paywall :(
Go to the comments, click 'web' on top, open the first link in the resultant google search.
For some reason, they don't paywall access through google, only direct links.
The Last Diplomat
21–30 of 59 posts
Re: The Last Diplomat
#22Damn Paywalls. I wish there was a service that I could sign up to and it would make all the paywalls go away.
Go to the comments, click 'web' on top, open the first link in the resultant google search. For some reason, they don't paywall access through google, only direct links.
Still Paywalled for me.
Re: The Last Diplomat
#23Damn Paywalls. I wish there was a service that I could sign up to and it would make all the paywalls go away.
Go to the comments, click 'web' on top, open the first link in the resultant google search. For some reason, they don't paywall access through google, only direct links.
Funny detail: search in Google -> OK. Search in Start page -> paywall.
Re: The Last Diplomat
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
If they ask "do you know any foreigners" and you say no, and then they can prove you know a foreigner, that's it: they've got you guilty of a federal felony (lying to an FBI agent about materially relevant matters in the investigation), and since there were two FBI agents one will act as the witness for the other. Then they don't need to investigate anything else; your career is over and you're going to prison.
But why would a diplomat whose job it is to talk to foreigners say they don't know any?
Who doesn't know any foreigners?
Re: The Last Diplomat
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
If they ask "do you know any foreigners" and you say no, and then they can prove you know a foreigner, that's it: they've got you guilty of a federal felony (lying to an FBI agent about materially relevant matters in the investigation), and since there were two FBI agents one will act as the witness for the other. Then they don't need to investigate anything else; your career is over and you're going to prison.
But why would a diplomat whose job it is to talk to foreigners say they don't know any?
As mentioned in the other path, it is partly about tripping people up.
The diplomat already provided a list of all known foreign nationals that is supposed to be kept somewhat up to date. If foreign nationals are known that aren't on that list, it raises a red flag.
Why didn't you mention you banged this person? Why are you doing business with that person? Were the questions that this third person asked pressing enough that they should have been added to the list?
It is one of those things that makes perfect sense if you have even a basic understanding of these kinds of processes but that makes for a good narrative for the masses who don't.
Re: The Last Diplomat
#26I've got multiple thoughts about this story, but the biggest one is that Robin Raphel answered FBI questions for quite a while BEFORE thinking that she should get a lawyer.
For anyone who's not as politically connected as she is (say, if you're Martha Stewart, or - God help you - a mere mortal like any of us), this is a sure fire way to end up locked in a cage. ...and make no mistake: if you read the article carefully, it's clear that the one thing that kept her out of jail is the fact that she was heavily connected to DC elites and worked a campaign of back-channel pressure.
Never, ever, EVER answer police or FBI questions.
Re: The Last Diplomat
#27That was a rather entertaining article, both for the story, but also for the subtext about the dangers of SIGINT-only intelligence gathering. The NSA hoovers up everything it can get automatically, but that data is used without context. In this story, the context of being a diplomat, the context of being in Pakistan, and the context of being conversational partners with a HUMINT source. I'm sure the NSA is (at this p…
You might be interested in Robert Baer's books for a perspective on this problem within the CIA. HUMINT seems to have been drclining significantly over the last few decades and it's the opinion of some in these organisations that this is a tragedy and won't work.
Re: The Last Diplomat
#28Re: The Last Diplomat
#29That was a rather entertaining article, both for the story, but also for the subtext about the dangers of SIGINT-only intelligence gathering. The NSA hoovers up everything it can get automatically, but that data is used without context. In this story, the context of being a diplomat, the context of being in Pakistan, and the context of being conversational partners with a HUMINT source. I'm sure the NSA is (at this p…
You might be interested in Robert Baer's books for a perspective on this problem within the CIA. HUMINT seems to have been drclining significantly over the last few decades and it's the opinion of some in these organisations that this is a tragedy and won't work.