Spy Agencies Turn to Wikipedia for Information

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kmguru

kmguru

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Spy Agencies Turn to Newspapers, NPR, and Wikipedia for Information

A few days ago, a senior officer at the Pentagon called his intelligence officer into his office. The boss had heard a news report about China while driving to his office and wanted some answers. It wasn't a tough assignment, given the news coverage, but there was a hitch. "There was plenty of information in the public domain about the topic," recalls the intelligence officer, a 10-year veteran. "And yet, if there wasn't some classified information cited in my report, the boss would never believe it was accurate."

The officer calls it "the seduction of the 'top-secret' stamp."

That's a common refrain in the intelligence community when the subject of so-called open-source information comes up. It's the kind of anecdote recounted over and over again this week at the intelligence community's second annual conference on the use of open-source information.

Another anecdote involves public information—commonly newspaper reports—that is paraphrased or quoted verbatim and then stamped "classified" to make the report more appealing to superiors.

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May be Sciforums is in the list too... :D
 
Wikipedia is a good jumping off point for just about anything, but I've found classified information on there at least half a dozen times.
 
Echo3Romeo said:
Wikipedia is a good jumping off point for just about anything, but I've found classified information on there at least half a dozen times.
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There are a lot of people in the intelligence community who have a lot of time in their hands....
 
Echo3Romeo said:
Wikipedia is a good jumping off point for just about anything, but I've found classified information on there at least half a dozen times.
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Really? And how, exactly, do you know that information you've found on wikipedia is 'classified' and shouldn't be there? :bugeye:
 
Hercules Rockefeller said:
Really? And how, exactly, do you know that information you've found on wikipedia is 'classified' and shouldn't be there? :bugeye:
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Well...it's usually previously "classified" stuff.

in 1994 - this little gems ceased to be "Classified"

McCollum_memo_Page1.png


Wiki:

It is often referred to as the McCollum Memo because it was written by then Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Arthur H. McCollum, or the Eight Action Memo because in it McCollum proposes eight actions to be taken against the rising Japanese Empire.
“ If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better. At all events we must be fully prepared to accept the threat of war. -- A. H. McCollum ”

The McCollum memo was first widely disseminated with the publication of Robert Stinnett's book Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor. Stinnett presents the memo as part of his argument that the Roosevelt Administration conspired to provoke the Japanese to attack the United States, pursuant to a complex scheme to bring the United States into the European war, without generating ado over broken political promises. Roosevelt had recently issued a campaign promise that the United States would not become entangled in Europe's war under his watch.

The memo was read and appended by Captain Knox. Knox at first seems to oppose the 8-step plan, but ultimately concurs. Specifically, he wrote (Page 6):

It is unquestionably to our interest that Britain be not licked - just now she has a stalemate and probably can't do better. We ought to make certain that she at least gets a stalemate. For this she will probably need from us substantial further destroyers and air-reinforcements to England. We should not precipitate anything in the Orient that would hamper our ability to do this - so long as probability continues. If England remains stable, Japan will be cautious in the Orient. Hence our assistance to England in the Atlantic is also protection to her and us in the Orient. However, I concur in your courses of action. We must be ready on both sides and probably strong enough to care for both.

Evidence that the memo or derivative works reached President Roosevelt, senior administration officials, or the Admiralty is largely circumstantial. Captains Knox and Anderson were two of Roosevelt's closest military advisors, which suggests that Roosevelt may well have been influenced by the memo. Also, Admiral Nimitz turned down the coveted command the Pacific fleet [PACCOM] so that he would not become the scapegoat if the Japanese surprise attacked the United States. In a History Channel interview, Admiral Chester Nimitz Jr. described his father's political maneuver: "He said, 'It is my guess that the Japanese are going to attack us in a surprise attack. There will be a revulsion in the country against all those in command at sea, and they will be replaced by people in positions of prominence ashore, and I want to be ashore, and not at sea, when that happens.'" (Interview for the History Channel Program Admiral Chester Nimitz, Thunder of the Pacific)

It is not widely accepted that the memo was the blueprint for war, or even a preliminary blueprint for war.[who?] The memo does illustrate, however, that at least one person in the Office of Naval Intelligence promoted the idea of goading Japan into war: the memo states "It is not believed that in the present state of political opinion the United States government is capable of declaring war against Japan without more ado [...] If by [the elucidated 8-point plan] Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better." That McCollum's clearly stated ambitions came to fruition on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, is widely viewed[citation needed] to be coincidence.

By the time of the Hewitt Inquiry into the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, McCollum was promoted to captain (Hewitt Inquiry Report).
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Hercules Rockefeller said:
Really? And how, exactly, do you know that information you've found on wikipedia is 'classified' and shouldn't be there? :bugeye:
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Because I can find it published in classified media.

I'm not talking about stuff that has been previously classified, obviously.
 
Since WWII, the reason America pulled ahead of Russia in technology and hence in economy is because of our exchange of ideas among our citizenry. So, it is not surprising that some of the stuff to show up from behind closed doors. The benefits are more than the down side....it is that energent properties that you hear about.

However we are slowly going backwards...not because anyone is restricting the data, but because our current activity process does not lend itself to sharing knowledge for whatever reason...job security or whatever.

This is why, no one understands what is going on in the market, economy, job prospects, crime, punishment, short term and long term projections etc....too much information...
 
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