WAR: Recently Disclosed Pentagon Secret Unit Helped Find Saddam

The recently disclosed Pentagon secret intelligence unit played a pivotal role in the capture of Saddam Hussein over a year ago. The unit created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks was recently disclosed in an article in Sunday's The Washington Post. The article also indicated that the unit was interpreting U.S. laws in such a way to give Donald Rumsfield greater authority over thier operations.



According to the article, the unit was an offshoot of a black secret intelligence unit called "Grey Fox" This unit reportedly was involved in the hunt for Bin Laden. At any rate, the fact of this unit does not bug me in the least. No doubt that there are far greater secrets lurking in the black world. It also shows the power of elite units that lead to the capture of Saddam. What bugs be is the "reinterpretations" of U.S. law to suit the Donald. However, John McCain seems seriously pissed off about this and is going to start digging. Lets see what he turn up

Related News Links:
news.yahoo.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
WAR: Pentagon-Controlled SSB Takes on CIA Role

If the CIA was given the same materials and information, could they have located him also? It seems that this is just a unit to get information for just the upper elite and bypassing the agency that already has that job.. the CIA.

Was the creation of this unit just to give Cheney his own intelligence unit as he cannot get along with the CIA? Also, if he cannot get along with the CIA, why....? I think those are the questions that should be asked. I am sure that the CIA has their own special secretive units only for the president as well. The question is.... why create another unit when you already have it........ Just some thoughts.

Originally posted by JCMinJapan
Was the creation of this unit just to give Cheney his own intelligence unit as he cannot get along with the CIA?

“Pentagon officials said they established the Strategic Support Branch using ‘reprogrammed’ funds, without explicit congressional authority or appropriation. Defense intelligence missions, they said, are subject to less stringent congressional oversight than comparable operations by the CIA.”
link

....How about this new SSB need some positive spin to justify operating outside the control of congress?

Originally posted by Countermeasures
....How about this new SSB need some positive spin to justify operating outside the control of congress?

I think you are dead on. Lets get some positive news out to take some wind out of say McCains sails.

A topic in its own right but it can live here anyway:

WHO IS WALDROUP? The secret intelligence group is headed up by Col. George Waldroup, a man with little intelligence experience. Waldroup, who likes to refer to himself in the third person as "GW," is not a graduate of the Army's Special Warfare Center nor the CIA's Field Tradecraft Course for intelligence officers. He spent much of his professional life as a "midlevel manager" at the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He was embroiled in scandal in the mid-'90s for deceiving a congressional delegation about staffing problems at Miami International Airport. "Waldroup, then assistant district director for external affairs, helped orchestrate a temporary doubling of immigration screeners on the day of the visit, instructed subordinates not to discuss staff shortages and physically confronted a union leader to prevent him from reaching members of Congress." During the investigation, he then "refused to disclose the password to his e-mail files, refused to sign an affidavit summarizing his testimony and, in a subsequent interview, 'stated that he would not answer any questions' because 'he wished to protect himself from exposure to criminal sanctions.'"


That's Bush-Cheney intelligence and selection for honest government for you.

Originally posted by JCMinJapan
If the CIA was given the same materials and information, could they have located him also?

Doubtful, since this was a function of the military, which the CIA is out of.

It seems that this is just a unit to get information for just the upper elite and bypassing the agency that already has that job.. the CIA.

There are several other foreign intelligence agencies, and the 'elite' that they are giving the intelligence to is the administation, which is who the CIA would report to anyway. It makes a good deal of sense for the defense department to have an intelligence and operations branch. Tho i have to question having it now that intelligence is supposed to be more streamlined and centralized.

Was the creation of this unit just to give Cheney his own intelligence unit as he cannot get along with the CIA?

This is the SSB that Rumy is in charge of no? A department of defense intelligence unit no?

masked avatar
The secret intelligence group is headed up by Col. George Waldroup, a man with little intelligence experience.

Seems like he isn't on the up and up. Perhaps this explains the failure to capture bin laden? Is the unit called 'grey fox' to stroke this man's ego? Has he gone gray?

I am sam Fisher, and I am a Splinter Cell....


Of course these people exist and if it helps to keep me safe at night, more power to them. These are needed in this day and age, now if they start taking out elected officials in the Us, then look out....

as quoted from the article
According to the article, the unit was an offshoot of a black secret intelligence unit called "Grey Fox" This unit reportedly was involved in the hunt for Bin Laden.

'Grey Fox' has been known for quite sometime. ATS has a couple threads on them. The most relevant one is:
Grey Fox The Most secret Unit in the world?

Another 'outside' confirmation:
'Grey Fox' closes in on prize scalp: Saddam

But as to what is quoted above, a unit that may have broken off, that has also been brought and discussed within ATS, is TaskForce 121, who also was secretly involved with tracking Bin Laden, as well as Saddam.
They were reported on back in early 2004, February, to be more specific.
Page 2 of this topic:
US negates reports on Osama's capture

The post describes TaskForce 121 and has some relevant links concerning them:
Saddam Catchers Hunt Bin Laden
US commandos 'closing in' on bin Laden
Task Force 121
Playing Chess in the Dark With Task Force 121
The Man-Hunters of Task Force 121
Task Force 121 ( Task Force 5, Task Force 20 )


My guess is that it would be this group that is refered to in the above quoted section.




seekerof

[edit on 24-1-2005 by Seekerof]

I personally would have appreciated you contributing this to my recent news article on the SSB.