Pentagon blames FBI in DC for al-Awlaki mixup

Remember the public back-and-forth between the FBI in San Diego and Washington over who dropped the ball on the Fort Hood shooter’s e-mails to a radical cleric in Yemen? CBS’ David Martin (author of the best CIA book evah) has this:

(CBS)   Less than a month after major Nidal Hasan allegedly killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, the Pentagon’s top intelligence officer sent the White House a report detailing an earlier failure to connect the dots. It reads like a dress rehearsal for the Detroit bomber case, reports CBS News chief national security correspondent David Martin.

According to that still-classified report, the terrorism task force responsible for determining whether Hasan posed a threat never saw all 18 e-mails he exchanged with that radical Yemeni cleric Awlaki whose communications were being monitored under a court ordered wiretap.

After the Washington task force decided Hasan was not dangerous, it never asked to see his subsequent communications with Alwaki….

None of the e-mails specifically mentioned Hasan’s plans for a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, but because he was a member of the military the FBI showed them to a Pentagon investigator with the note “comm” written on it. To the FBI that meant “commissioned officer.” The Pentagon investigator thought it meant “communication.”

As a result, there were no red flags that an army officer was e-mailing a radical cleric suspected of being a talent spotter for al Qaeda.

Bottom line: the lessons of the Fort Hood shootings were not learned in time to avert the near disaster on Christmas day.

Bottom line No. 2: The FBI and Pentagon aren’t speaking the language.

The story doesn’t say it but the report is by the Pentagon’s top spook, USDI James R. Clapper.

FBI on Aryan Skinheads in San Diego

 Via Public Intelligence:

(U) United Society of Aryan Skinheads Activity in San Diego

(U) The United Society of Aryan Skinheads (USAS) is seeking to increase their visibility in San Diego in an effort to become the premier Skinhead organization in California. The San Diego Field Intelligence Group is seeking the assistance of local law enforcement partners to identify the location USAS members and groups in the San Diego area.

(U) USAS is a racist skinhead group originally formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1987, by skinheads who were concerned about the lack of unity in the racist skinhead community. In the early 1990s, members of the Portland group relocated to Riverside County, California, after the original group disbanded. In 1993, USAS reorganized itself to combat infighting and drug abuse that were present in the California skinhead community. According to a recovered USAS handbook, dated September 2005, the purpose of USAS is to “unite all members of the White race who can see the threat facing our people (White people who have the quality of character so that they are willing to stand up and do something about it) into a united fighting force of Skinheads who are ready to battle our enemies, on all fronts, and with every possible means, until we are victorious in fulfilling the 14 words.” [NOTE: 14 Words refers to the statement “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” This phrase was coined by wellknown and recently deceased white supremacist David Lane.]

(U//LES) USAS is comprised of two main components: chapters that are organized on a geographic basis and a general membership within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Information recovered from inmates in the CDCR system revealed USAS is a structured organization, with defined leadership roles. The non-incarcerated membership of USAS is divided into five chapters covering a specified geographic location in California.

  • Wolfpack Skinheads (Northern California)
  • American Frontline Skinheads (Northern California)
  • Tri-Counties Chapter (Location Unknown)
  • Orange County Chapter
  • San Diego Chapter

(U//LES) Each chapter is controlled by a five-man Chapter Council that reports directly to a five member High Council that oversees USAS.

(U//LES) Corroborated source reporting indicates USAS is attempting to become the premier skinhead organization in California. As part of its strategy, USAS is actively recruiting new members both inside and outside of the CDCR. Additionally, USAS is attempting to absorb other skinhead groups under the USAS banner. Although numerous white supremacist groups desire to unite various factions within the movement, attempts to unite these groups have failed because the groups are reluctant to give up their individual identities. USAS has differentiated themselves from other white supremacist organizations through its demonstrated ability to recruit other skinhead organizations, most notably the Wolfpack Skinheads, American Frontline Skinheads, and the Warrior Skins. Further source reporting indicates USAS is currently attempting to absorb other skinhead organizations within San Diego County.

(U) San Diego Territory

(U//LES) The San Diego Field Intelligence Group (FIG) has obtained corroborated information indicating that USAS has designated the San Diego Chapter as their “flagship” chapter. However, current available intelligence also indicates a rift within
the leadership of the San Diego Chapter. San Diego FIG assesses that the San Diego Chapter of USAS has a current strength of approximately 50 members and prospective members. A review of criminal records of identified USAS members in San Diego
County shows a significant pattern of criminal violence. Law enforcement personnel should use caution when contacting USAS members or associates.

(U) Identifying USAS Members

(U) There are various groups within the white supremacy movement in the San Diego territory, including multiple skinhead organizations. Skinheads can usually be identified by their dress, typically wearing combat boots (frequently Doc Marten’s), straight leg jeans, suspenders (referred to as braces), flight jackets, and short hair cuts. It is important to recognize that there are several non-racist factions within the skinhead community who also dress in a similar fashion.

(U) In an effort to avoid classification as gang members, skinheads typically claim “independent” when asked for a gang association. While independent skinheads exist, they are the exception rather than the rule. Close observation of the pins and patches on their flight jackets, and a close examination of their tattoos will typically identify which “crew” a particular skinhead associates with.

Former SD imam has "gone operational"

Lots of heat on Awlaki now, probably coming out the House Intelligence Committee:

The radical Yemeni-based cleric connected to two violent plots in the U.S. has “gone operational,” a senior U.S. official told Fox News.

The Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner had his suicide mission personally blessed in Yemen by Anwar al-Awlaki, the same Muslim imam suspected of radicalizing the Fort Hood shooting suspect, a U.S. intelligence source has told The Washington Times. 

“It appears that just like with Major Hasan, Awlaki played a role in this,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich, ranking minority member of the House Intelligence Committee tells ABC News.

Mitch Wade lawyer nominated for US Atty

President Obama has nominated Ronald C. Machen Jr. to be U.S. Attorney in Washington DC.

Machen, 40, was part of the team at WilmerHale that defended defense contractor Mitchell Wade, briber of Randy “Duke” Cunningham.

Thanks to WilmerHale’s efforts, Wade is serving a 30-month sentence. That’s not bad, considering that Cunningham is serving more than eight years and Wade’s former boss and Cunningham briber, Brent Wilkes, is appealing his 12 year sentence.

Machen also represented another corrupt former congressman, Democrat William Jefferson and Christopher Ward, former National Republican Campaign Committee treasurer accused of stealing funds.

The U.S. Attorney is DC’s top law enforcement official, overseeing  the largest federal prosecutors office in the country.

Machen served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, US Department of Justice, from 1997 to 2001.

A "technical error"

“And the mujahideen brothers in the Manufacturing Sector possessed a highly advanced device, with Allah’s grace, and it was tested and proved to be successful and practical, and it passed the inspection machines. Brother Omar has reached his target, with Allah’s grace, but, fate from Allah, a technical error happened and led to an incomplete detonation, and we will continue the path, Allah-permitting, until we reach what we want, and make faith all due to Allah.”

Poor tradecraft is, fortunately, a persistent problem for the jihadis as Michael Kenney notes in Organizational Learning and Islamic Militancy (May 2009), a study written for the U.S. Department of Justice. (.pdf)

“Indeed, mistakes and poor tradecraft are common in terrorist operations.  One of the most significant findings to emerge from this research regards Islamic terrorists’ propensity towards the poor tradecraft and operational errors.  In the cases examined in this study operatives committed a range of basic mistakes.  Militants forgot code words and aliases, resulting in miscommunication with their colleagues.  They foolishly tried to  run away from law enforcement officers or became visibly upset when questioned.  They received speeding tickets and other traffic citations when operating undercover in “enemy territory.  They provided incriminating hints of their looming attacks to people outside their conspiracies.  They took advanced aviation classes and expressed their desire to only learn how to steer, not land, large commercial aircraft.  They traveled together, not separately, when assembling for attacks.  They dressed and acted in ways that made them stand out more, not less.  They used matches instead of lighters to ignite bomb fuses.  They didn’t change their cell phones and SIM cards, even when under immense counter-terrorism pressure.  The list goes on.”

According to Kenney, what explains this is:

  1. Experience in guerrilla warfare does not translate particularly well to urban terrorism
  2. It is difficult to gain experience when the attack gets you killed.
  3. The war on terror hampers training and planning.
  4. Ideological or religious “certitude” that they don’t need to be careful because their fate is already determined by Allah