McConnell notes that Washington watchdog attorney Larry Klayman is now suing the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense for concealing information about the disaster and he urges Klayman to add Maureen Baginski to the list of defendants, given she is the Vice President of Intelligence Business and National Security Advisor of Serco and the former Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Director of the NSA.
Prequel 1: #2038: Marine Links Serco Baginski to Patsy Offender’s Tag, SIMAS Times and MH Extortion 17
BETRAYAL & COVER UP: The Murder Of Seal Team 6 - An Obama Inside Job
"NSA, CIA SUED FOR SEAL TEAM 6 DISASTER DETAILS
'Extortion 17' attack worst single loss of U.S. military life in Afghanistan campaign
Published: 14 hours ago BOB UNRUH
A famous Washington watchdog attorney who earlier sued the Taliban, al-Qaida, Iran, Afghanistan and others for the deaths of members of the U.S. military's SEAL Team 6 in the Extortion 17 calamity now is going to court against the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense for concealing information about the disaster.
Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch this week asked the federal courts for an order that the government agencies review their records about the Aug. 6, 2011, disaster for the U.S. military and respond with information about documents he's seeking.
It was a U.S. Boeing CH47 Chinook military helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, that was shot down while hauling a quick reaction force of Navy SEALs near Kabul, Afghanistan. Enemy fighters reportedly used a rocket-propelled grenade to hit the aircraft, which plummeted to the ground.
Killed were 25 American special ops fighters, as well as five Army National Guard and Reserve crew members as well as seven Afghan commandos and one Afghan interpreter.
Some of the members of the fighting unit were members of Navy SEAL Team 6, and the attack happened only a short time after Vice President Joe Biden revealed to the world that it was that team that had gone into Pakistan to remove Sept. 11 terror attack instigator Osama bin Laden.
They ended up killing him.
The Extortion 17 attack is considered the worst single loss of U.S. military life in the Afghanistan campaign.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants "have failed to make bona fide, good faith determinations about whether they will comply with plaintiff's requests. Nor have defendants produced any records responsive to the requests, indicated when any responsive records will be produced, or demonstrated that specific responsive records are exempt from production."
The original request had been submitted months earlier.
It sought a long list of documents about suspicious circumstances apparent in the tragedy, including the decision "to invite a Muslim cleric to pray at the ramp ceremony in Afghanistan for the ... U.S. servicemen."
Also, there are questions about the "missing" black box, the seven Afghani military members who were scheduled to be on the flight, but weren't, and the seven Afghanis who replaced them.
Also, there are questions about reports that it was known that 100 Taliban members had traveled to that location to attack the mission, and questions about Biden's "public disclosures" of military information that normally is kept extremely quiet – the identities of those involved in a high-profile military mission.
In a new commentary released at the same time as word about the court filing against the Obama administration, Klayman noted that it's never been easy to get information under the Freedom of Information Act.
"This is because the attitude of government agencies in the executive branch – typically Congress has exempted itself from FOIA as it does not consider itself accountable to anyone – has always been, in Hamiltonian fashion, that 'the people are a great beast' and either do not deserve to be informed or do not have a say in governance, as they are inherently less able or intelligent."
But he said Obama has taken the position to a new level.
"As a result, various public interest groups, the media and the citizenry in general have been stymied from learning the full truth about the myriad of scandals rocking the Obama administration, everything from IRS-gate, to Benghazi-gate, to Fast and Furious-gate, and Extortion 17-gate, where 17 Navy SEALS (including some who went on the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden), 5 other special ops forces and eight other servicemen died at the hands of the Taliban in a raid that some observers, like myself who represents some of the families of our heroes, feel was possibly compromised not just by the corrupt Afghani government that is infiltrated with Muslim terrorists but perhaps within our own government, including military brass," he wrote.
"We filed another lawsuit seeking to have the NSA and CIA cough up the records concerning Extortion 17. Yet, the Pentagon claims not to have and will thus not produce," he said. "My colleagues and I at Freedom Watch will not rest and will use all legal means to learn the truth about the downing of Extortion 17, as we owe a duty not just to the surviving family members we represent, but to other servicemen who are sent into wars only to be compromised by our president and his lackeys in the Defense Department."
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed some months ago, seeks more than $600 million in damages from the Taliban, al-Qaida, Iran, Afghanistan and others for the deaths of members of the U.S. military's SEAL Team 6.
The case alleges racketeering, terrorism and murder. It charges the terror groups are liable under America's Anti-Terrorism Act for harboring or concealing terrorists, providing material support to a terror organization, wrongful death and more.
The case traces back to Feb. 23, 1998, when the "terrorist organization Defendant Taliban, in concert with the terrorist organization Defendant al-Qaida, led by master terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, issued a Fatwah (Religious Decree), dictating to all Muslim people to kill Americans and their allies – civilians and military – declaring that the slaying of Americans is an individual duty for every Muslim."
Bin Laden declared: "We – with God's help – call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it."
The case ties the declaration to the deaths of Michael Strange, a National Security Agency cryptologist for SEAL Team 6; Patrick Hamburger, an Army National Guard member; and John Douangdara, a Petty Officer 1st Class, in support of SEAL Team 6. Family members and survivors Charles and Mary Strange, Douglas and Shaune Hamburger and Phouthasith Douangdara are suing.
The defendants are accused of "violating plaintiffs' and decedents' rights, for engaging in racketeering and other prohibited activities, for engaging in international terrorism, for harboring and concealing terrorists, for providing material support to terrorists and terrorist groups, for directly and proximately causing the deaths of plaintiffs' decedents, and for directly and proximately causing mental anguish, severe emotional distress, emotional pain and suffering, and the loss of society, earnings, companionship, comfort, protecting, care, attention, advice, counsel or guidance."
The full list of defendants is the Islamic Republic of Iran, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hoseyni Khamenei, the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai, the Afghan Operational Coordination Group, the Khasa Amalyati Qeta, Afghan National Security Forces, the Taliban and al-Qaida.
"In carrying out its terrorist attacks, including its attack on members of Navy SEAL Team VI and special operations servicemen as described herein, [the defendants], conspiring and acting in concert, purposefully directed their unlawful, barbaric, and murderous actions and conduct towards the United States and the U.S. military," the complaint states.
The case claims the "murders of plaintiffs' decedents were a direct and proximate result of Defendant Iran, Defendant Ahmadinejad, Defendant Kahmenei, Defendant IRGC, Defendant Karzai, Defendant OCG, Defendant ASOU, Defendant ANSF, Defendant Afghanistan, Defendant Taliban, and Defendant al-Qaida conspiring with and providing aid to terrorist organizations and through their individual and government acts, as hereinabove alleged, jointly and severally."
It was a raid by Navy SEAL Team 6 that resulted in the killing of bin Laden on May 2, 2011, and made the service members and their families "a target for retaliatory attacks." But the danger was relatively low for a time because they hadn't been identified.
However, the lawsuit explains, Biden "intentionally released the name" of SEAL Team 6 to the world, prompting a horrified Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to explode: "Why doesn't everybody just shut the **** up?"
Only weeks later, the Taliban "shot down a U.S. Boeing CH-47D Chinook military helicopter, call sign Extortion 17 ... killing 30 Americans."
Klayman, whose previous cases have listed Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as defendants, explained in the lawsuit that the defendants inflicted death, destruction and damage on the complainants and their families.
The first claim is of a violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the second accuses the defendants of concealing a terrorist, the third alleges the defendants were providing material support, the fourth charges racketeering, the fifth claims terrorism, the sixth assault and battery, the seventh emotional distress, wrongful death, negligence and gross negligence.
The case cites $200 million in damages but notes that the award could be "$600 million in trebled damages where appropriate."
The case charges, too, that President Obama has been of little help.
"After the bodies of the Navy SEAL Team Six unit and other special operations servicemen were returned to Dover, the plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and their sons, plaintiffs' decedents, asked for an explanation from President Obama, Vice President Biden, and other military ... full, satisfactory, and credible explanation was not forthcoming and has since not been made to plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and their sons," it said.
It blames the vice president's loose lips for the disaster.
"This helicopter shoot down, Extortion 17, is the largest loss of life among the Navy SEALs since World War II. The family members, wives, the widows and mothers and fathers of those SEALs think that it's political. In the course of our interviews, we discovered a number of SEALs think so, too. They think that the shoot down of this helicopter was a revenge plot by al-Qaida, inspired by Vice President Biden's comment," author Richard Miniter said.
"The SEALs feel increasingly politicized under the Obama administration. One of the things that we demonstrate is SEALs who have been prosecuted for crimes they didn't commit, found innocent, but sort of forced into retirement. We've seen a record number of retirements from the Navy SEALs. This is something the media is ignoring, but it's an important story because the SEALs, like our other special forces, are the tip of the spear. They're the people who are actually out there killing and capturing terrorists," he said.
"Without them, we lose the war on terror. Without them, al-Qaida carries out attacks at America's public schools, its offices and its shopping malls. Politicizing the SEALs is a dangerous game and, unfortunately, it's one of the games President Obama is playing."
Watch the WND/Radio America interview with Richard Miniter:
"Serco Marine Services (also known as Marine Services) is an auxiliary maritime service provided by Serco Group to the United Kingdom's Naval Service (including the Royal Navy and Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Marine Services primarily operates from the nation's three main naval bases, HMNB Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde, but also supports training and operations overseas, as well as at various British Overseas Territories. Marine Services was previously provided by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service until its disbandment in 2008.
Thereafter, it was briefly provided by Serco Denholm (a joint venture between Serco Group and Denholm Group)[1] until Denholm's share was bought out in late 2009 by its larger partner, Serco.[2]...
Serco Marine Services supports the Naval Service and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in both port and deep water operations.[7] In port and UK waters, Marine Services is primarily tasked with berthing and towage activities located at the three man naval bases; Devonport, Portsmouth and Clyde. Other tasks such as coastal logistics (including stores, liquids and munitions) and passenger ferrying is also readily undertaken. Out-of-port operations in UK waters include direct involvement in supporting diving and minelaying training exercises, as well as torpedo recovery.[2] Overseas, Serco Marine Services undertake similar activities in locations such as Gibraltar, the Falklands, and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus, which includes the maintenance of navigational marks (or buoys) and supporting military operations and training.[2]"
"The Royal Marine Corps, or Royal Marines (RM), is a branch of the British Armed Forces. It is the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom, and forms part of the Naval Service (along with the Royal Navy and associated organisations) under its own command.[1] The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as marine infantry for the Royal Navy. However, it can trace its origins back to the formation of "the Duke of York and Albany's maritime regiment of Foot" at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company on 28 October 1664.[2] [Where DeBoer and Serco spot fixed body counts for ad hoc 7/7 bombs]
The Royal Marines are a maritime-focused, amphibious, highly specialised light infantry force of commandos.[3]They are capable of deploying at short notice in support of Her Majesty's Government's military and diplomatic objectives overseas. The Royal Marines are organised into a light infantry brigade (3 Commando Brigade) and a number of separate units including the Special Boat Service, 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines (previously the Comacchio Group), and a company within the Special Forces Support Group. The Corps operates in all environments and climates, though particular expertise and training is spent on amphibious warfare, arctic Warfare, mountain warfare, expeditionary warfare, Rapid Reaction and supporting Special Forces.
Throughout its history, the Royal Marines have seen action in a number of major wars often fighting beside the British Army – including the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, World War I and World War II. In recent times the Corps has been largely deployed inexpeditionary warfare roles such as the Falklands War, theGulf War, the Bosnian War, the Kosovo War, the Sierra Leone Civil War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. The Royal Marines have close international ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps[4] and the Netherlands Marine Corps/Korps Mariniers.[5]"
"Serco Faces Fraud Probe Nov. 4, 2013 - 03:45AM |
By ANDREW CHUTER | Comments
LONDON — The problems facing support services contractor Serco mounted Nov. 4 when Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it was opening a criminal investigation into electronic monitoring contracts run by the company for the Ministry of Justice here. A second contractor, G4S, is also to be investigated.
The decision could raise new questions about Serco's position on three major British Ministry of Defence contracts the company is competing for involving key reforms of procurement and infrastructure management, and a deal to support the Royal Air Force's anti-ballistic warning system at its base at Fylingdales, North East England.
A block on contract awards to Serco had already been imposed pending the completion of a review by the Cabinet Office into allegations the company had been charging the government for the electronic tagging of criminals who were in prison, dead or had never been the subject of a tagging order.
That review is expected to be complete by the end of this month. The company has also been given until the end of November to demonstrate it is transforming its business practices or face being frozen out of further government outsourcing competitions.
Under the current limitations imposed by government, Serco can bid and be selected for defense deals with the MoD but cannot actually sign a contract ahead of the Cabinet Office findings. There is no evidence to date that defense contracts have been the subject of any wrongdoing.
In a statement, the MoD did not address whether the SFO decision might impact on future business, saying only it was "following Cabinet Office guidelines on contracting with Serco. Until the Cabinet Office led review is complete, it is too early to comment on the affect on our future business with them."
A spokesman for Serco said there was "no change" to the present position, despite the SFO move.
Figures provided by the MoD showed the department spends over £500 million (US $796 million) a year with Serco on support activities ranging from the Royal Navy laundry service to aircraft maintenance. It also has the existing contract to support the Fylingdales site, although that is up for renewal.
One of Britain's largest support services groups, Serco has total annual revenues of $7.5 billion and includes a US operation that employs around 10,000 people with sales of $1.2 billion.
Serco was one of three bidders to submit proposals to the MoD Oct. 17 in a competition to become the private sector business partner managing military infrastructure. The contest is in its final stages.
A decision on a strategic business partner for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is not expected until early next year.
The DIO, which manages everything from naval bases to troops accommodation and catering, is looking for a private sector partner to improve the skills and efficiency of its £3.3 billion a year operation.
The deal is set to run for 10 years and could be worth up to £400 million ($640 million) to the winning bidder.
Consortia led by Serco, Telereal Trillium and Capita originally submitted proposals in June and the new submissions delivered this week are a further refining of the bid.
Prior to that, though, Serco faces a decision by the MoD on whether it will retain its position as the service supplier at the Royal Air Force Fylingdales missile detection and early warning base.
Serco is competing with Babcock as it attempts to hold on to a contract it has held for years providing 24-hour maintenance, operational, engineering and logistics support to the base, which is a key part of the UK and US ballistic missile defense screen.
Contract selection is expected by the end of the year.
But most industry and government officials here will be watching whether the SFO decision has any impact on the already controversial move by the government to possibly hand over the management of the MoD's Defence Support & Equipment organisation to the private sector in a government-owned contractor-operated (GoCo) operation.
Serco is part of a team led by CHM2 Hill trying to secure the deal. Atkins is the other team member. A consortium led by Bechtel, which is partnering with Serco in the DIO bid, is providing the only competition after a URS/KBR team withdrew.
A competition between the two US-led consortia to secure the deal is underway even though the government has yet to make up its mind whether it will proceed with the GoCo option or adopt another scheme based on a more effective version of the current DE&S organization known as DE&S Plus.
A decision on how to proceed with reforming the £14 billion a year procurement and support effort is expected soon.
Media reports last month suggested the GoCo scheme was starting to unravel because the CHM2 Hill team may have to withdraw, or find another partners, due to Serco being embroiled in the tagging scandal. Having a single bidder for such a controversial scheme would be untenable, said industry executives."
"Ms. Maureen A. Baginski has been Chief Executive Officer of National Security Partners, LLC since December 19, 2011. Ms. Baginski served as the Vice President of Intelligence Business and National Security Advisor of Serco, Inc., since December 2009. Ms. Baginski has been Senior Corporate Vice President and President of National Security Systems Sector at SPARTA, Inc. Ms. Baginski is an executive with extensive experience in the Intelligence Community, and has held progressively more challenging roles within the federal government and the private sector. She has a distinguished background with almost three decades of service in the United States Intelligence Community. Ms. Baginski served as the President of National Security Systems Sector of Cobham Analytic Solutions, since October 23, 2006 and its Senior Corporate Vice President since October 2006. Ms. Baginski served as a Member of Federal Advisory Board at Benchmark Executive Search. She served as a Director of Intelligence at McLean-based BearingPoint Inc. From 2003 to 2005, Ms. Baginski served as the FBI's Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence where she was responsible for establishing and managing the FBIs first-ever intelligence program, including technology acquisition and workforce development. Her mission was to adapt FBI intelligence capabilities with information technologies to create an intelligence-sharing operation that could identify threats before they become attacks. From 1979 to 2003, Ms. Baginski served at the National Security Agency (NSA), where she held a variety of positions, including Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Director, Senior Operations Office in the National Security Operations Center; Executive Assistant to the Director (Lt. General Minihan), Executive Assistant to the Director of NSA/Central Security Service, Chief Office of the Director; Assistant Deputy Director of Technology and Systems, and lead analyst for the Soviet Union. As SIGINT Director, Director of Policy under the next NSA Director (Lt. General Hayden) and Director of Customer Relations. Ms. Baginski successfully established and directed a unified program to exploit encrypted or denied information on global networks. Leading the NSA's Signals Intelligence Directorate, the Nation's high technology cryptologic organization, she managed a complex, geographically dispersed, distributed information production. Ms. Baginski has been a Director of Serco Services, Inc. (formerly, SI International Inc.) since October 2006. Ms. Baginski served as a Director of Argon ST, Inc., from October 2006 to August 5, 2010. She was a Director in Bearing Point's Intelligence Sector. Prior to that, Ms. Baginski had a long and distinguished career in the US Intelligence Community, where she served for twenty-seven years. She serves as a Member of the Defense Science Board at United States Department Of Defense. She has received two Presidential Rank Awards, two Director of Central Intelligence National Achievement Medals, NSA's Exceptional Civilian Service Award, and the Director of Military Intelligence''s Leadership Award. Ms. Baginski is recognized as being the first-ever recipient of NSA''s Outstanding Leadership Award, an award voted upon and bestowed by the Nsa Workforce. Ms. Baginski has testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security, has appeared on CNN, and has been featured in U.S. News and World Report which dubbed her the FBI''s ''Vision Lady and recognized her then as the third most powerful FBI official. Ms. Baginski is a graduate of the University of Albany, She holds a BA and MA in Slavic Languages and Linguistics as well as an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for service to the nation."
Yours sincerely,
Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222
David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation
Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222
David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation
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