Today, I’m only a few months away from publishing The CLAPPER MEMO, a book in which I expose how a memo, signed by the man who now serves as our nation’s top intelligence official, is likely resulting in the deaths of dozens of American soldiers in Afghanistan. I hope you don’t mind if I peek out the window a time or two as I write the remainder of this post which offers some background on this adventure.
In a post published yesterday, I informed readers that I had gotten word from Afghanistan that Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. has quietly called for a new survey to be conducted among end users of the Pentagon-approved interrogation technology known as the Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System (PCASS)
It remains to be seen whether the survey will involve end users in Afghanistan only or worldwide — or whether it will be halted after they learn I’ve found out about it. Either way, it’s an earth-shaking development for several reasons and leads me to believe that the nation’s intel chief is feeling a sense of dread over the book’s upcoming release.
No one outside my window.
Almost five years have passed since Clapper, then serving as Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, signed a memo making PCASS (a.k.a., “the portable polygraph”) the only approved credibility assessment tool for use by DoD personnel despite the fact that other technologies had been proven more reliable.
More than three years have passed since I began investigating the impact of the memo on our nation’s capability to wage the so-called “Global War on Terror.” Since then, I’ve talked with dozens of people, including members of the Army’s Special Forces and the Navy SEALS, in one-on-one interviews about their firsthand experience with non-polygraph technology used to interrogate enemy combatants, other detainees and third-country nationals seeking employment on U.S. military bases. In addition, I’ve collected memos and documentation from people such as a senior interrogation official at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility that corroborate what the warfighters have told me.
More than eight weeks have passed since I began investigating possible root causes of the so-called “green-on-blue” attacks in Afghanistan that involve members of the Afghan National Security Force (a.k.a., “allies”) turning on their U.S. and NATO counterparts.
Still no one there.
The first step of that investigation involved submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Army April 10. In my FOIA request, I asked for a copy of an unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan,” from the Centers for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. It’s the same handbook that was mentioned by Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, during his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee March 22.
Although federal law requires a response to FOIA requests within 20 days unless extenuating circumstances prevent it, I’ve waited 59 days — so far — and have been told not to expect an answer sooner than June 21. If my math is correct, that will be Day 72. Fortunately, I have more than one House Armed Services Committee staffer assisting me with this FOIA request now.
Only two weeks have passed since I announced the launch of the website for my soon-to-be-published book with a simple message: COMING THIS FALL….
Should I be surprised that, months in advance of publishing The CLAPPER MEMO, things are starting to heat up? Probably not. Others aren’t surprised.
This morning, I was copied on an email exchange about the book. Below is an excerpt from that message:
“I’m sure Bob McCarty has ‘cover’ since these bastards WILL send a crew after him… in order to keep him off TV, radio and book signing appearances! The threads of JFK’s murder and LBJ’s outright complicity are alive, well and deeply rooted. They will protect this gubment racket by all means necessary.”
Stay tuned for updates as the details above only scratch the surface of what I’ll reveal in The CLAPPER MEMO.
I guess I’m safe for now.
UPDATE 6/8/12 at 3:30 p.m. Central: Just realized that it’s been 547 days since Breitbart.com published a blockbuster story that will be appearing in the book.
UPDATE 6/11/12 at 12:59 p.m. Central: Cross-posted at Breitbart.com’s Big Peace!
While you await the release of The CLAPPER MEMO, be sure to order a copy of my first nonfiction book, Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice. It, too, will make your blood boil! Thanks in advance!