Reports of US Monitoring of SWIFT Transactions Are Not New

[cal04]

Worth reading from the Counterterrorism Blog's Victor Comras: "Reports of US Monitoring of SWIFT Transactions Are Not New: The Practice Has Been Known By Terrorism Financing Experts For Some Time":

Reports on US monitoring of SWIFT transactions have been out there for some time. The information was fairly well known by terrorism financing experts back in 2002. The UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Group , on which I served as the terrorism financing expert, learned of the practice during the course of our monitoring inquiries. The information was incorporated in our report to the UN Security Council in December 2002. That report is still available on the UN Website. Paragraph 31 of the report states:

“The settlement of international transactions is usually handled through correspondent banking relationships or large-value message and payment systems, such as the SWIFT, Fedwire or CHIPS systems in the United States of America. Such international clearance centres are critical to processing international banking transactions and are rich with payment information. The United States has begun to apply new monitoring techniques to spot and verify suspicious transactions. The Group recommends the adoption of similar mechanisms by other countries.”

There is something of "Thou Doth Protest Too Much" about the manufactured overheated outrage about this story, directed overwhelmingly against the NY Times. Anyone who has sent an international wire transfer in the last few years would find it obvious such international transfers are being monitored pretty carefully.

http://www.warandpiece.com/
Reports of US Monitoring of SWIFT Transactions Are Not New
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/06/reports_of_us_monitoring_of_sw.php

[BOSSHOG]

1. But the gop knows its base

Attempting to sound tough and pissed off, george bush used NYT and treason in the same sentence sending the ignorant base into a tizzy, just as planned. The success of the gop is directly proportional to the ignorance of its base. The more ignorant the base, the greater the success for the gop and its message(s). They doth protest just right when it comes to agitating the ignorant.

[annabanana]

2. I am wondering why the Times

isn't using this information in it's own defense. They are on the milk crate about freedom of the press (as they should be) but they are not following up on the fact that the charges are just so much posturing nonsense.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1514341

[Igel]

3. Presumably becaue they know better what can and can't

be used.

[whatelseisnew]

5. They need a myhtic struggle against the White House so u will subscribe

Subscribe today to support the NYT in their battle against W!!!

/sarcasm

[rustydog]

4. Bush and Company are screaming because there is something

going on here they do not want innocent Americans to see.
Remember, the wiretapping was only calls going our to foreign countries? "If Osama is calling someone in America, I wanna know about it" Smirk, heh, heh heh!
Then we find out the calls are home to home in america, to your doctor, your pharmacist. Tens of millions of warrantless invasions of our private telephone interactions.

There is something in the banking story that is not in print..yet.