Secret Service Scandal

[LongBlade]

More evidence - add premeditation to the scandal.

Secret Service officials planning a wild night of fun in Colombia did some of their own advanced work last week, booking a party space at the Hotel Caribe before heading out to the night clubs, hotel sources tell ABC News.

As first reported by ABC, the men went to the "Pley Club" brothel, where they drank expensive whiskey and bragged that they worked for President Obama. The men were also serviced by prostitutes at the club.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/secret-pre-planned-party-colombian-hotel-100835023--abc-news-politics.html

[pawelj]

Boys will be boys regardless where they work. Storm in a teacup. Massive overreaction. There is nothing wrong with partying and sex, payed for or otherwise.

There is if you work for the Secret Service. As others have said, who knows who these girls were or who they might be working for? Using sex as an intelligence tool is probably the oldest trick in the book. A camera or two in the right place and you've got someone blackmailing the presidential security detail. Not good. Is that what really happened? I don't know. But these guys have no business taking the risk.

If sex is not a big deal, then there is nothing to blackmail anyone with it. Sex is a natural activity. 

[Staggerwing]

It's not the sex, it's the potential for opsec compromise. While these agents are humping away, probably drunk and unfocused, someone (one of the girls or even a plant among the hotel staff since this little trip was not planned in secret) could be going through their wallets, cloning their phones or planting virii on them (yes it's quite possible to infect a smartphone!) or just listening to the banter back and forth among the agents to glean useful tidbits. Hell, someone could steal an agent's CC# and then order kiddie porn.

Voice on Phone: "Care to explain that to your supervisor? I though not. Well, we won't tell if you take a few extra restroom breaks on such and such a day. Deal? Smart choice, friend..."

[LongBlade]

+1 with Stagger.

The guys in question were supposed to be secure. As in not compromised.

The hookers had potential access to phones, equipment in the room...errrm...intimate...knowledge of who was there.

If Pawelj, if you need it, try searching for some news articles discussing how this could have severely compromised security. The news has done a decent job of explaining how this was a Bad Idea ^TM.

[DoctorQuest]

Boys will be boys regardless where they work. Storm in a teacup. Massive overreaction. There is nothing wrong with partying and sex, payed for or otherwise.

There is if you work for the Secret Service. As others have said, who knows who these girls were or who they might be working for? Using sex as an intelligence tool is probably the oldest trick in the book. A camera or two in the right place and you've got someone blackmailing the presidential security detail. Not good. Is that what really happened? I don't know. But these guys have no business taking the risk.

If sex is not a big deal, then there is nothing to blackmail anyone with it. Sex is a natural activity.

LOL!!!! I'm sorry, paying for sex is in no way natural.

+2 for Staggerwing.

[Bison]

The greater issue is that they compromised the saftey of the POTUS.

[LongBlade]

Something is not quite right here.

These guys are humans. They're not all going to be married. They're going to meet new women. Eventually one of them will end up going home with someone.

There must be some kind of protocol when this takes place, whether it be locking your phone in a safe or something else.

We're missing something.

These guys should not have been playing around while on the job, but their actual conduct - inviting strangers home - there has to be some protocol in place.

[Staggerwing]

Boys will be boys?

From one of the Agent's Facebook page (speaking of security risks...):



http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/331127/20120420/secret-service-colombia-scandal-ousted-agent-david.htm

[AmericanPride]

The greater scandal is the apparent unanimous revolt against our drug war and Cuba policies at the Summit.... but you have to watch the foreign press to see that talked about.

[Bison]

The greater scandal is the apparent unanimous revolt against our drug war and Cuba policies at the Summit.... but you have to watch the foreign press to see that talked about.

The two topics are not related.

[AmericanPride]

The greater scandal is the apparent unanimous revolt against our drug war and Cuba policies at the Summit.... but you have to watch the foreign press to see that talked about.

The two topics are not related.

Right. The "scandal" is a media joke. Meanwhile, the slow slip of South America from US leadership goes unnoticed by American media and public. How convienent for some government and military officials to get caught doing something embarrassment but ultimately irrelevant at a time when US leadership is challenged directly.

[AmericanPride]

The greater scandal is the apparent unanimous revolt against our drug war and Cuba policies at the Summit.... but you have to watch the foreign press to see that talked about.

The two topics are not related.

Right. The "scandal" is a media joke. Meanwhile, the slow slip of South America from US leadership goes unnoticed by American media and public. How convienent for some government and military officials to get caught doing something embarrassment but ultimately irrelevant at a time when US leadership is challenged directly. All's well that's... ignored.

[DoctorQuest]

Time to move this thread.....

[Bison]

The greater scandal is the apparent unanimous revolt against our drug war and Cuba policies at the Summit.... but you have to watch the foreign press to see that talked about.

The two topics are not related.

Right. The "scandal" is a media joke. Meanwhile, the slow slip of South America from US leadership goes unnoticed by American media and public. How convienent for some government and military officials to get caught doing something embarrassment but ultimately irrelevant at a time when US leadership is challenged directly.

How is it a media joke when the people charged with the responsiblity to protect the POTUS have such a major failure in performing their duties?  You realize that the President's agenda was freely availible to anyone who when into the room according to the accounts given.  Not a small matter.

[AmericanPride]

The greater scandal is the apparent unanimous revolt against our drug war and Cuba policies at the Summit.... but you have to watch the foreign press to see that talked about.

The two topics are not related.

Right. The "scandal" is a media joke. Meanwhile, the slow slip of South America from US leadership goes unnoticed by American media and public. How convienent for some government and military officials to get caught doing something embarrassment but ultimately irrelevant at a time when US leadership is challenged directly.

How is it a media joke when the people charged with the responsiblity to protect the POTUS have such a major failure in performing their duties?  You realize that the President's agenda was freely availible to anyone who when into the room according to the accounts given.  Not a small matter.

It's a media joke because there are more serious issues that occurred that are being ignored by the press. It's really quite irrelevant to American national security that a number of federal officials and military personnel are willing to pay for sex and that some of those same people can be cheap. Is this really surprising to anyone who has spent even a few minutes in any of America's male-dominated gun cultures? Fire them. Reassign them. Whatever. It - does - not - matter.

White spokesman Jim Carney said the President's security was never compromised (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0419/White-House-defends-Secret-Service-director?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fcsm+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+All+Stories%29). So all of this media coverage is simply sensationalism; a foolish joke.

So what's being ignored? How about the unanimous call for the US to do more about drug demand instead of the failed policies in South America that have only made the cartels more powerful and violent? How about the unanimous call for the US to readdress its policies towards Cuba? How about the fact that we failed to secure a joint statement from the summit about how we are going to move forward together on regional issues? How about the fact that UNASUR and CELAC, led by South American states and not the United States, are taking the lead in formulating regional policy; making us increasingly irrelevant.

But we're not going to talk about the War on Drugs (and its attendant issues of violence, wasteful spending, racism, etc of the last 40 years) or reassessing Cuban-US relations in an election year. That's right, we have more important issues, like the fact that Secret Service agents and military personnel like to have sex with Latina women...  ::)