usmbguest5318
Gold Member
Note: This thread is not about the politics of the Nunes and Democratic memos, so don't post about the politics, political impetus, political impact(s), political merits/demerits, etc. of either.
The one thing that's made clear by the disclosures of both the GOP and Democratic memos regarding the FISA process re: Carter Page is that assuming Page was in fact somehow (willfully or unwittingly) aiding or abetting Russian intelligence initiatives, it's possible the FBI found out about it and, in turn, undertook efforts to "turn" him, or at least to feed him disinformation that would confound the Russian's intelligence analysis. If there were any doubt among Russian intel personnel about the legitimacy of Page as their asset, i.e., the nature and extent to which he may have been "made," they can be certain now that he, as of the date of very first FISA warrant application that overlaps with whatever intel operations they were conducting, most certainly had been "made," if not converted into a counterintelligence asset.
The release of either memo effectively removed whatever uncertainty -- uncertainty and fomenting it being key elements and ends of intelligence strategy -- may have existed regarding of what of their assumptions/actions/interpretations derived materially from input from Page needs to be revisited. There's no telling just what those things/ideas/actions may have been, but it's plausible to conceive that they pertain to the indictments of Russians that came about recently; whatever utility may have accrued from Page's associations with Russian state actors and cutouts was over.
Yes, I know that sounds convoluted, but what about intelligence and counterintelligence operations isn't convoluted?
Sometimes we have to do a thing in order to find out the reason for it. Sometimes our actions are questions, not answers.
-- John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
We don’t always like what’s good for us,” she said. “Especially at first.
-- Erin Beaty, The Traitor's Kiss
-- Erin Beaty, The Traitor's Kiss
The one thing that's made clear by the disclosures of both the GOP and Democratic memos regarding the FISA process re: Carter Page is that assuming Page was in fact somehow (willfully or unwittingly) aiding or abetting Russian intelligence initiatives, it's possible the FBI found out about it and, in turn, undertook efforts to "turn" him, or at least to feed him disinformation that would confound the Russian's intelligence analysis. If there were any doubt among Russian intel personnel about the legitimacy of Page as their asset, i.e., the nature and extent to which he may have been "made," they can be certain now that he, as of the date of very first FISA warrant application that overlaps with whatever intel operations they were conducting, most certainly had been "made," if not converted into a counterintelligence asset.
The release of either memo effectively removed whatever uncertainty -- uncertainty and fomenting it being key elements and ends of intelligence strategy -- may have existed regarding of what of their assumptions/actions/interpretations derived materially from input from Page needs to be revisited. There's no telling just what those things/ideas/actions may have been, but it's plausible to conceive that they pertain to the indictments of Russians that came about recently; whatever utility may have accrued from Page's associations with Russian state actors and cutouts was over.
Yes, I know that sounds convoluted, but what about intelligence and counterintelligence operations isn't convoluted?
- The Anatomy of Counterintelligence
- Counterintelligence Training Materials
- Democratic response memo to the Nunes memo
Sometimes we have to do a thing in order to find out the reason for it. Sometimes our actions are questions, not answers.
-- John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
