You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Home Front
Another Gitmo Security Breach
2003-11-30
EFL
A U.S. Army intelligence officer charged yesterday with violating security measures at the U.S. Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was caught with "significant amounts of classified information" when his tour ended at the detention camp, a source close to the investigation has told The Washington Times. Col. Jack Farr was charged with failing to obey a lawful order; more specifically, "wrongfully transporting classified material without the proper security container" on or about Oct. 11, said a statement from the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, which oversees Guantanamo. The colonel also is charged with making a false statement during the course of the investigation over his handling of the material. Col. Farr is an Army reservist serving with the 384th Military Police Battalion, part of which is assigned to a joint task force at the base. It wasn’t immediately clear what material Col. Farr collected, how it was discovered or what he intended to do with it.
National Enquirer?
A Guantanamo Bay military source told The Times last night that Col. Farr was "in possession of significant amounts of classified information when his tour ended at Guantanamo," making him the fourth person charged in probes of possible espionage at the naval base prison, where some 660 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members apprehended in the U.S.-led war on terror are being detained. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Col. Farr’s tour of duty at Guantanamo had ended when the accusations surfaced. "He was returned to active duty and brought back to Guantanamo, and he is there now," the source said. The source also said that since Col. Farr and investigators are at "loggerheads," the investigation is "concluded," and the Army charged Col. Farr in an apparent attempt to get information from him. It was the fourth incident at the military base in which security measures were purportedly breached.
What the heck is going on down there? Do any of you counter-intel folks have an opinion?

From what I heard on Fox News yesterday, it's an intel breach, not — so far, anyway — a case of spying. They're going to come down on any security violations with both feet after having three Islamist cases. The terminus could be one of the tabloids, ANSWER or Amnesty International, or even the guy's memoirs. I suppose he could even have a turban hanging in his closet. Guess we'll have to wait and see what the investigation turns up.
Posted by:Gasse Katze

#3  I should have added: unless you work at Los Alamos, in which case you can scatter sensitive nuclear weapons info to the four winds.
Posted by: PBMcL   2003-11-30 6:01:23 PM  

#2  JiB - I don't know about the military, but in civilian land you don't get access to classified material w/o (at least) three things: the proper security clearance, need-to-know, and signing a legal document that you've read and agree to follow all procedures for handling & safeguard, etc. Improper handling or access can (depending on circumstances) result in anything from a slap on the wrist to a new career at the Crossbar Hotel.
Posted by: PBMcL   2003-11-30 5:53:09 PM  

#1  My experience is that this is a common situation where you have exposure and use access to TS or red letter material and forget procedure from time to time due to distractions, time, fatigue, etc. Then "poof" up jumps the CI with a nee-nah-nee-nah. It may not be anything more than a dumb oversight on his part or it could be he is in debt back home and needs some cash from the tabloids but I doubt it.
Posted by: Jack is Back!   2003-11-30 11:14:58 AM  

00:00