Claims NSA is bugging all Bahamian calls

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

By Kyle Walkine

Tribune Staff Reporter

kwalkine@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said last night that his ministry is liaising with the US government to address reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) has got the green light for all cellphone conversations within the Bahamas to be recorded.

In an article posted on Firstlook.org yesterday, the authors claim that the NSA is “secretly intercepting, recording and archiving” the audio of every cellphone conversation in the Bahamas.

The information is reportedly one of many documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was granted a year’s asylum in Russia last June after being sought by his native America.

“We have sought a formal explanation from the US government,” Mr Mitchell said. Following today’s Cabinet meeting, the government is expected to brief the public.

Despite the writers of the online story saying that Bahamian government officials could not be reached for comment Mr Mitchell said he only found out about the article yesterday afternoon.

Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner believes the government now has a lot of questions to answer.

According to Mrs Butler-Turner, if the government is unable to answer questions on this issue, as well as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), then they would have lost their mandate to govern the country.

“My concern is for the matter which I raised two weeks ago. Obviously I would have been speaking about this National Intelligence Agency in the Bahamas,” she said.

“You would have seen many of the questions I asked at that time have yet to be answered by the government. As a matter of fact, I think that this level of arrogance shows that this government is clearly unable to operate within the laws of this country. They have yet to bring forth any legislation.

“Obviously from what I know about the NIA, and now this, I have great concern. The government not only has to do an investigation into this matter, but they also have a paramount duty to be honest and upfront with the people of this country.

“I think there are some very serious concerns. When there are freedoms, there must be parameters in which they must operate. If your citizenry feels there are questions to their private lives then there must very well be answers.”

The article, written by Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras quoted the Bahamas’ Listening Devices Act in saying that all wiretaps must be authorised in writing by either the Minister of National Security or the Commissioner of Police after consultation with the Attorney General.

However, none could be reached for comment.

Since the article was published shortly after noon yesterday it has raised a number of questions as to the credibility of the information and if true, which government official gave permission for the telephone conversations within the country to be recorded and monitored.

According to the article SOMALGET, a part of the NSA’s programme MYSTIC that is being used to monitor telecommunications companies in countries like the Bahamas, the Philippines and Mexico, SOMALGET is being used to locate international narcotics traffickers and special interest alien smugglers.

With millions of visitors coming into the country annually the writers claim that the NSA is intentionally collecting and retaining the intelligence on these people, including Bahamians, who have not been accused of crime or terrorist activity.

“If the NSA is using the Drug Enforcement Administration’s relationship to the Bahamas as a cover for secretly recording the entire country’s mobile phone calls, it could imperil the long-standing tradition of international law enforcement cooperation that the United States enjoys with its allies,” the authors wrote.

They noted that according to one of the NSA documents obtained, the overt purpose for accessing foreign telecommunications systems is for the company to receive “legitimate commercial service.”

However, they went on to point out that in the same document they added that their covert mission is for the provision of signals intelligence (SIGINT).

The authors of the article also called the Bahamas a “haven for tax cheats”, saying “If the US government wanted to make a case for surveillance in the Bahamas, it could point to the country’s status as a leading haven for tax cheats, corporate shell games and a wide array of black-market traffickers.”

According to the writers, this portion of the Snowden leaked documents do not “reflect a concerted focus on the money launderers and powerful financial institutions” that operate the black market for narcotics in the Bahamas.

Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell last night refused to comment on the issue.

Comments

sheeprunner12 says...

Where there is smoke.............. there is fire. LBT was on to something??????????? However, this is nothing new ................ spying by the US government has been going on for decades with the compliance of our leaders ........... check 1984 Commission of Inquiry

Posted 20 May 2014, 11:13 a.m. Suggest removal

bahamalove says...

I suspect Shame Gibson will now be communicating via carrier pigeons!

Posted 20 May 2014, 11:43 a.m. Suggest removal

Publius says...

LOL!!! I've been saying the same thing of all of them

Posted 20 May 2014, 12:46 p.m. Suggest removal

Cobalt says...

Lol

Posted 21 May 2014, 9:07 a.m. Suggest removal

afficianado says...

Here's the full story!!!!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/SOMALG…

Posted 20 May 2014, 12:22 p.m. Suggest removal

USAhelp says...

With a history of massive drug business and government corruptionit would be prudent for the NSA to spy. The USA readily contributes to our country we take it willingly im glade they help watch out.

Posted 20 May 2014, 1:47 p.m. Suggest removal

coyote says...

The US looks out for themselves and their interests. I personally would not like them having this kind of power over us when our interests does not match with theirs. Just the amount of information this gives them about our society (possibly relatively realtime) that they could use to influence us anyway they want is scary.

Posted 20 May 2014, 2:11 p.m. Suggest removal

i agree but as long as we take then we will owe dont think our government will turn down the hand outs

Posted 20 May 2014, 8:09 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

Did they send a diplomatic note?

Posted 20 May 2014, 2:21 p.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

The USA meddles too much on other countries man. Time for the world to stand up to these hypocrites and say enough is enough.

Posted 20 May 2014, 2:34 p.m. Suggest removal

Yeah but when they get in trouble, they always ask the US to intervene. Just saying

Posted 21 May 2014, 9:09 a.m. Suggest removal

Purcell says...

It was the government owned and run BTC that gave unrestricted access to the DEA to the network layer of the cell phone system where nothing is encrypted. They are (both the FNM and PLP must have been involved) now trying to sound all indignant and outraged because the DEA (which is a spy organization as well as drug cops) gave access to it to the NSA. It is IMPOSSIBLE for this level of access without government directive. I wonder if they forgot to mention the existence of this tap to Cable and Wireless when they sold them half of BTC?

This programme is said to have started last year - 2013

Posted 20 May 2014, 5:07 p.m. Suggest removal

Then Christie owns it. So does Cable and Wireless. They should have stood up to government to protect their customers' privacy. Heads must roll in government for this, if Christie had any integrity he would resign. Since he does not they will blame everybody including God for this.

Posted 20 May 2014, 6:24 p.m. Suggest removal

realfreethinker says...

Watch put for when the news about our NIA broke. People we are under siege by our government and our neighbors to the north. they are both spying on us and none have any legal authority to do it

Posted 20 May 2014, 2:55 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The reason why they are trying to legalize marijuana (for recreational use) in the US is because the war on drugs (that was really mostly to protect the alcohol trade) has become too expensive. Further studies show alcohol use among young people is decreasing and marijuana is the drug of choice. So they want to make it legal to sell weed and get a chunk of the billions that Americans spend on drugs every year. Follow the money.

Posted 20 May 2014, 2:59 p.m. Suggest removal

SP says...

"The article, written by Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras quoted the Bahamas’ Listening Devices Act in saying that all wiretaps must be authorized in writing by either the Minister of National Security or the Commissioner of Police after consultation with the Attorney General."

"However, none could be reached for comment."

Everybody run & hide....No accountability what so ever......Typical!

Posted 20 May 2014, 5:43 p.m. Suggest removal

PastorTroy says...

We kill, disenfranchise, destroy communities, incarcerate, destroy lives, seize property, empty bank accounts, now, we can't even make a cell phone call without the hypocritical U.S government listening, all because of that terrible DOPE & YOUNG MEN! Meanwhile selling the same and more potent DOPE LEGALLY in Colorado and Washington State plus others....The C.I.A does not want competition in the BILLION dollar drug trade, so here's a few million 'hush' and 'stand down' dollars. Meanwhile, LET THE DESTRUCTIVE ALCOHOL FLOW!! When you need a liver or kidney come to the U.S and get on the waiting list or pay a nice premium! WE ARE BEING USED MAJORLY!! You cannot legislate morality! I personally DO NOT want to watch a pastor and his wife having a threesome, am I going to pass a law against it? NO! It's between consenting adults, their conscious and their 'maker', And I will defend their rights to 'get their freak on'!!!. The war on drugs is a sham for the liquor and Big Pharma, The DEA is a SPY AGENCY!! DUHHH.. Are we such simpletons not to believe the U.S when the say the will do ANY & EVERYTHING to protect their interest WORLDWIDE??? Can't blame them either! What are OUR government doing other than just drinking the kool-aid and lining their pockets while selling every inch of the Bahamas and it's natural resources, because Tourism is going to last forever! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! We need to VOTE OUT ALL these 'DINO's' in our government, these young foreigners are too savvy for them. Imagine trying to explain RAM, Gigabytes, terabytes, motherboard etc, etc to these DINO's who got a law degree back in the 60 & 70's?? We (Bahamians) are being taken for a ride by many (not all of them) of these savvy foreign invaders! The only concern for our leaders seem to be "how much can I pocket for me and my cronies". We need the equivalent of the NRA in our Bahamaland, these crooks seem to fear no one, and use religion to pacify those struggling.THE GOVERNMENT should FEAR the PEOPLE, not the people fear the Government. Like the U.S we are rapidly becoming an oligarchy... And the aragonite deal?? BILLIONS IN PROFIT BUT THE BAHAMAS GET 600K????? WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!!!

Indeed do not be uppity and blame the USA on this one. It is the DEA's and NSA's job to spy. Only a complete moron would give them the keys to the fort.

Posted 20 May 2014, 6:29 p.m. Suggest removal

Uppity? Interesting choice of word. However, I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of your comments. IMHO, Our Government seems to be saturated with Morons and DINO's.

Posted 20 May 2014, 7:54 p.m. Suggest removal

Now I would like a declaration from Cable Bahamas that they are not allowing NSA to tap into their backbone. Not that it matters if the cable is tapped into at the USA end though bout would still count for something.

Posted 20 May 2014, 6:32 p.m. Suggest removal

crabman says...

all a ya sweethearts best take care the man is going to be in your phone listening and looking at your pictures, going to be plenty bust up heads soon.

Posted 20 May 2014, 9:35 p.m. Suggest removal

A caller to the Steve McKinney show last evening suggested if the U.S. were also caught listening to cell phone calls of the President of Brazil then Prime Minister Christie must be buying minutes from the U.S. Embassy and don't know it......LOL

Posted 21 May 2014, 9:04 a.m. Suggest removal

242orgetslu says...

PLEASE READ AND PASS ON!
This is the link where the full story is: http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MA…

Across the inky-blue Gulf Stream from Florida, near the sheer edge of the Great Bahama Bank, a new island is emerging from the sea. Although it bears the appealing name Ocean Cay, this new island is not, and never will be, a palm-fringed paradise of the sort the Bahamian government promotes in travel ads. No brace of love doves would ever choose Ocean Cay for a honeymoon; no beauty in a brief bikini would waste her sweetness on such desert air. Of all the 3,000 islands and islets and cays in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay is the least lovely. It is a flat, roughly rectangular island which, when completed, will be 200 acres and will resemble a barren swatch of the Sahara. Ocean Cay does not need allure. It is being dredged up from the seabed by the Dillingham Corporation of Hawaii for an explicit purpose that will surely repel more tourists than it will attract. In simplest terms, Ocean Cay is a big sandpile on which the Dillingham Corporation will pile more sand that it will subsequently sell on the U.S. mainland. The sand that Dillingham is dredging is a specific form of calcium carbonate called aragonite, which is used primarily in the manufacture of cement and as a soil neutralizer. For the past 5,000 years or so, with the flood of the tide, waters from the deep have moved over the Bahamian shallows, usually warming them in the process so that some of the calcium carbonate in solution precipitated out. As a consequence, today along edges of the Great Bahama Bank there are broad drifts, long bars and curving barchans of pure aragonite. Limestone, the prime source of calcium carbonate, must be quarried, crushed and recrushed, and in some instances refined before it can be utilized. By contrast, the aragonite of the Bahamian shallows is loose and shifty stuff, easily sucked up by a hydraulic dredge from a depth of one or two fathoms. The largest granules in the Bahamian drifts are little more than a millimeter in diameter. Because of its fineness and purity, the Bahamian aragonite can be used, agriculturally or industrially, without much fuss and bother. It is a unique endowment. There are similar aragonite drifts scattered here and there in the warm shallows of the world, but nowhere as abundantly as in the Bahamas. In exchange for royalties, the Dillingham Corporation has exclusive rights in four Bahamian areas totaling 8,235 square miles. In these areas there are about four billion cubic yards—roughly 7.5 billion long tons—of aragonite. At rock-bottom price the whole deposit is worth more than $15 billion. An experienced dredging company like Dillingham should be able to suck up 10 million tons a year, which will net the Bahamian government an annual royalty of about $600,000.

Posted 21 May 2014, 10:17 a.m. Suggest removal

killemwitdakno says...

Welcome to the world. Be Informed.

Posted 21 May 2014, 11:01 a.m. Suggest removal

Google keywords:
Bahamas NSA, Somalget , NSA Island, Bahamas Mystic

**Wikileaks Snowden and prominent hacker Assange will reveal the last censored country on twitter @3:35 May 22nd on https://twitter.com/wikileaks**

TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23somalge…
https://twitter.com/search?q=NSA%20baha…
https://twitter.com/search?q=Mystic%20N…
https://twitter.com/search?q=somalget

Posted 21 May 2014, 11:02 a.m. Suggest removal

Side stories:
Russia and China sign Gazprom , a $400 Billion gas deal.
http://rt.com/business/160068-china-rus…
http://rt.com/business/china-russia-cem… (video)

Russia in the region
http://www.globalresearch.ca/cold-war-p…
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/…
http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/russ…
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/… (may 9th)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-new-co… ( may 10th)
Bases http://latinalista.com/2014/05/washingt…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article…
Washington http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201…
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014… (May 20th)
Putin's $1.5 Billion donation to Equador's president who despises NSA. http://rt.com/news/ecuador-correa-mosco…
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/julian-as…
Putin also has an "anti-drug" agenda, which would behove him considering big oil US is threatening sanctioning him and drugs fund America via CIA.

Snowden was granted assylum in Russia. Assange was granted asylum in Equador.

Considering the Cuban oil connection and perhaps Petrocaribe, it seems this government has traded allies. Seems they've got their Guam.
Or shall US attain another Hawaii http://rt.com/shows/documentary/159884-…

Posted 21 May 2014, 11:04 a.m. Suggest removal