id=f99e4f2d4d61e6f1d8f3a7835b4f4b72

 

[DonQuixote99]

Story on Wash Post has extensive reporting from source in the Discord group where the Airman posted his documents. He seems to have gotten the stuff out as hard copy, then retyped or photographed the documents to post them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...2050cb33f1f9|C0D75FFEA7914D14E0430100007FBC7C

 

[Seeker_UK]

I predict a very unhappy time for "OG".

 

[NeilR]

I predict a very unhappy time for "OG".

it will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to be indicted compared to the other guy who took top secret documents.

 

[Enfield boy]

Aaah, but he's an OLD racist white guy who like guns but doesn't like germs. Allegedly.

 

[DonQuixote99]

it will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to be indicted compared to the other guy who took top secret documents.

It will also be interesting to see how high the beheadings go among his supervisors and commanders who ran such a lax office that he could get all that stuff and get out with it.

 

[TheDecameron]

I predict a very unhappy time for "OG".

If he’s caused harm to the people of Ukraine and it’s ability to defend itself and if convicted, he’s looking at punishment with an obvious deterrent effect

 

[DimitryZ]

It will also be interesting to see how high the beheadings go among his supervisors and commanders who ran such a lax office that he could get all that stuff and get out with it.

I think SOP allows for an interested party to steal with relative immunity. If you pass the background check and get your clearance, you are supposed to be trustworthy - not a spy, not a thief. But the periodic rechecks are usually brief and far in between. At 21 this guy was probably on his first clearance. Also, a lot of material gets classified for no obvious reason.

Keep in mind that Top Secret is not a very high security level, it's just a common "civilian" gradation. There are several much higher compartmentalized levels for actually important stuff.

Reporters also get quite breathless when reporting on "Top Secret" stuff. One of my colleagues died on a business trip under less than clear circumstances many years ago. He had work papers in his hotel room clearly labeled UNCLASSIFIED. It was widely reported in the media that "Raytheon employee had United Nations (UN)Classified papers with him."

 

[Spraggons Den]

I predict a very unhappy time for "OG".

He is probably already wearing a boiler suit and grasping at the realisation of a long custodial sentence (double figure years).

 

[Seeker_UK]

He is probably already wearing a boiler suit and grasping at the realisation of a long custodial sentence (double figure years).

If it's decided it's treason, he could face the death penalty.

 

[flatpopely]

If it's decided it's treason, he could face the death penalty.

That I would not agree with, I'm totally against capital punishment. The person convicted should, however, face a lengthy jail term for putting at risk the lives of those he/she exposed.

 

[Hook]

If it's decided it's treason, he could face the death penalty.

I don’t think it will come to that. As of now, he’s charged with “unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information”. If they find out more, he could face additional espionage charges, but treason charges are usually reserved for times of declared war.

Apparently his motivation was to show off to his online “gaming group”, which seems code for “alt-right racist idiot group”. Regardless, I am sure he’ll face a long sentence

 

[DonQuixote99]

I don’t think it will come to that. As of now, he’s charged with “unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information”. If they find out more, he could face additional espionage charges, but treason charges are usually reserved for times of declared war.

Apparently his motivation was to show off to his online “gaming group”, which seems code for “alt-right racist idiot group”. Regardless, I am sure he’ll face a long sentence

At least one other person in the “alt-right racist idiot group” needs to go down as well, if the reporting holds up that it was one of them who put the stuff totally out in public.