Rolling Stone Magazine has published an on-line article titled "The Fear Factory" about the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force aka FBI JTTF.The tales of FBI's JTTF "outing" of suspected terror suspects is vaguely reminiscent of another story originally targeted for Rolling Stone, "The Real X-Files" by Gus Russo.According to the author of the article, Guy Lawson:Since 9/11, the number of such outfits across the country has tripled. With more than 2,000 FBI agents now assigned to 102 task forces, the JTTFs have effectively become a vast, quasi-secret arm of the federal government, granted sweeping new powers that outstrip those of any other law-enforcement agency. The JTTFs consist not only of local police, FBI special agents and federal investigators from Immigration and the IRS, but covert operatives from the CIA. The task forces have thus effectively destroyed the "wall" that historically existed between law enforcement and intelligence-gathering. Under the Bush administration, the JTTFs have been turned into a domestic spy agency, like Britain's MI5 -one with the powers of arrest.When we first encountered CIA and DIA officers on the Internet who were expressing interest in the strange mixture of UFO physics and persons seeking illegal disclosure of government secrets, we contacted the local FBI office for guidance.It was the local FBI JTTF that responded to our inquiry:Gary,Please call me if with your concerns on this issue. You are correct in that there are some guidelines that must be followed for contact but, I am not comfortable detailing those here.xxx xxxxxxJoint Terrorism Task Force Minneapolis, MNIn another possible parallel to the UFO-secrets conspiracies and spooky Intelligence Community (I.C.) interest, author Lawson tells the tale of how the JTTF snared a suspected would-be terrorist:For all his bluster, Shareef was, by any objective measure, a pathetic and hapless jihadist - one of a new breed of domestic terrorists the federal government has paraded before the media since 9/11. The FBI, in a sense, elevated Shareef, working to transform him from a boastful store clerk into a suicidal mall-bomber. Like many other alleged extremists who have been targeted by the authorities, Shareef didn't know that his brand-new friend -the eager co-conspirator drawing him ever further into a terror plot -was actually an informant for the FBI.But in backwaters like Rockford, the JTTFs don't have much to do. To find threats to thwart, the task forces have increasingly taken to using paid informants to cajole and inveigle targets like Shareef into pursuing their harebrained schemes.Is there an analogy between the methods of the JTTF revealed by Lawson and I.C. activity surrounding the UFO subject?According to article by Gus Russo:And weaving in and out of all these alleged controversies, especially in the UFO internet chat rooms, are at least three senior intelligence analysts and one retired Air Force Special Investigator: "Tom" (pseudo.), a MASINT specialist (Measures and Signals Intelligence) with a PhD in chemistry and Paul, an aeronautics scholar interested in "breakthrough propulsion and gravity-modification technologies," work down the hall from each at the Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) headquarters in Washington. "Jim" (pseudo.), a physician and former CIA officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology, maintains his security clearance, and travels back to Washington often to work on classified psychological studies. Richard "Rick" Doty, a longtime friend and colleague of Jim, was an investigator assigned the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI).Lawson writes:In the affidavit sworn by an FBI special agent in support of Shareef's indictment, the co-conspirator who called himself Jameel is known only as "CS" (Cooperating Source). In fact, CS was William Chrisman, a former crack dealer with a conviction for attempted robbery who was paid 8,500 by the JTTF and dispatched specifically to set up Shareef. Like other informants in terrorism cases, Chrisman had been "tasked" by federal agents to indulge and escalate Shareef's fantasies - while carefully ensuring that Shareef incriminated himself. Are the I.C. officials who regularly interact on the Internet with UFO enthusiasts, alternative physics scientists, and foreign nationals really serious about their activities, or are they merely seeking personal diversions to take their minds off a hard day at the Intel Desk?Lawson questioned JTTF sources about their work:"What is the biggest threat?" I ask.There is a long pause. "I think it's very dangerous if we start to identify that," an analyst named Julie Irvine says. "The enemy is listening," Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gregory Fowler adds later. "I drill that into my people's heads every day. Foreign-intelligence agencies and terrorists are listening. The FBI is on a war footing." When I express skepticism at the nature of the cases being brought by the JTTF, and the wild-goose chases that seem to occupy its time, Fowler says people don't understand the "threat stream" facing the nation.After examining the I.C. interest in the UFO crowd, Gus Russo concluded:Tom's motivation, it now appears certain, can be summed up in two words: national security.In a recent interview, a senior intelligence official who is familiar with spooks in cyberspace explained, "Tom is interested in the subject because, one, he is concerned that DIA officers parading as CIA officers -- a felony -- are leaking classified material to the UFO groups. He also knows that in years past the KGB used parapsychology and paranormal groups to get to military people with classified information. He is concerned that any enemy group could easily use these forums to search out national security secrets." One abject lesson for the UFO community comes by analogy with a tale told to Lawson about the kind of investigations conducted by the JTTF, even when it appears that the source is not credible: Gutierrez offers another instance of the JTTF at work. A man of apparent Middle Eastern background came into a Chicago police station and said he worked for the Department of Defense and he had top-secret documents in his truck, which had been stolen. He also said his roommate was a terrorist. The man appeared to be a kook. But an allegation had been made. The JTTF was contacted. Gutierrez was called out, and he interviewed the subject. He soon verified that the man was, in fact, nuts. But the matter didn't end there."We interviewed the roommate," Gutierrez says. "He was an Egyptian. We ran his name. He was here illegally. ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was there within two hours. I've never seen ICE react the way they did. They came out and took physical custody of the guy. They kept him until his court hearing, and he was sent overseas."It is often forgotten that alternative technologies -- like the exotic propulsion concepts explored at the annual STAIF conference, where exotic concepts are managed by a DIA official -- may have the potential to become new weapons of mass destruction. What is the level of concern?Lawson asked Mark Lundgren, a special agent who oversees the TLOC -- the Terrorism Liaison Officer's Committee:"Without getting too philosophical, remember the whole Dick Cheney one percent solution," Lundgren continues. "If there is a one percent chance that a device can be constructed that will kill thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of people, then we have to treat our response as if there were a 100 percent chance. That's a thing that gets lost in the view of the public when they see the intelligence-gathering of law enforcement. They get concerned about their civil liberties and the Constitution because of the way things are portrayed in the media."We can shine a light on the relationship of the I.C. to the UFO world by quoting an email from a Senior Intelligence Official, sent in response to a draft of a story we were about to publish about the I.C. interest in UFOlogists:"Please delete this entire paragraph. I can see you understand the importance of not revealing sources. It is even more important not to reveal methods as these potentially can be applied to multiple sources."
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