Farah calls Newsweek on 'lie'

EnderWiggins I thank you for your service in the United States military. But your convoluted claim that no one knows whether Obama could pass a background check is completely laughable. I also enjoyed your “rectal defilade” remark! Anyone who had associated with even a tenth of the radical America Haters and criminals that Obama has wouldn't have a chance of getting even any type of security clearance. He also admitted to using hard drugs while he was in college. I am guessing you didn't fess up to that in your interviews. Then there is the issue of his character... the man is a habitual liar to the point that he embarrasses himself on an almost daily basis.

I guess you didn't catch his talk with the space shuttle crew the other day. “My commitment to NASA is unwavering,” Obama said. He emphasized “how proud we are of you ... and how committed we are to continuing human space exploration in the future.” He just canceled NASA’s primary space exploration project. Reality and what comes out of the man's mouth are almost polar opposites every time he speaks. Now admittedly he normally only is reading what is being displayed on his teleprompter, but still that just shows that he has surrounded himself with liars. He uses the same type of muddled language that you do so that when someone catches him in a lie he is able to claim that what people think they heard coming out of his mouth is different than what he actually said.

Fireman15,

I will not argue with you on issues in which we are violent agreement, nor will I argue on issues that I admittedly know nothing about. I would suggest you hold to those same behaviors, but hey, that is entirely up to you. But I assure you that I know wherefore I speak, and I have personally gone through he process of my own background check and participated in those of several other people, and I know wherefore I speak.

The process of a security investigation is not based on Internet rumors, political rhetoric, or the decibel level at which the input is offered. It is performed by professionals who are quite adept at telling the difference between genuine issues and vacuous speculation, and as a result no one can ever predict from the outside looking in what clearances will or will not get granted.

I know that I myself doubted my own ability to get a clearance since I had a long family history of participation in organized crime. Yes, I am Sicilian and the son of a Mafia princess.

History shows that I not only received a clearance, but I was given custodial responsibility for nuclear weapons at the age of 21.

When all was said done, it did not matter who my grandfather was, or my uncles were, or who I was friends with, or where I was born, or what drugs I had ever used, or what previous jobs I had held.

It mattered only that their investigation determined I was deserving of the clearance.

I repeat... anybody who pretends they know ahead of time how a security clearance background check will go are demonstrating by that certainty that they have no idea what they are talking about.

EnderWiggins,

I certainly appreciate your candor about your personal experience and background. It sounds very exciting compared to my childhood of chasing cows and falling off of horses. I will certainly try to tone down my rhetoric... the same way that I did after I introduced my wife to shooting.

I am very curious... did you graduate from West Point before or after you were given custodial responsibility for nuclear weapons?

My closest friend growing up went into Naval Intelligence and was one of those “professionals” of whom you speak. We have numerous family members who have been career military members in several branches of the service. My wife's ex-husband was a recruiter. Both my wife and I are very active in veterans and military history groups. The general consensus has been... given Obama’s claimed age he most likely would have had a difficult time even joining the military let alone getting a security clearance given his history of drug use and radical associations. But I will call my most knowledgeable friends and family members and ask again what they think.

I will tell you that I have been interviewed several times myself for other persons background checks. In every case the interviewers were very interested in the persons associations, possible drug use and their character.

I am very curious... did you graduate from West Point before or after you were given custodial responsibility for nuclear weapons?

Well.. it depends on where you draw the line. I received my orders for the assignment while I was still a Cadet, since it was to be my first permanent duty station after graduation and the Artillery Basic Course. But I had graduated before I actually got there and took over the warheads.

So... I depends on whether you consider getting the orders or actually getting the warheads as being "given custodial responsibility."

I got my first clearance, though, as a Plebe. The investigation for that took place while I was still in high school.

"My closest friend growing up went into Naval Intelligence and was one of those “professionals” of whom you speak. We have numerous family members who have been career military members in several branches of the service. My wife's ex-husband was a recruiter. Both my wife and I are very active in veterans and military history groups. The general consensus has been... given Obama’s claimed age he most likely would have had a difficult time even joining the military let alone getting a security clearance given his history of drug use and radical associations. But I will call my most knowledgeable friends and family members and ask again what they think."

Ask them all you wish. The simple and unassailable truth is that whatever they tell you they will still just be guessing based on information of questionable reliability. The real investigators will actually investigate, and what might look like a "radical association" based on the blogosphere may not even considered meaningful by the FBI.

"I will tell you that I have been interviewed several times myself for other persons background checks. In every case the interviewers were very interested in the persons associations, possible drug use and their character."

It's an investigation. They are interested in everything. And then when they have collected everything they can, they go back an make a decision. Let me give you another interesting example on the "character" issue you mentioned.

I had an acquittance who was (at the time) an Air Force Captain who was trying to get a position with the OSI, and it required a completely new background check. Among the things they discovered in the course of the investigation was that she was wildly promiscuous and did not really care who knew about it. So do you think she got the clearance?

Of course she did. The reason I was given later was that since she did not care who knew about it, she was at no risk of being blackmailed by anyone who was aware of the behavior. Not only did she get the clearance, she eventually retired from the Air Force as a full Colonel in the OSI.

You will note that I never once said that I thought Obama could pass a background check. I have no idea whether or not he would, but neither does anybody else. And those who pretend otherwise are just pretending.

You must be an amazing person to have graduated from West Point received a commission and an important assignment caring for nuclear warheads at only 21 years of age. You must be one of the youngest West Point Graduates ever, which is an impressive accomplishment. Congratulations!

You are a little confused however about who does background checks for military security clearances. The FBI does do background checks on individuals for Federal, State and Local agencies. The Department of Defense performs it's own background checks on military personnel. I called my friend who was in Naval Intelligence; he has insisted that a person with Obama’s questionable associations, admitted drug use and other information included in his autobiographies would not have passed a DOD background check at the time he served in the 1980s. That is for what it's worth since you have already stated you would not accept any person's assessment on this.

Personally I do not have as strong a feelings on this as you might assume. I have very little faith in our judicial system. I do not believe that Obama will be declared ineligible to be president until he is either impeached by a Republican dominated House of Representatives or his own friends turn on him. Neither is very likely. I do however support those who continue to try and unseal the documentation of Obama’s life.

"You must be an amazing person to have graduated from West Point received a commission and an important assignment caring for nuclear warheads at only 21 years of age. You must be one of the youngest West Point Graduates ever, which is an impressive accomplishment. Congratulations!" You must not know very much about West Point. My profile is about average. Everybody gets commissioned, most of us are 21 when we graduate, and all of us get positions of significant responsibility afterward.

"You are a little confused however about who does background checks for military security clearances. The FBI does do background checks on individuals for Federal, State and Local agencies. The Department of Defense performs it's own background checks on military personnel.

Not true. Every single background check I have ever been involved with regarding Military personnel (either my own or those I was contacted regarding) were performed by the FBI. Whether that was luck of the draw or not, it does not matter. The FBI absolutely does background checks for military security clearances.

" I called my friend who was in Naval Intelligence; he has insisted that a person with Obama’s questionable associations, admitted drug use and other information included in his autobiographies would not have passed a DOD background check at the time he served in the 1980s. That is for what it's worth since you have already stated you would not accept any person's assessment on this."

The fact that he is even willing to offer an opinion demonstrates that he has no idea what he is talking about.

West Point has a four year program. Most persons do not graduate from high school until they are 18, your statement that most persons graduate from West Point when they are 21 is suspect to anyone who can add. It has been this way for a long time. George Custer was the youngest West Point graduate in his class. He was 22. I encourage anyone reading this to verify your statement about the average age of West Point graduates.

Your comments about the FBI issuing most Security Clearances for military personnel is just wrong and really destroys your credibility here. Anyone reading this can easily verify this for themselves also. Of course if others were actually reading this thread you would be shot out of the water on this one. With very few exceptions the Defense Security Service (DSS) gathers the background information. Once the information has been verified, and the investigations completed, DSS presents the information to the specific military service's adjudicator authority (each military service has their own), who determine whether or not to grant the security clearance, using standards set by that particular military service.

From the late 70s through the 80s, anyone who admitted to being a pot smoker was not welcome in most branches of the service. Obama has admitted in public and in his autobiographies that he used much harder drugs; it is very unlikely that he would have been welcomed into any branch of the service at that time. I am not as familiar with more recent policy but I am doubtful that things have eased up to the point where a person confessing to illegal drug use would be welcomed into any branch of the service without at least a great deal of additional scrutiny. Given the associations that Obama has admitted to in public and in his autobiography no branch of the service would have even bothered going to the trouble and expense of trying to get him a security clearance during this time period.

“The fact that he is even willing to offer an opinion demonstrates that he has no idea what he is talking about.” I have known the persons who have given these opinions for a very long time, and I know for certain that they do know what they are talking about. Many former and current military members are very talkative and willing to share their experiences and opinions when asked. This does not demonstrate that they don't know what they are talking about.

I hate to say it, but you have used nearly every Alinsky tactic in the book. You have thrown out many half truths to confuse the issues. You have subtly added misleading qualifiers that give the impression that you are claiming something which actually you are not. You ridicule and cast dispersions any anyone who expresses knowledge that contradicts your point of view without offering any verifiable information to back up your claims. Your protests are transparent... you are obviously trying to defend your questionable claims by going on the attack. Despite your being a very new member in this forum I have given you the benefit of the doubt because you have claimed to be a veteran and an Army officer. You are long on Obama talking points but very short on common sense. You also seem to have very low expectations for the ability of people here to verify your questionable information. Freepers are known for being able to sift through the BS so I doubt whether you will last all that long here.

"West Point has a four year program. Most persons do not graduate from high school until they are 18, your statement that most persons graduate from West Point when they are 21 is suspect to anyone who can add.

I graduated from West Point on June 6, 1978 and would not turn 22 until the following December 29th. And I was not the youngest member of my graduating class by more than a month. I have no idea what point you imagine you are trying to make, but it is hardly meaningful. There are more than six months there of hundreds of my classmates having 22nd birthdays.

If the average age of highs school graduation is 18, then about half will be younger. See how that works?

"It has been this way for a long time. George Custer was the youngest West Point graduate in his class. He was 22. I encourage anyone reading this to verify your statement about the average age of West Point graduates."

I have to tell you, I did not know that Custer was the youngest in his class, and I'm not sure it's true. What I do know is that he graduated last in his class, and so officially earned the title of "Class Goat." I believe you may have those details confused.

West Point rules are that anybody can matriculate as long as they will be older than 20 and younger than 27 on graduation day.

"With very few exceptions the Defense Security Service (DSS) gathers the background information. "

Aaaahhhh. There's your confusion. With very few exceptions the DSS compiles the background information. Gathering it is another issue entirely. The DSS has been subcontracting many if not most of these investigations to other organizations since 1974, when they first picked up the responsibility (but not the manpower) for performing them. The FBI is the primary organization performing the actual field interviews especially since they have the geographic infrastructure to do so and DSS does not.

"From the late 70s through the 80s, anyone who admitted to being a pot smoker was not welcome in most branches of the service."

You have been misled. This corresponds to one of the periods of most highly acknowledged drug use both in and outside the military. The simple truth of the matter is that they tacitly recognized the fact that the services would be unable to fill their billets were this rule actually followed. It has been winked at for more than 40 years.

Your continued tendency to list Obama's "disqualifications" can be safely ignored since I have already made the point that such speculation carries no weight with actual reality. You are merely stating again the opinion I have asserted deserves no confidence. Repetitioon is not actual argument.

"I have known the persons who have given these opinions for a very long time, and I know for certain that they do know what they are talking about. Many former and current military members are very talkative and willing to share their experiences and opinions when asked. This does not demonstrate that they don't know what they are talking about."

Again... repetition is not argument. Your confidence in them is noted. I know better. The argument is not advanced in any way from where it was several posts ago.

"You ridicule and cast dispersions any anyone who expresses knowledge that contradicts your point of view without offering any verifiable information to back up your claims. Your protests are transparent... you are obviously trying to defend your questionable claims by going on the attack."

I have ridiculed no one. I have attacked no one. I have observed the simple unassailable truth that nobody can say from the outside looking in who will or will not pass a background investigation. Investigators do not care what some blog says a person's prior associations were. They care what the investigation determines they are.

You will note that never once have I asserted that Obama would pass such an investigation. I have no idea if he would or wouldn't.

And neither do any of your friends.

"You also seem to have very low expectations for the ability of people here to verify your questionable information. Freepers are known for being able to sift through the BS so I doubt whether you will last all that long here."

To this point, I am impressed neither by your ability to sift through the BS nor your prioritization of your energy. I am actually a bit puzzled why you are taking this conversation as personally as you have... but the point that remains is this:

Anybody who asserts that Obama could not pass a security clearance investigation is simply making it up as they go. It is worse than a wild guess.

EnderWiggins my wife was born in August of 1956. You were born on December 29, 1956. That makes her several months older than you.

She had to get a waiver to be entered into kindergarten because she had just turned 5 years old. She was the youngest student in every class through her entire academic career. She was the youngest graduate from her high school in the class of 1974. She had to get a waiver signed by a doctor and a surgeon to take the tests to get into nursing school because one of the age requirement at that time were that a person had to be 18 before they would allow her to take the tests to get into nursing school.

In order for you to graduate in the class of 1974 you would either have had to have been only 4 years when you entered Kindergarten or you would have had to graduate a year earlier than your classmates. In my previous posts I congratulated you for your achievement because very very few persons graduate from West Point at 21 most of them are 22 or older. Instead of accepting my compliment you stated that you were just average and that most of your classmates were 21 when they graduated. It is possible for people to graduate from West Point at just 21. It certainly is not the norm as you would surely know if you had actually attended.

“West Point rules are that anybody can matriculate as long as they will be older than 20 and younger than 27 on graduation day.” I am not sure where you dug that up. In reality each candidate must:
be 17 but not yet 23 years of age by July 1 of the year admitted.

I am not a professional Obama PR person as you most likely are, so I am going to get out and enjoy the beautiful day rather than continue refuting the rest of the lies and micharacterizations in your post.

EnderWiggins, I just can't let this one go. I posted, “From the late 70s through the 80s, anyone who admitted to being a pot smoker was not welcome in most branches of the service.”

EnderWiggins you posted, “You have been misled. This corresponds to one of the periods of most highly acknowledged drug use both in and outside the military. The simple truth of the matter is that they tacitly recognized the fact that the services would be unable to fill their billets were this rule actually followed. It has been winked at for more than 40 years.”

The reason why the military began refusing to recruit persons who were drug users is because there was a problem in the military which was determined to be a security threat. Random drug tests became the norm for anyone given a position of responsibility. My wife's ex-husband was a recruiter; he was never instructed to give a wink to drug users and let them in. The military was desperately trying to root out drug users and not let more in. I am not sure how it is possible that you were not aware of this effort. It is very puzzling, but then anyone who does not believe that Obama’s refusal to release his long form birth certificate and other relevant documentation of his life is puzzling to me.

Well I had the chance to enjoy a beautiful afternoon and now I am back to address one more of EnderWiggins false statements. First I would like to encourage everyone to actually check out the assertions that EnderWiggins has made and the assertions that I have made as well. Unfortunately, it is difficult to keep up with all of EnderWiggins claims, because he just makes stuff up whatever whenever he finds himself in a corner.

In this post I would like to address the following claim, “The DSS has been subcontracting many if not most of these investigations to other organizations since 1974, when they first picked up the responsibility (but not the manpower) for performing them. The FBI is the primary organization performing the actual field interviews especially since they have the geographic infrastructure to do so and DSS does not.”

He made this statement after I challenged his assertion that the FBI grants nearly all military security clearances. This of course was wrong, but to dig himself out of this he now makes the equally absurd claim that yes the DSS is in charge of gathering the information but the FBI actually does all of the field work.

Actually, as stated on The DSS Website at
https://www.dss.mil/GW/ShowBinary/DSS/about_dss/history/about_dss_history.html

“The Defense Security Service (DSS), formerly known as the Defense Investigative Service (DIS) was established on January 1, 1972. DSS was created in response to President Richard M. Nixon's approval of proposals suggesting the reorganization of the national intelligence community and the creation of an “Office of Defense Investigation” to consolidate Department of Defense (DoD) personnel security investigations (PSI). Prior to this consolidation, such work was accomplished through U.S. military departments by four major DoD investigative agencies. They were: 1) the U.S. Army Intelligence Command, 2) the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command, 3) the Naval Investigative Service, and 4) the Office of Special Investigations, Air Force. Centralization of PSIs promised economic savings through better program management and more efficient use of resources.”

“Military departments were directed to transfer certain military and civilian manpower resources to DSS and on May 1, 1972, the agency took operational control of the National Agency Check (NAC) Center and the Defense Central Index of Investigations (DCII). On October 2, 1972, DSS became operational in all 50 states under the direction of Brigadier General Joseph Cappucci, former commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Formation of this new agency and the consolidation of the PSI process brought additional benefits to the final investigative product-uniformity, improved quality and timeliness.”

Somehow they forgot to mention their biggest subcontractor! If EnderWiggins has any source for his claim about the DSS subcontracting almost all of their background investigations to the FBI, I would certainly appreciate seeing a link to it.

Once again I challenge EnderWiggins to give a coherent explanation as to why he feels that the person occupying the most powerful post in the world should not be expected to provide the verifiable documents from his past including his school and passport records and his long form birth certificate. So far I can summarize his reasons as being because Obama might be able to get away without doing it, and also because other people might have been able to get away without doing it. It sounds more like the reasoning from a teenage boy than the reasoning of a 53 year old West Point Grad who was an officer and given custodial responsibility of nuclear warheads at age 21.

Once again we have put a guy in the most powerful office in the world who refuses to provide verifiable information about who he is. He has the power to destroy this country and the rest of the world and we don't really know who he is and even someone who sounds like a leftist teenager admits that he doesn't know if Obama could obtain even the most basic Security Clearance. This is absurd; I would never have believed it could be so until it actually happened.

EnderWiggins why don't we do the math together.
“I graduated from Parochial School 8th grade in 1970” “ I never skipped a grade”
So let's see:
Started 8th Grade in September of 1969
Started 7th Grade in September of 1968
Started 6th Grade in September of 1967
Started 5th Grade in September of 1966
Started 4th Grade in September of 1965
Started 3rd Grade in September of 1964
Started 2nd Grade in September of 1963
Started 1st Grade in September of 1962
Started Kindergarten in September of 1961
You claim to have been born on December 29, 1956, Were you 4 years old when you were sent off to kindergarten? Did you enter the 1st grade at 5?

First you argued that you were just the average age of a West Point Grad at 21. Then you said, “If the average age of highs school graduation is 18, then about half will be younger. See how that works?”
Then you said,”I was not the youngest member of my graduating class by more than a month.” Now you say,”And I was not the youngest member of my West Point Class by more than two weeks.

Nearly everyone knows very few people graduate from High School at 17 probably even you. My wife did but she was the youngest member of every class she was in from grade school through high school. You claim to have graduated the same year she did despite being several months younger. Then you claim you were just the average age of your fellow students as if you wouldn't be acutely aware that you were almost a year younger than many of your classmates through your entire school career as my wife was.

I posted the age requirements to apply for West Point and have never claimed that you could not have graduated when you said you did. I am just curious why you have tried to argue so hard you were the average age of a West Point graduate and have changed your story several times. You do a lot of wiggling in your posts EnderWiggins.

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