There have been a lot of informational diaries about Dr. Bruce Ivins and the 2001 Anthrax attacks. There has concurrently been a lot of coverage on the issue in the news. The question everyone seems to be asking and then attempting to answer is "Is Bruce Ivins responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks?" Another follow-on question seems to be "If he was responsible, did he coordinate the attacks alone, or were there accomplices?"
I think those are the WRONG questions. The real question - one that affects us every day and touches national security, is "WHY was Bruce Ivins still working at Fort Detrick?" dday touched on the question in a Monday Diary. But I think it demands closer analysis and key questions need to be raised. More after the fold.
From dday's diary:
And Ivins held security clearance as recently as last month and was only barred from the Ft. Detrick site after counselors warned of his "deteriorating mental condition."
This is key. If you don't work with the Federal government, you may only have a fleeting knowledge of Federal security clearances and how they work. So let's do a quick overview.
Loosely speaking, there are three levels of security clearances. Executive Order 13292, issued in 2003 by GWB, guides current security classification levels. There are three levels designated in this order: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.
Confidential (C): "...shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe."
Secret (S): "...shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe."
Top Secret (TS): "...shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe."
Both Confidential and Secret clearances require essentially the same information in the initial check. The security authority in question will access national records (e.g., verify your citizenship, fingerprint records, and any records held by Federal enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA etc.), local records (e.g., any arrest history), and financial records. This process is more rigorous for Secret clearances and looks back further in time on the three factors listed above. Finally, Confidential clearances have to be renewed every 15 years; Secret every 10 years; and Top Secret every 5 years.
Continuing, Top Secret clearances are harder to obtain. They include the checks for both Secret and Confidential clearances and add the following:
A Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) is performed which includes [the three factors I already listed] plus:
* Field interviews of references to include coworkers, employers, personal friends, educators, neighbors and other appropriate individuals.
* Checks of records held by employers, courts and rental offices.
* A subject interview - An interview with you by an investigator.
There are levels to the TS clearance as well. When you hear people reference "TS/SCI", they are referring to "Top Secret - Sensitive Compartmentalized Information" clearances. Those are mack-daddy clearances. While official information is difficult to find on what is involved with obtaining these particular clearances, I can speak from anecdotal information I obtained in conversations with people who actually hold TS/SCI clearances. TS/SCI clearances require a Lifestyle Polygraph. Here's a blurb about Lifestyle Polys:
The purpose of the lifestyle polygraph is to determine, to the greatest extent possible, whether or not a given applicant can be trusted with sensitive information. Questioning is extensive and can involve all aspects of present and past behavior.
Anecdotally, I can share that those that I've talked to who have to go through this process say that NO question is off-limits. They dig into every single area of your life. They explore whether or not you collect child pornography. They explore any past drug use or history. They explore your personal life - marriage(s), children, infidelities. They explore anything they think you might have in your background that you would NOT want others to know for whatever reason. I am led to believe that the whole process is utterly nerve-wracking even for those with "clean" backgrounds. The point is to surface anything that bears further investigation. It's a very structured and highly revealing process (notwithstanding the controversy about using polygraphs generally).
I've been unable to find verifiable requirements for security clearances at Fort Detrick. Suffice it to say that you have to have a security clearance to work at Fort Detrick. Given that Detrick handles some scary shit (anthrax, smallpox, ebola, hanta, etc.), it fits the requirements for a Top Secret clearance as spelled out in the Executive Order. Anecdotally, I've been told that it DOES require TS/SCI Clearances for any person working as a government employee or an authorized contractor.
So the question that isn't being answered is this: HOW was Bruce Ivins allowed to maintain his security clearance? Emptywheel tells us that the focus shifted to Ivins in late 2006, after FBI Director Mueller changed the investigatory leadership. Yet until July 10 of this year, Ivins was allowed to maintain his security clearance. From the Washington Post article linked in dday's diary:
On July 10, the day he was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, for example, Ivins spent part of the afternoon at a sensitive briefing on a new bubonic plague vaccine under development at the Army's elite biological weapons testing center, according to a former colleague who talked with him there.
And
Records that have surfaced since Ivins committed suicide last week show that Fort Detrick officials abruptly barred him from the base July 10, based on what a counselor called his deteriorating emotional condition. Until then, his security clearance gave him access to some of the most secure areas at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, or USAMRIID. Months earlier, Ivins had become one of a handful of scientists regarded by federal investigators as the lead suspects in the unsolved killing of five people by mailed letters containing anthrax.
For giggles, let's say "late 2006" occurred on December 31, 2006 - as late as you can get in 2006. That means that Bruce Ivins maintained his clearance - and therefore his access - to some of the most deadly biological agents on the planet for 557 days. Five hundred. Fifty-Seven. Days (h/t to loggersbrat in the comments for pointing out that my original calculation omitted an entire 365 days). How much damage do you, or any reasonable person, think is possible in 192 days for a person with access to such horrifying biological materials?
The entire Bush Administration has been shrieking about national security and "keeping us safe" since the attacks of September 11, 2001. John McCain echoes this issue as a key differentiator as to why he is more qualified for the job than Barack Obama. Yet no one is asking how or why Bruce Ivins maintained what is likely one of the highest levels of access granted to individuals - civilian or otherwise - in the United States. No one is talking about or asking how the FBI - Bush's "revamped" FBI - failed to notify officials at Fort Detrick that they should reconsider Ivins' clearance and access status. Or, if they (the FBI) DID notify the appropriate officials, why Ivins continued to maintain his clearances from Fort Detrick's secuirty authorities.
I don't have an answer here. I just found the lack of the question worth raising. By all appearances, though, the "keep us safe" crowd has dropped a major ball on this one. And, given the nature of the information that surrounds "national security" issues, one has to wonder - how many other balls have been dropped??