The Rocky Mountain News reports today that in early 2001, Qwest, a Denver-based wireless telecom company, pulled out of a major NSA program believing the spy agency was involved in illegal domestic operations. See, http://www.rockymountainnews.com/...
That project, Project Groundbreaker, was awarded on July 31, 2001 to Verizon and a consortium of telcos and defense contractors. Groundbreaker effectively privatized NSA surveillance. Ever since, most of the NSA's domestic wiretapping and intelligence analysis function has been performed by the same telephone and high-tech companies for which some in Congress are now seeking a grant of immunity for massive warrantless wiretapping.
MORE below the fold . . .
The Rocky Mountain News reports that following QWEST's withdrawal in February 2001 from a major NSA surveillance program, the NSA and Bush-Cheney Justice Department retaliated against the company and its President, Joseph Nacchio. See, http://www.rockymountainnews.com/...
Documents: Qwest was targeted
'Classified info' was not allowed at ex-CEO's trial
By Sara Burnett And Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News
October 11, 2007
The National Security Agency and other government agencies retaliated against Qwest because the Denver telco refused to go along with a phone spying program, documents released Wednesday suggest.
The documents indicate that likely would have been at the heart of former CEO Joe Nacchio's so-called "classified information" defense at his insider trading trial, had he been allowed to present it.
SNIP
On July 31, 2001, Project Groundbreaker, was awarded to Verizon and a consortium of telcos and defense contractors after Qwest withdrew, citing concerns about it's legality. Since Groundbreaker, NSA domestic surveillance has been carried out by private companies, many of which are closely allied with the Bush-Cheney Administration. The RMN report continues:
The partially redacted documents were filed under seal before, during and after Nacchio's trial. They were released Wednesday.
Nacchio planned to demonstrate at trial that he had a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, at NSA headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., to discuss a $100 million project. According to the documents, another topic also was discussed at that meeting, one with which Nacchio refused to comply.
The topic itself is redacted each time it appears in the hundreds of pages of documents, but there is mention of Nacchio believing the request was both inappropriate and illegal, and repeatedly refusing to go along with it.
The NSA contract was awarded in July 2001 to companies other than Qwest.
USA Today reported in May 2006 that Qwest, unlike AT&T and Verizon, balked at helping the NSA track phone calling patterns that may have indicated terrorist organizational activities. Nacchio's attorney, Herbert Stern, confirmed that Nacchio refused to turn over customer telephone records because he didn't think the NSA program had legal standing.
In the documents, Nacchio also asserts Qwest was in line to build a $2 billion private government network called GovNet and do other government business, including a network between the U.S. and South America.
The documents maintain that Nacchio met with top government officials, including President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and then-National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice in 2000 and early 2001 to discuss how to protect the government's communications network.
According to the Rocky Mountain News, Qwest decided Groundbreaker was illegal and opted out of The Program -- warrantless domestic spying - and the project went other major telcos and defense contractors. Note that Verizon, which is being sued along with AT&T, is among the NSA contractors. See,
http://www.nsa.gov/...
31 July 2001
For further information, contact:
NSA Public and Media Affairs,
301-688-6524
National Security Agency Outsources Areas of Non-Mission Information Technology to CSC-Led Alliance Team
The National Security Agency (NSA) has established an official government-industry partnership for Information Technology Infrastructure (ITI) services within the areas of Telephony, Distributed Computing, Enterprise Management, and Networks by awarding a prime contract on 31 July 2001 to the CSC-led Alliance Team. Today's acquisition, known as Project GROUNDBREAKER, concludes an extensive procurement process, following a 15-month Feasibility Study, announced in a June 2000 Press Release, and a managed competition among industry leaders, announced in a March 2001 Media Update. The winning Alliance Team, self-named as Eagle Alliance, is a CSC-led joint venture in partnership with Logicon, a Northrup Grumman company. Additionally, the team comprises strategic alliance partners that include General Dynamics for telephony and networks, Keane Federal Systems for distributed computing and enterprise management support, and Omen, Inc., a small business that will integrate the Eagle Alliance small business consortium. Technology and Service Delivery Partners for this Alliance Team include ACS Defense, BTG, CACI, Compaq, TRW, Windemere, Fiber Plus, Verizon, and Superior Communications.
As an agency in transition, NSA continues to address the technology explosion of the past decade by leveraging the expertise of the commercial marketplace through an aggressive reformed acquisition strategy. The Eagle Alliance Team will be responsible for redefining and implementing new ITI processes and end-to-end solutions under a contract that has a potential duration of 10 years with a potential value that exceeds $2 billion.
"The ability of NSA to perform its mission depends on an efficient and stable ITI, one that is secure, agile, and responsive to evolving mission needs in balance with the requirements to recapitalize and refresh technology," NSA Director Lieutenant General Michael V. Hayden, USAF, said. "This outsourcing partnership for these four ITI areas supports our transformation efforts. It allows us to refocus assets on the Agency's core missions of providing foreign signals intelligence and protecting U.S. national security-related information systems by turning over several ITI services for industry's purview."
This government-industry partnership will result in service quality improvements, continuous modernization of NSA's ITI, as well as a cost avoidance for the Agency over the duration of the contract. It is also an employee-friendly approach to redefining NSA's internal corporate structure in that the contractors will receive monetary incentives to hire a significant number of Agency employees, and offer them comparable or better pay, benefits, and opportunities. Over the contract duration, Eagle Alliance will manage the selective ITI areas while undergoing continuous governance and monitoring by NSA based on Service Level Agreements that identify the performance levels required. NSA will continue to provide transition services (e.g., career counseling, resume preparation, and seminars) for employees interested in moving to the private sector under this contract.
The contract is expected to be fully operational in November 2001, 2 months ahead of the original schedule.
America's Codemakers and Codebreakers
Maybe, the privatization of NSA didn't turn out to be such a good idea. This also seems to pull the rug out from under those who want to grant immunity to the telcos for warrantless wiretaps.