Speaking of Wiretaps

FOX News four part series: Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.
http://207.44.245.159/article7545.htm

U.S. Police and Intelligence Hit by Spy Network
Charles R. Smith
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2001

Spies Tap Police and Government Phones
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the FBI has stumbled on the largest espionage ring ever discovered inside the United States. The U.S. Justice Department is now holding nearly 100 Israeli citizens with direct ties to foreign military, criminal and intelligence services.

The spy ring reportedly includes employees of two Israeli-owned companies that currently perform almost all the official wiretaps for U.S. local, state and federal law enforcement.

The U.S. law enforcement wiretaps, authorized by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), appear to have been breached by organized crime units working inside Israel and the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad.

Both Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller were warned on Oct. 18 in a hand-delivered letter from local, state and federal law enforcement officials. The warning stated, “Law enforcement’s current electronic surveillance capabilities are less effective today than they were at the time CALEA was enacted.”

The spy ring enabled criminals to use reverse wiretaps against U.S. intelligence and law enforcement operations. The illegal monitoring may have resulted in the deaths of several informants and reportedly spoiled planned anti-drug raids on crime syndicates.

Global Spy and Crime Network
The penetration of the U.S. wiretap system has led to a giant spy hunt across the globe by American intelligence agencies. U.S. intelligence officials now suspect the spy ring shared and sold information to other nations.

Imagine the possibilities…

Israeli entrepreneurs train to enter U.S. homeland security market
Baltimore Business Journal - March 7, 2005
MarketReach America, a program to help Israeli high-tech companies enter the U.S. market, is kicking off its third session this week with a focus on homeland security companies.
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/03/07/daily3.html?t=printable

Israel struggles to keep lid on crime
BBC - 7 June, 2004
But as the heat builds up back home, there are indications Israeli gangsters are becoming more and more involved in trafficking drugs - especially ecstasy and amphetamines - abroad, especially to the United States.

Israeli organised crime syndicates have reportedly set their sights on Las Vegas, where there is a high demand for drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine.

Israel police arrest 18 people suspected of using computers for industrial espionage
The arrests, which took place over the past few days, were the result of a wide-ranging industrial espionage probe that implicated several top Israeli companies, including a satellite television company and a cellular telephone service provider.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050529/b052902.html

Israeli firms ‘ran vast spy ring’
BBC - 31 May 2005
At least 15 Israeli firms have been implicated in the espionage plot, with 18 people arrested in Israel and two more held by British police.

Among those under suspicion are major Israeli telecoms and media companies.

Israeli economic corruption rises
Ynetnews - 08/03/05
A 2005 World Bank report said Israel was one of the most hazardous nations, citing its unstable and inefficient government and its relatively high level of corruption among its leadership, as well a low ranking in law enforcement.

Do they have warrants? :wink:

[quote]vroom wrote:
Do they have warrants? ;)[/quote]

Interesting possible loophole if all the wiretaps originate outside of the US?

Imagine the amount of “blackmail” material these guys must have…

WTF? Why would the Israeli’s spy on us? We are the only reason they exist in the first place…don’t bite the hand that is your sole reason for living.

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
WTF? Why would the Israeli’s spy on us? We are the only reason they exist in the first place…don’t bite the hand that is your sole reason for living.[/quote]

Isn’t it conventional wisdom that everyone spies on everybody else? I’m sure we do the same to Israel, England, etc.

Yeah i guess so

[quote]PSlave wrote:
thabigdon24 wrote:
WTF? Why would the Israeli’s spy on us? We are the only reason they exist in the first place…don’t bite the hand that is your sole reason for living.

Isn’t it conventional wisdom that everyone spies on everybody else? I’m sure we do the same to Israel, England, etc.
[/quote]

Most countries spies don’t permeate the highest levels of our government and directly influence foreign policy though.

Fury over Pentagon cell that briefed White House on Iraq’s ‘imaginary’ al-Qaeda links
11/07/2004
A Senior Pentagon policy maker created an unofficial “Iraqi intelligence cell” in the summer of 2002 to circumvent the CIA and secretly brief the White House on links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa’eda, according to the Senate intelligence committee.

The cell appears to have been set up by Mr Feith as an adjunct to the Office of Special Plans, a Pentagon intelligence-gathering operation established in the wake of 9/11 with the authority of Paul Wolfowitz. Its focus quickly became the al-Qa’eda-Saddam link.

Feith Resigns Under Pressure of Investigations

Actually we’re at war now - technically a foreign spy should be considered a terrorist by our own definition, no?

[quote]PSlave wrote:
thabigdon24 wrote:
WTF? Why would the Israeli’s spy on us? We are the only reason they exist in the first place…don’t bite the hand that is your sole reason for living.

Isn’t it conventional wisdom that everyone spies on everybody else? I’m sure we do the same to Israel, England, etc.
[/quote]

Of course, but we don’t have to like it.

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
WTF? Why would the Israeli’s spy on us? We are the only reason they exist in the first place…don’t bite the hand that is your sole reason for living.[/quote]

wouldn’t be the first time they “bit” us: http://home.cfl.rr.com/gidusko/liberty/

found the reference to that in Robert Baer’s “See No Evil” which I highly recommend.