Trading in Terror

JOE KNOWLES InTheseTimes 19aug03

What does it take to end a career in public service? Mere treason evidently doesn’t cut it, as has been made clear by the gaggle of current administration officials who were co-conspirators in the Iran/Contra scandal, among them retired Adm. John Poindexter.

As President Reagan’s national security advisor, Poindexter engineered the secret deal to sell weapons to our avowed mortal enemies, the mullahs of Iran, and then used the proceeds to fund the Contras’ bloody rebellion against the elected Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Under George W. Bush, Poindexter’s more recent endeavors have included the Total Information Awareness project, an ambitious effort to collect and organize personal data on all Americans that would have rendered any conception of “privacy” quaint at best. That program hit the skids after bipartisan revulsion in Congress.

But it is only Poindexter’s latest scheme that finally has sent him away from the public trough. His blandly christened Policy Analysis Market, an online betting parlor for predicting political assassinations, revolutions and terrorist attacks in the Middle East, was quickly denounced in Congress—“unbelievably stupid,” as Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) politely put it. In late July, after conferring with the Senate’s Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner (R-Virginia), the Pentagon dropped Poindexter’s plan for the terror casino, which would have registered investors in August and opened for business in October. And the old admiral, now a liability for Bush, has been asked to walk the plank.

While it’s undeniably gratifying to watch Poindexter sink, we should really thank him. Free-market fundamentalism—the superstition that holds that the magic of the market is all we need to solve all our problems—has finally crossed a line. For years, “the market” has defined the terms for mainstream debate in virtually every policy arena—not just trade and foreign affairs, but education, welfare, health care, media deregulation and campaign finance reform. Unsexy technical arguments over trade policy or media ownership rules tend to obscure the fundamental conflict between human and market values, but Poindexter’s terror-trading plan vividly illuminated the clash—and human values won.

So the ideological straitjacket constricting the nation’s politics might be coming loose. And that loosening is helped, not hurt, by variously obtuse editorials that have praised the Policy Analysis Market as a “good idea with bad press.” These exercises in extreme libertarian amorality, ranging from Reason magazine to the New York Times business section, echo the sentiment expressed by the Policy Analysis Market’s Web site (before it was hastily taken offline), that “markets are extremely efficient, effective and timely aggregators of dispersed and even hidden information.” It may not be pretty to see people profit from murder and mayhem, goes this logic, but it just might save lives.

Defenders of the idea point to the Iowa Electronic Markets (sponsored by the business school at the University of Iowa) as an example of another unorthodox “futures market,” which has had some success in predicting the outcomes of elections. Indeed, when the rules of the game are laid out in advance with a finite number of variables—as they are in every electoral contest, with a fixed date and a fixed number of candidates—there’s no reason why a futures-market system can’t “aggregate” useful information, and be just as valuable as a more conventional opinion poll.

But when we leave fantasy-league baseball and enter the real world—you know, the one where actual terrorists live—market mechanisms will fail lethally. Terrorists, by definition, will not do us the favor of playing by any betting rules. On September 10, 2001, what were the Vegas odds that 19 men were about to hijack four jets and change the world? If the following morning taught anybody anything, it is that history is not an elegantly closed system. No oracle could have helped us then—but old-fashioned intelligence gathering, coupled with a competent chief executive who didn’t waste money on charlatans like Poindexter, might have. That much you can bet on.

Joe Knowles is the Culture Editor at In These Times.

source: http://www.inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=319_0_3_0_C 19aug03

Who is John Poindexter?

John Marlan Poindexter was born in Washington, Indiana on August 12th, 1936. Warblogging.com has obtained Mr. Poindexter's social security number but has decided not to publish it at this time, pending legal advise. He attended school in Odon, Indiana (Population 1,500) and raised a Methodist. A street in front of Odon High School is named after him.

Poindexter graduated from the US Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958 at the age of 22. He graduated at the top of his class, having also served as a brigade commander at the Academy. At the time of his graduation Mr. Poindexter was the only individual to a brigade commander and graduate first at any service academy, with the exception of General Douglas MacArthur.

Mr. Poindexter earned a PhD in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology, which he attended from 1961 - 64 as a doctorate candidate. Mr. Poindexter attended Caltech from 1958 - 61 while pursuing his masters in physics. His doctoral dissertation at Caltech was entitled "Electronic Shielding by Closed Shells in Thulium Compounds". The dissertation is available from the Caltech Library System.

Mr. Poindexter married his wife, Linda A. Goodwin, on June 6, 1958 after he graduated from the Naval Academy. During Mr. Poindexter's stint at the Naval Academy, Linda had been "down there most weekends when [they] were dating."

In the Navy Mr. Poindexter rose through the ranks of the Navy between 1958 and 1987, eventually commanding missile destroyers. He began his Naval career as an engineering officer on board destroyers. He gradually rose through the ranks to become Chief Engineer of a destroyer, from which post he moved to Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of several destroyers. He became the Commanding Officer of the USS England, a cruiser, on which he "pioneered the shipboard use of computers". From there Mr. Poindexter moved on to become Commander of a destroyer squadron, at which time he was Surface Warfare and ASW (Anti Submarine Warfare) Commander of battle groups in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. See a list of Poindexter's service assignments.

Eventually Mr. Poindexter left the sea for the Pentagon. He became Deputy Commander of the Naval Education and Training Command. He has also served as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and Special Assistant for Systems Analysis to the Secretary of Defense while in uniform between 1971 and 1978. From 1978 until 1981 Mr. Poindexter served as Deputy Chief of Naval Education and Training.

According to Mr. Poindexter's resume, he "Brings a unique blend of experience to problems from the highest levels of government to the laboratory. Demonstrated exceptional management and command ability ranging from naval operations to the national security of the United States. Noted for creative solutions to difficult issues and ability to quickly grasp the essence of new tasks."

The White House and Iran-Contra In 1983 John Poindexter was appointed Deputy National Security Adviser, working under National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane. The United States invaded Grenada less than a week after Poindexter became Deputy National Security Adviser. On October 24, 1983, on the eve of that invasion, White House spokesman Larry Speakes was asked by CBS News whether US Marines were landing on Grenada. Mr. Speakes responded that the suggestion was "preposterous". Speakes' response, of course, was untrue. Later it would turn out that his response was based on "guidance" from DNSA Poindexter. "A furious Speakes subsequently complained to top-echelon White House aides about being misled and charged that 'the credibility of the Reagan administration is at stake.'"

In December of 1984 Robert McFarlane resigned as National Security Adviser to "spend more time with his family." The media had speculated about a rift between Reagan and McFarlane for some time. On December 4, 1985 Poindexter was appointed to follow Robert McFarlane as National Security Advisor, at the age of 49. At the time of his promotion to NSA, Poindexter was also promoted to the naval rank of Admiral. He remained National Security Advisor until his dismissal following the breaking of the Iran-Contra story just under a year later. He was forced to resign from the National Security Council on November 25, 1986. During his time at the NSC, Poindexter briefed President Reagan on matters of national security every morning.

Mr. Poindexter led the project known as Iran-Contra to sell arms for hostages in the Middle East and divert the profits to Contra rebels. This project has been criticized by Congress by resolution and investigated by Congress. The sale of weapons to Iran was illegal, as was the transfer of funds to the Contra rebels. The funding of the Contra anticommunist rebels in Nicaragua was specifically prohibited by the Boland Amendment, a law passed by Congress and signed by the President. The Costa Rican government also accused Mr. Poindexter of being involved in cocaine trafficking to raise further funds for the Contra rebels, but this has never been proved. Poindexter has always mantained that, as he told Congress in 1987, "I wanted the President to have some deniability so that he would be protected," and so he never asked President Reagan for authorization for Iran-Contra.

When news of the Iran-Contra scandal broke Mr. Poindexter embarked on a mission to conceal evidence of the arms sales, the transfer of funds to the Contras and the President's involvement in these actions.

Poindexter immediately convened meetings of those "in the loop" about Iran-Contra and began "laying out a false version of events" that would be told to the public and Congressional investigators. It is alleged that he burned the one document linking President Reagan to the illegal transactions -- a Covert Action Finding signed by Reagan himself. According to some this Covert Action Finding was signed only after Poindexter began Iran-Contra.

Poindexter and Colonel Oliver North deleted more than 5,000 e-mail messages in White House servers having to do with the sale of weapons. Unfortunately for Mr. Poindexter and Mr. North, they failed to delete e-mails from the backup tapes. Copies of some of these e-mails are available from CNN. A book of these e-mails is also available from George Washington University.

Once the Iran-Contra scandal became public, and after Poindexter had deleted the 5,000 e-mails from White House computers, he was called to testify before Congress.

In order to prevent him from utilizing the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, Poindexter was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. During his testimony Poindexter told Congressional investigators that he "could not recall" events he was questioned about 184 times.

Convicted Felon Mr. Poindexter was indicted on March 16, 1988 on seven federal felony charges stemming from the Iran-Contra scandal. The counts included participating in a criminal conspiracy with Colonel Oliver North, Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord (Ret.) and Albert Hakim; conspiring to obstruct official inquiries and proceedings; two counts of obstructing Congress; and two counts of false statements to Congress. He was prosecuted by Associate Counsel Dan K. Webb, Christian J. Mixter, Howard M. Pearl and Louise R. Radin, all working in tandem.

Poindexter was convicted of all five counts on April 7, 1990. Mr. Poindexter was convicted of criminal conspiracy with Colonel Oliver North, Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord (Ret.) and Albert Hakim (obstruction of congressional inquiries and proceedings, false statements, falsification, destruction and removal of documents); two counts of obstruction of Congress and two counts of false statements.

US District Judge Harold H. Greene sentenced Poindexter to six months in prison on each count, served concurrently. On November 15, 1991, a three judge appeals panel overturned Poindexter's convictions on the grounds that his testimony before Congress -- which was given under immunity -- may have influenced the testimony of witnesses against him. The US Government appealed the overturning of his conviction to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Mr. Poindexter's statement about his actions was simple: "I made a very deliberate decision not to tell the president so that I could insulate him from the decision and provide some future deniability for the president if it ever leaked out."

In 1989, even as Poindexter was facing multiple felony counts in Federal court, his wife became an Episcopal priest.

Into the Private Sector Following Iran-Contra Poindexter went to work in the technology world, first working at Presearch, Inc., as a Senior Scientist. Poindexter joined the firm to "develop new commercial enterprises," according to his resume. While there, again according to his resume, he "designed and developed hardware and software for the prototype of a digital real-time, imaging system to be used for physical security of high value facilities." The system he developed was used in nuclear power plant security.

Poindexter left Presearch in 1989, moving on to found his own company -- TP Systems in 1990. At TP Systems Poindexter programmed and designed software, including a symbolic debugger and a BBS communications system, according to his resume. TP Systems was apparently not enough to pay the bills, and three years later, in 1993, Poindexter went to work as a consultant at the Elkins Group while still mantaining TP Systems until 1996. At Elkins he was "Chairman of the Maritime Advisory Committee and a member of the Board of Directors".

Back to Government Work Poindexter moved on to Syntek Technologies in 1996, a "small high technology firm with contracts in domestic and international defense and commercial business". Syntek has acted as a contractor for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Poindexter's new employer. As a vice president at Syntek, Poindexter worked on Genoa -- an "intelligence mining, information harvesting" software package designed to data mine large databases. Genoa's "goal is to produce better national decisions through structured, collective reasoning." It allows interactive online meetings and collaboration.

On Thursday, February 14, 2002, John Poindexter was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead the Information Assurance Office at the Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Despite Mr. Poindexter's criminal record of lying to Congress, the President thinks he is "an outstanding American and an outstanding citizen who has done a very good job in what he has done for our country, serving in the military". It is at the IAO that Mr. Poindexter began work on Total Information Awareness, a plan to watch Americans like the Stasi watched East Germans -- but using technology this time, instead of people. Mr. Poindexter's friend Edward Aldridge told FOXNews that "John had a real passion for [Total Information Awareness]."

Shortly after news reports about Total Information Awareness began surfacing, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York urged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to find a replacement. "If we need a big brother, John Poindexter is the last guy on the list that I would choose," Schumer told ABC's This Week program.

According to a "Compendium of DARPA Programs" available at DARPA, a component of the Total Information Awareness project is "Genoa II", a system that "will apply automation to team processes so that more can be accomplished sooner . more information will be exploited, more hypotheses created and examined, more models built and populated with evidence, and, in the larger sense, more crises situations dealt with simultaneously". As noted earlier, Mr. Poindexter worked on Genoa, the predecessor to Genoa II, while Vice President of Syntek Technologies.

Living in Maryland Mr. Poindexter currently resides at 10 Barrington Fare, Rockville, MD, 20850 with his wife, Linda Poindexter. His telephone number is (301) 424-6613. Detailed driving directions and satellite photographs are available from Cryptome. The house at 10 Barrington Fare cost Mr. Poindexter and his wife $42,000 when they bought it on March 30, 1971. It's current value, according to property tax records, is $269,700. The house features such amenities as central air conditioning, two bathrooms (and one partial bath) and a one car underground garage. The house is heated by a forced air heating unit and has a composition shingle roof and aluminum siding. The lot size is 12,924 square feet. The Poindexters also keep a boat.

In August of 2001 Linda left the Episcopal Church, where she was a priest, to join the Catholic Church. She told the National Catholic Register that "There is a tendency among Protestants to 'think for themselves' and that's what's led to so many differing denominations. There is an unclear sense of authority. I was able to accept the structure of the Church's authority more easily. Thus I am at peace."

Linda now attends the Roman Catholic parish of St. Raphael's in Rockville, Maryland on a weekly basis. John attends the church with her but has not yet converted to Catholicism. She says "In all but name he's there [in Catholicism]. He certainly agreed with what I was doing. It would be difficult without that support." The church is located at 1592 Kimblewick Road in Rockville. The pastor is the Reverand G. William Finch.

Linda sometimes volunteers at The Catholic Information Center, 815 15th St. NW, Washington, DC., which is staffed entirely by Opus Dei priests. She appreciates the leadership of Reverend C. John McCloskey, a man who "concedes no quarter to modernism". "He's fairly quiet and not at all the bombastic type. He's persistent. He attracts people because he's very brilliant and thoughtful," Linda says of Father McCloskey.

Lisa and John's first child was born on November 5, 1961 in Pasadena, California as John was attending Caltech. Alan Poindexter graduated from Coronado High School in Coronado, California in 1979. Alan attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, from where he graduated in 1986 with an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering. Other children include Daniel John, Mark Andrew, Thomas Matthew, and Joseph Chester.

source: http://www.warblogging.com/tia/poindexter.php 16aug03