Since the Clintons took over the White House in 1993, the security process went into the dumpster and never came out. It was as if the floodgates had opened. (See Gary Aldrich’s take on this in “Unlimited Access”)
There was a time being an open homosexual was not only a disqualifier for any kind of security clearance, you would have been ejected from the military without much preamble.
In those days of yore, the FBI would actually go out in the field and interview everyone you put on references, and their friends as well. What Clinton changed was the field work - since then, the FBI only calls the people you put down to verify you have some connection to who you claim to be — in short, they operate exactly like the “drive by media.”
FBI: Hello. Are you Bob Jones?
“Bob Jones”: Yep.
FBI: Do you know Bradley Manning who is in the US Army (branch).
“Bob Jones”: Yep.
FBI: Thanks for you cooperation. Good by.
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FBI Security Clearance Report on Bradley Manning:
On the basis our 5 minute background check, we deem a TS-CW clearance to Bradley Manning is warranted. Cleared to work as Signals Analyst for US Army (branch). Clearance granted: Top Secret Code Word.
Sickening, isn’t it? My dad was a 30 year naval officer, and was the communications and security officer at the Yokosuka Naval base in Japan when the USS Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans. I know that having a job like that required a significant security clearance, that goes without saying.
I asked my dad about that one time, and he told me when he was a young naval officer they actually sent somebody to his hometown to interview people that he knew when he was being evaluated for high-level security clearance.