Category Archives: Freedom of Information Act

Who Am I To Complain About Waiting 90 Days on Freedom of Information Act Request?

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In recent weeks, I’ve shared many details about being stonewalled by officials within the U.S. Army as I continue to investigate the deaths of dozens of Americans in Afghanistan at the hands of their so-called “allies” in the Afghan National Security Force. Today, however, I share evidence that I’m not the only person who’s been stonewalled after asking questions about the “green-on-blue” attacks. Some people waited much, much longer for answers.

I came across news of a nine-month wait for an Army document this morning when a Google Alert for “green-on-blue attack” delivered a link to a Santa Clarita Valley, Calif., news site’s article, Army: Broken Vetting Process to Blame for SCV Soldier’s Death.

The article contains news about the death of Army SPC Rudy Acosta, a 19-year-old killed March 19, 2011, by an Afghan man who had been hired by the Canadian private security firm, Tundra, to work as a security guard at Forward Operating Base Frontenac in Afghanistan.

First to catch my eye in the article was the subhead that appeared immediately below the headline: McKeon to launch investigation as Pentagon withholds report for nine months despite inquiries.

Though I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Specialist Acosta’s parents, Dante and Carolyn Acosta, to wait nine months for a copy of the investigation report about their son’s death, I do know what it’s like to wait more than 90 days for a copy of an Army document — in my case, the unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats – Afghanistan.”

I requested the document via the Freedom of Information Act after suspecting it might shed some light on the root causes of the green-on-blue attacks. After all, it had been mentioned by Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, during his March 22 testimony on the topic before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Also catching my eye in the article was a question, “Who was responsible for vetting this guy?” It was followed by a quick answer: “Everyone and no one, according to the AR 15-6 investigation report completed by an Army major nine months ago on April 14.”

When asked via email April 4 about the process via which ANSF members were being vetted prior to working alongside U.S. and NATO forces, Army LTC Jimmie E. Cummings replied, “ISAF or U.S. are not responsible for vetting Afghans for either the Afghan National Army or Police. The Afghans use a 8-step process in vetting their candidates.”

An ISAF public affairs officer, Colonel Cummings went on to refer me and my questions about the ANSF vetting process to Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Interior. Unfortunately, Sediqqi acknowledged receipt of my questions via email April 13 but has yet to reply with answers despite repeated followup attempts.

As a result of Colonel Cummings passing the buck to Sediqqi and Sediqqi remaining silent, I was forced to turn to an excerpt (below) from a NATO Media Backgrounder, dated March 2011, for details of the ANSF’s eight-step vetting process:

Recruitment is now following an 8-step vetting process. Upon signing the enlistment contract agreement, the recruit must get two individuals (village elder, Mullah, or other local government representative) to sign and vouch for the recruit. These individuals are held responsible if any discrepancy in the contract is found. The recruit’s paperwork and government ID is reviewed and basic biometric information (retinal scan, fingerprints, height, age, and weight) is collected, added to the recruit’s personnel file and accompanies the recruit to training. The biometric data is then checked to see if the individual has any known criminal or insurgent links. Approximately 6% of applicants are screened out for either drug use or medical conditions.

In a country where record keeping can be described as “suspect” at best and where corruption runs rampant, it’s no surprise that ANSF’s approach — not to mention the approaches used by private security contractors — has, to date, done little to prevent the green-on-blue attacks.

Feel better yet about the process via which Afghans are being vetted before they can do more harm to Americans? Probably not. And you won’t feel much better after witnessing what members of Congress are doing in an effort to stem the green-on-blue attacks against brave Americans like Specialist Acosta.

The video of the hearing opens with House Armed Services Committee Chair Buck McKeon (CA-25) characterizing the attack during which Specialist Acosta died as a “case study to better understand the range of issues” involved. Then it drones on for 95 minutes. [DIRECTIONS: Consume at least two cups of coffee before viewing.]

FYI: I spoke with with Dante Acosta by phone this morning and expect to report more on his family’s recently-announced lawsuit against Tundra during the months and years ahead.

* * *

TheClapperMemoFrontCoverLR 6-5-13In my soon-to-be-published second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, I’ll expose never-before-published details of my investigation into the “green-on-blue” attacks and other matters related to the interrogation technologies now being used — and, in some cases, not used — by U.S. military and intelligence officials around the world for things such as vetting detainees, enemy combatants and third-country nationals.

The product of more than three years of painstaking investigation, dozens of interviews and a whole lot of Freedom of Information Act requests, THE CLAPPER MEMO, goes so far as to connect the dots between a single memo signed by James R. Clapper Jr., the man now serving as our nation’s top intelligence official, and the green-on-blue deaths of dozens of Americans in Afghanistan since that memo was issued.

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’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com. Thanks in advance!

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Army FOIA Request Now 91 Days Old

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Today, I share a few updates about the Freedom of Information Act request I submitted to the U.S. Army April 10 in an attempt to obtain a copy of an unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats – Afghanistan.”

On Friday morning, I received a reply to a request made June 27 to LTC Jimmie E. Cummings, an Army public affairs officer assigned to the office of Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. I had asked Colonel Cummings to forward this link and the message below to General Allen:

I know you know what’s inside the Centers for Army Lessons Learned handbook, ‘Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan.’ You referenced it during your March 22 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Please tell me why the Army is refusing to release a copy of this unclassified document to me.

Marine Corps Major David E. Nevers, one of Colonel Cummings’ ISAF PAO colleagues, replied with the email message below:

We have made General Allen aware of your desire to obtain the handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats – Afghanistan.”  The release of this document falls within the purview of the U.S. Army, and we recommend that you contact the individual below to obtain the status of your request…

The individual he listed was Brett Rosene, the deputy adjutant general at Fort Leavenworth who was one of the first individuals with whom I had contact regarding this FOIA request.

On Monday morning, I received an update via email from Nancy Davis, one of Rosene’s FOIA colleagues at Fort Leavenworth who has played a role in handling — or mishandling, depending upon how one views it — my request.  She wrote the following:

Your request is at legal now. We will be processing this to TRADOC where
they will review for release/denial. I understand your urgency. I am trying
to get it out in a couple of days.  I will let you know when it goes to TRADOC.

This will mark the second time my request has reportedly been reviewed by legal and forwarded to the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command Headquarters at Fort Eustis, Va.  Last time, TRADOC Records Administrator Anastasia Kakel told me they had had to kick it back to Fort Leavenworth for “further processing.”

Despite the fact that a determination is required by law to be provided within 20 days unless extenuating circumstances prohibit it, my FOIA request for a copy of the unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats – Afghanistan,” reached the 91-days mark today.  Even after one takes into account the 10-day extension available under the Open Government Act of 2007, Army officials are more than 60 days overdue.

Why do I want a copy of the handbook?

I want a copy of the handbook, because it was mentioned prominently by General Allen during his Senate Armed Services Committee testimony (see video above) March 22 which focused on the “green-on-blue attacks” that have left dozens of Americans dead during the past five years, killed by their so-called “allies” in the Afghan National Security Force.

In addition, I want a copy, because I believe it will shed a great deal of light on the subject matter of my second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, set for release this fall.

In the book, I connect the dots between a 2007 memo signed by James R. Clapper Jr.— the man now serving as our nation’s top intelligence official — and the green-on-blue attacks that have taken place in Afghanistan since he signed the memo.

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!

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ISAF Officials Change Approach In Effort to Stop ‘Green-on-Blue’ Attacks in Afghanistan

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Following another “green-on-blue” attack Tuesday that left five U.S. troops in Afghanistan wounded, an International Security Assistance Force spokesman was quick to put an official “spin” on the incident.  At the same time, however, he revealed that ISAF officials recently changed their approach and are now getting more involved in efforts to stop these attacks.

Click on image to read about my three-months-long effort to obtain a copy of an unclassified handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats – Afghanistan,” from the U.S. Army.

Lt. Cmdr. Brian Badura, according to a Stars and Stripes newspaper article today, said that the number of attacks against U.S. and NATO troops by members of the Afghan National Security Force is low relative to the number of Afghan troops and police working with ISAF forces.  That’s the spin.  Evidence of a change of approach in combating the attacks appeared in the article’s fifth paragraph:

“First and foremost, ISAF is getting together with our Afghan National Security Partners on the vetting and process they use,” he said, adding, “What we’re trying to do is make sure that any of the mitigation does not damage the trust we’ve built between the (Afghan National Security Forces) and coalition units.”

When asked via email April 4 about the process via which ANSF members were being vetted prior to working alongside U.S. and NATO forces, LTC Jimmie E. Cummings told me the following:

“ISAF or U.S. are not responsible for vetting Afghans for either the Afghan National Army or Police.  The Afghans use a 8-step process in vetting their candidates.”

An ISAF public affairs officer, Colonel Cummings went on to refer me and my questions about the ANSF vetting process to Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Interior.  Unfortunately, Sediqqi acknowledged receipt of my questions via email but has yet to reply with answers despite repeated followup attempts.  As a result, I’m forced to rely upon a NATO Media Backgrounder, dated March 2011, for details of the ANSF vetting process.  Highlighting ANSF’s eight-step vetting process, an excerpt from that paper appears below:

Recruitment is now following an 8-step vetting process. Upon signing the enlistment contract agreement, the recruit must get two individuals (village elder, Mullah, or other local government representative) to sign and vouch for the recruit. These individuals are held responsible if any discrepancy in the contract is found. The recruit’s paperwork and government ID is reviewed and basic biometric information (retinal scan, fingerprints, height, age, and weight) is collected, added to the recruit’s personnel file and accompanies the recruit to training. The biometric data is then checked to see if the individual has any known criminal or insurgent links. Approximately 6% of applicants are screened out for either drug use or medical conditions.

In a country where record keeping can be described as “suspect” at best and where corruption runs rampant, it’s no surprise that ANSF’s approach to date has done little to prevent the green-on-blue attacks.

In my soon-to-be-published second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, I’ll expose never-before-published details of my investigation into the “green-on-blue” attacks and other matters related to the interrogation technologies now being used — and, in some cases, not used — by U.S. military and intelligence officials in world hotspots for things such as vetting detainees, enemy combatants and third-country nationals.

The product of more than three years of painstaking investigation, dozens of interviews and a whole lot of Freedom of Information Act requests, THE CLAPPER MEMO goes so far as to connect the dots between a single memo signed by James R. Clapper Jr., the man now serving as our nation’s top intelligence official, and the green-on-blue deaths of dozens of Americans in Afghanistan since that memo was issued.

UPDATE 7/5/12 at 9:46 a.m. Central:  Via email yesterday, Colonel Cummings denied that anything has changed in the way ISAF is handling it’s advisory role in Afghanistan.

* * *

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!

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Day 82: Army Freedom of Information Act Request

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EIGHTY-TWO DAYS after submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to the Army, I’m still waiting for officials at the Centers for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to issue a determination as to whether or not I can obtain a copy of an unclassified U.S. Army handbook.

I became interested in the handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan,” after it was mentioned by Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, during his Senate Armed Services Committee testimony March 22.  Shown in the video below, his testimony focused on the “green-on-blue attacks” that have left dozens of Americans dead during the past five years, killed by their so-called “allies” in the Afghan National Security Force.

On the morning of July June 27, Day 78 of my wait, I contacted the Office of the Army Inspector General and spoke with Peggy Baines, an attorney who handles FOIA issues for the IG.  During a brief phone conversation, she suggested I file a Request for Expedited Processing as a way of speeding up the process.

Taking Baines’ advice, I forwarded the message below to two recipients at the Combined Arms Center — LTC Cort Andrews in the Office of the Secretary of the General Staff and Adjutant General/FOIA Officer Vicki Wells:

As a member of the news media, I would like to amend my Freedom of Information Act request (dated April 10, 2012) for a copy of the unclassified Center for Army Lessons Learned handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan,” in two ways as follows:

1) If the entire document cannot be provided via FOIA, please provide all releasable information the document contains;

2) Please consider this a REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING based on the public’s immediate right to know — especially during a presidential election year — about any and all circumstances/factors related to the dozens of deaths of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan at the hands of their Afghan National Security Force “allies” since 2007.

Please contact me ASAP with details about a new expected timetable for this request and if, for any reason, you expect further delays in processing this request.

Colonel Andrews replied to my message Monday afternoon — five days after it was sent — and shared what appears to be potentially-hopeful news.  Still, I have nothing in hand.

Another person I haven’t heard from since I last sent him an email six days ago is Army LTC Jimmie E. Cummings, public affairs officer for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

On the same day I sent the message to the folks at Fort Leavenworth, I sent a message in which I asked Colonel Cummings to forward this link and the message below to General Allen:

I know you know what’s inside the Center for Army Lessons Learned handbook, ‘Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan.’ You referenced it during your March 22 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Please tell me why the Army is refusing to release a copy of this unclassified document to me.

Suspecting he might not be interested in forwarding my message to the general, I closed my message by asking Colonel Cummings to provide me with an email address via which I can might contact General Allen directly.

Crickets.

TheClapperMemoFrontCoverLR 6-5-13Why are Army officials stonewalling me on this FOIA request? Don’t they know FOIA requires a determination within 20 days and, even after taking into account the 10-day extension possibilities under the Open Government Act of 2007, that they’ve gone 52 days beyond the letter and spirit of the law?  Of course, they do.

I suspect their stonewalling has something to do with the subject matter of my second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, set for release this fall.

In the book, I connect the dots between a 2007 memo signed by James R. Clapper Jr.— the man now serving as our nation’s top intelligence official — and the green-on-blue attacks that have taken place in Afghanistan since he signed the memo.

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!

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Freedom of Information Request Languishing in ‘Army FOIA Hell’

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Today, I reached the conclusion that U.S. Army officials believe certain laws, including the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Government Act of 2007, do not apply to them.  I reached that conclusion following a series of events that culminated in a morning phone conversation with Army LTC Cort Andrews at the Army’s Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

On June 7, Adjutant General Vicki Wells, the person officially handling my FOIA request, told me that my then-58-day-old request had crossed four hurdles — including, but not limited to, legal and intelligence reviews — and was at the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) for final consideration.

Soon after receiving that seemingly-hopeful news, I contacted the FOIA office at the Fort Eustis, Va.-based TRADOC and spoke with a female Anastasia Kakel  about my request.  Though her name somehow escaped being written down on my reporter’s notepad, I recall vividly what she said — that is, my FOIA request had been returned to Fort Leavenworth due to some items being overlooked during the review process.

The combination of those two phone calls lead me to contacting Colonel Andrews in the Office of the Secretary of the General Staff at CAC.

During a brief phone call June 20, I explained that I needed his boss, Lt. Gen. David G. Perkins, to light a fire beneath whomever was sitting on my FOIA request.  Very politely, he asked me to email him the particulars, and I did.  At the same time, however, I copied 48 of my closest “friends” who work as staffers for members of Congress who serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

Forty-five minutes later, Colonel Andrews replied via email: “Thank you, sir. I will dig into this and get an answer. CA.”

Six days later, I made a follow-up call to Colonel Andrews, hoping I would receive a good-news update about the status of my FOIA request that has languished in what can only be described as “Army FOIA Hell” for 77 days.  Instead, the call yielded only bad news:  Colonel Andrews told me that, although he could not explain why it was taking so long, I should expect to wait at least two more weeks — and possibly longer — for an official determination after content and legal reviews are completed.

Because the colonel works directly for men who wear stars on their uniforms, I suspect he knows more than he can say.  Regardless, I do not expect my FOIA request to arrive sooner than July 13.

“So what’s the problem?” you ask.

FOIA requires that federal government agencies make determinations about requests like mine within 20 days of their receipt.  Per the Open Government Act of 2007, that time limit can be extended by up to 10 days if extenuating circumstances arise.  FYI:  I completed Air Force Officer Training School in fewer days (90) than Army officials say it will take for them to make a decision about my Freedom of Information Act request (94+).

Unfortunately for those who value both transparency and national security, it appears the target of my FOIA request — an unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan,” published by the Centers for Army Lessons Learned, a CAC subordinate at Fort Leavenworth — bears all the attributes of a “hot potato.”

Exactly what makes it hot remains to be seen, but I bet Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, knows the details.

General Allen mentioned the handbook during his March 22 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the so-called “green-on-blue attacks” in Afghanistan. Those attacks, in case you haven’t heard, have left dozens of Americans dead during the past five years, killed by their “allies” in the Afghan National Security Force.

Though I have yet to determine how much attention the handbook will receive in my upcoming second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, I do know I will devote a great deal of attention to connecting the dots between a 2007 memo signed by then-Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.— the man now serving as Director of National Intelligence — and the green-on-blue attacks that have taken place since 2007.

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!

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Day 71: Does the Army Have Something to Hide?

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SEVENTY-ONE DAYS days have passed since I began my effort to obtain a copy of an unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan,” using the Freedom of Information Act.  And still no answer.  Makes me to wonder:  Does the Army have something to hide when it comes to the deadly “green-on-blue” attacks in Afghanistan?

The handbook came to my attention days after it was mentioned by Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, during his March 22 Senate Armed Services Committee testimony about the “green-on-blue attacks.”  Those attacks have left dozens of Americans dead during the past five years, killed by their so-called “allies” in the Afghan National Security Force.

Today, as part of my continuing effort to obtain a copy of the handbook, I contacted Army LTC Cort Andrews in the Office of the Secretary of the General Staff at the Army’s Combined Arms Center — parent unit of the Centers for Army Lessons Learned where my FOIA request had been idling for weeks — at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Lt. Gen. David G. Perkins

During a brief phone call, I explained that I needed his boss, Lt. Gen. David G. Perkins, to light a fire beneath whomever was sitting on my FOIA request.  Very politely, he asked me to email him the particulars, and I did.  At the same time, however, I copied 48 of my closest “friends” who work as staffers for members of Congress who serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

Forty-five minutes later, Colonel Andrews replied via email: “Thank you, sir. I will dig into this and get an answer. CA.”

Even when one takes into account the changes contained in the Open Government Act of 2007 that allow for the 20-day FOIA deadline to be extended for up to 10 days, Army officials are now 42 days beyond the letter of the law, not to mention the “spirit” of the law.

Stay tuned as the outcome of this saga will be prominently featured in my second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, which is set to be published this fall.

In addition to exploring the mysterious details of the handbook, THE CLAPPER MEMO, will connect the dots between a memo signed by James R. Clapper Jr.— the man now serving as our nation’s top intelligence official — and the green-on-blue attacks that have taken place in Afghanistan since he signed the memo.

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!

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Freedom of Information Request Marks Day 67

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I’ve now waited 67 days — so far — for the U.S. Army to fulfill my Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of an unclassified Army handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan.”

As reported one week ago, I filed my original FOIA request April 10 in an effort to obtain a copy of the handbook mentioned by Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, during his Senate Armed Services Committee testimony March 22 about the “green-on-blue attacks.”  Those attacks have left dozens of Americans dead during the past five years, killed by their so-called “allies” in the Afghan National Security Force.

Even when one takes into account the changes contained in the Open Government Act of 2007 that allow for the 20-day deadline to be extended for up to 10 days, officials at the Centers for Army Lessons Learned are already 37 days beyond the letter of the law, not to mention the “spirit” of the law.

In any case, the longer the Army waits to fulfill this request, the better things look for my next book, THE CLAPPER MEMO.  Set to be published this fall, the book connects the dots between a memo signed by James R. Clapper Jr. — the man now serving as our nation’s top intelligence official — and those green-on-blue deaths since that memo was signed.

 

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Nation’s Intel Boss Dreading Upcoming Release of Book

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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.

TheClapperMemoFrontCoverLR 6-5-13In 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 boss 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 3:28 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 12:58 p.m. Central:  Cross-posted at Breitbart.com’s Big Peace!

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Breaking: Two Important Updates on ‘The CLAPPER MEMO’

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Today, I share two important updates related to my soon-to-be-published second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO.

TheClapperMemoFrontCoverLR 6-5-13First, I received word this morning from a source with contacts in Afghanistan that my investigation into DoD’s use of interrogation technology has prompted members of Congress to put pressure on Department of Defense officials to reconsider their position of relying solely upon one technology for interrogating enemy combatants, other detainees and third-country nationals when other proven and available technologies are available and, arguably, produce better results.  Of course, DOD officials will try to spin this in their favor, but the fact remains that this is a major accomplishment — and, perhaps, an additional chapter in the book!

Second, I spoke with Vicki Wells, adjutant general at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., this morning to follow up on my April 10 Freedom of Information Request via which I’m seeking a copy of the unclassified Centers for Army Lessons Learned handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats – Afghanistan.”  She said my 58-day-old FOIA request, which I highlighted in a June 4 post, has crossed four hurdles — including, but not limited to, legal and intelligence reviews — and is now at Headquarters of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) for final consideration.

As you can see, things are heating up as we get down to the “wire” on breaking the news in my book.

While you wait for 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 will make your blood boil!

UPDATE 6/7/12 at 12:15 p.m. Central:  After contacting the folks at the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) about the status of my FOIA request, I received the following message from Anastasia Kakel, TRADOC Records Administrator, in the office of the deputy chief of staff, G-6, at the Fort Eustis, Va., Army post:

Please be patient with us, as we are working through a number of FOIA requests.

Your packet was returned to Fort Leavenworth FOIA Office for further processing.  I have coordinated with Ms. Wells and you will be receiving a timeframe response from the FOIA Officer, Ms. Nancy Davis.

Please be aware the packet will be returned here for processing, and I estimate a response to you two weeks after it is received.  I will acknowledge receipt of the packet to you once is received at this office.

Add two weeks to the time I’ve already waited for the Army to comply with my FOIA request — which, by law, requires fulfillment within 20 days unless extenuating circumstances prevent it — and I can see a future headline:  Around the Army in 80 Days: My FOIA Adventure.

UPDATE:  THE CLAPPER MEMO is NOW AVAILABLE.  CLICK HERE to ORDER!!!

Army’s Stonewalling on Release of Unclassified Handbook Reaches Day 56

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A lot can happen in 56 days.  For instance, it takes 56 days to repair a section of its light rail network in Maryland, 56 days of incubation before an emu egg hatches and 56 days of waiting between blood-donation visits.  Coincidentally, 56 is also the number of days it has taken — so far, that is — for the U.S. Army to act on a request filed under the Freedom of Information Act.

Background:  On April 10, I submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Army, seeking a copy of an unclassified handbook, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan,” from the Centers for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.  Since then, I’ve waited 56 days without fulfillment of my request despite the fact that federal law requires a response within 20 days unless extenuating circumstances surface.  In this humble writer’s opinion, allowing 36 extra days for “extenuating circumstances” goes far beyond the spirit of the law.

So why the delay?

I suspect the Army’s stonewalling has something to do with the fact that Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, mentioned the document during his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee March 22.

In his Senate testimony, General Allen explained that 52 Americans — including six in 2012 alone — had been killed in Afghanistan and another 68 had been wounded by their so-called Afghan “allies” since the Pentagon began tracking such events five years earlier.  Slightly higher figures appeared in a Military.com article published May 1, and the numbers continue to rise.

What is it that appears in the handbook that Army officials — or someone higher up — doesn’t want to become public?  I suspect the handbook offers, in no uncertain terms, explanations for what led to the rise in the so-called “green-on-blue attacks” since 2007 and “lessons learned” for use in preventing such attacks in the future.

Coincidentally, 2007 was the same year James R. Clapper Jr. — then-Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, now Director of National Intelligence — signed a memo that, among other things, prompted several members of the U.S. Army Special Forces with whom I’ve spoken to retire earlier than planned.

TheClapperMemoFrontCoverLR 6-5-13Regardless of how Army officials choose to explain it, their stonewalling only adds fuel to the “fire” that will surround the fall 2012 May 2013 release of my next nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO.

While you wait for 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!

UPDATE:  THE CLAPPER MEMO is NOW AVAILABLE!