I’m sorry I missed a July 24th James Bamford interview on Boston University radio station WBUR last week—prior to my publishing, “Denver Post: Holmes' Psychiatrist Warned University's 'Threat Assessment Team' In June," here at DKos on Thursday--but, apparently, almost everyone else on the planet missed Bamford’s radio commentary, too.
The interview was a piece comparing the case of Aurora shooter James Holmes with the case of Rezwan Ferdaus, a Muslim, “…who’d just plead guilty to attempting to fly remote-controlled planes into federal buildings. The public had never been in danger from that plot because undercover FBI employees had funded and facilitated Ferdaus from the start.” (More about this in a moment.)
I had most recently published a post here about a Bamford article that appeared in Wired Magazine in mid-March, entitled: “The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say).”
He is, inarguably (IMHO), the leading credible/public source when it comes to truly transparent commentary about our country’s National Security Agency (NSA).
Bamford and others had some highly noteworthy things to say on BU radio about the Aurora shootings, particularly about the shooter, himself. From Bamford…
“I think the situation is absurd…”
…
…“The NSA and the FBI have enormous capabilities to eavesdrop on communications, not just targeted people, but on information such as data mining,” Bamford said. “But it doesn’t seem they focus on people who purchase large quantities of ammunition.”
…
“I think if [Aurora shooter James] Holmes had a Muslim name he would have come into a great deal of attention with a lot less purchases,” Bamford said.
In case you’re unaware of James Bamford and his background, again, here’s the
LINK (it’s also in the first paragraph, above) to his Wiki page. And, here’s an excerpt from it…
James Bamford is an expert on the highly secretive National Security Agency. His recent book, The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA From 9/11 to The Eavesdropping on America, on which NOVA's "The Spy Factory" was based became a New York Times best-seller and was named by The Washington Post as one of "The Best Books of 2008." It is third in a trilogy by Bamford on the NSA, following The Puzzle Palace (1982) and Body of Secrets (2002), also a New York Times bestseller. Bamford has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley as a distinguished visiting professor and has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Harpers, and many other publications. In 2006, he won the National Magazine Award for Reporting for his piece "The Man Who Sold The War," published in Rolling Stone.
…
He published Body of Secrets, (also about the NSA, 2001), and A Pretext for War (2004). Bamford lectures nationally and was a distinguished visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He also spent nearly a decade as the Washington Investigative Producer for ABC's World News Tonight. In 2006, he received the National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing. Most recently, he published his new book The Shadow Factory, once again about the NSA, but about its involvement in the 9/11 investigations and intelligence failures. The PBS show "The Spy Factory" was based on this book.[7]
Back to the WBUR interview (from which I extracted the Bamford quote, up above) and the stunning comparisons between the Ferdus’ and Holmes’ cases.
Comparing ‘Lone Wolves’: Holmes And Ferdaus
WBUR
By David Boeri July 24, 2012
One defendant is charged with the murder of 12 people in Colorado. Another, here in Massachusetts, is charged with attempting to blow up the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.
One of them was never on any law enforcement radar. The other was accompanied the whole way by undercover agents. And some counter-terrorism experts say comparisons of the two cases raise troubling questions…
…
...Back in Massachusetts, the Joint Terrorism Task Force spent nearly a year creating the opportunity for Ferdaus to commit a crime. But sting operations create the danger that real criminals will slip by because agents are concentrating on potential criminals who may never do anything on their own, says terrorism expert Carlo Boccia.
I ask Boccia: “If Rezwan Ferdaus had tried to buy 6,000 rounds of ammunition, would he have been able to do it without law enforcement being all over him?”
“That’s a good question,” Boccia said. And he doesn’t have a quick answer. But Bamford does…
…
…But Boccia says the Colorado case underlines the need for more intelligent intelligence-gathering and priorities that extend beyond stings.
In closing out this post, if for nothing else than for the sake of emphasis, I thought I’d republish part of
Bamford’s quote one more time…
National security expert James Bamford told WBUR reporter David Boeri, “I think if Holmes had a Muslim name he would have come into a great deal of attention with a lot less purchases.”
Again, if for no other reason than to obtain some context with regard to the massive amount of government surveillance that’s
already occurring in the U.S., here’s the link to my post from Thursday: “
Denver Post: Holmes' Psychiatrist Warned University's "Threat Assessment Team" In June.”