MILNET:  Those In The Know
  Interviews with People Who Have "Been There"
 Sean Osborne, 11/26//2004
An interview with a widely published intelligence analyst and journalist, Sean Osborne.  Sean brings his sharp writer's pen to the geo-political intelligence arena and we believe you will find his writing compelling.  We hope to see Sean's work on MILNET someday in the future.  For now, take a look at our interview with Sean.  His responses are eye opening to say the least.  At the risk of opening the door to 100 pages filled with his sharp wit, we first cautioned Sean to limit his responses so the interview could be read without devoting a fortnight. It is our suspicion that this was a major burden :).



Bolded = MILNET Chief Editor Michael Crawford
Non Bolded=Sean Osborne

Early Career

Q:  How would you describe your early career in terms of application to your current activities?
A:  In a word, indispensable. I learned the basics of raw intelligence acquisition, Intel data base compilation, collation of all-source intelligence (ie: data fusion) and corroboration of various reports so that at the end of the day or within a real-time framework the intelligence product is as accurate as possible.  This is a basic intelligence template which is time tested and has never been found wanting when practiced by knowledgeable professionals with a mission to complete.


Q:  Can you talk about your time as a crypto clerk?  Did you find the security draconian, or were you and your colleagues just waiting for someone like Pollard to come along and take advantage?  How did it make you feel when he was discovered?
A: I was a Cryptologic Technician (T-Branch) who was fortunate enough to work in the SIGINT and COMINT communities, later specializing in ELINT. All of our tasking was from the National Security Agency Central Security Service (NSACSS) and we were quite literally the "cream of the crop". Security should never be described as draconian, especially when one considers that my service was during the height of the Cold War, the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran hostage crisis, as well as the fact that we were working with TS/SCI.   The Cold War was as real a global conflict for our national survival as is the current one. Pollard and the others like him make me sick to my stomach. I have zero tolerance for treason, absolutely zip. An individual is loyal to his nation and his oath, or he/she is not. Period.
 
Anyway, I spent my 6 active service years at NTTC Corry Station Pensacola FLA, NSGA Naples, Italy, TDY to FOSIF Rota, Spain and NSGA Winter Harbor and NSGA Edzell, Scotland. I was attempting to get NavSecGru Direct Support duty on submarines as an E-5 (PNA’d E6) when medical exam revealed a 100% hearing loss in my right ear. Went to the ENT doctor in both  Wiesbaden, Germany and the US Embassy, London UK and subsequently was  medically discharged as an E5 in April 1984.
 

Q:  In your nearly twenty years as a DoD subcontractor (Honeywell and Alliant), you must have had plenty of interesting experiences brushing up against folks in the Pentagon.  Can you relate to us several of your most interesting stories?
A:  Well, this is not exactly in the Pentagon, but immediately preceding the US military intervention in the war in the former-Yugoslavia (Bosnis-Herzegovina) I was sent to Ft. Monroe, VA to demonstrate Army Special Forces Communications gear to the then Army Chief of Staff, General Gordon R. Sullivan. The army Major General who was hosting this event as the Director of the Louisiana Maneuvers Task Force, and who I was directly supporting would ten years later be the same man, albeit now wearing four stars, I would be supporting in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom… General Tommy R. Franks. Here’s yet another set of milestones I am proud to have participated in and have very vivid memories of.



More Recent Activities

Q:  Can you talk about your time as a deployed rep with Special Ops Command? 
A: Those 10 years of my professional were among the best, because I was working among the best, the US Army Green Berets. My most fond memory here was being presented the 10th Special Forces Group "challenge coin" by the group commander Colonel Jeff Lambert, at the conclusion of Operation Atlantic Resolve (Reforger ’94). At the end of the exercise we departed Grafenwehr and nearly drove through the Czech border crossing; it was nearly a repeat of one of the scenes from the Bill Murray flick "Stripes", but we made the appropriate U-turn and the most prudent time.  Overall I was fortunate to work with and train so of the most dedicated professionals as exists in this world, there’s no other way to describe these men. I have the utmost respect for the men of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 10th Special Forces Groups (Airborne), the 4th Psyops Signal Company and the 112th Signal Company (Special Operations/Airborne). I would also be remiss in not making specific mention of 2BN/325th Parachute Reg/82nd Airborne Division. Hooah!


Q:  Tell us about being a US DoD Uniformed Services Civilian".  What's that like, and how can others contribute in that manner as well?  And of course, how do you like operating in that manner?
A:  Well, in the run up to OIF during early January 2003 all of us deploying to that AO were sent to Ft. Stewart for refresher training and immunizations (10 shots is my personal record for one sitting). The new CAC cards [Combined Access Cards - MILNET] are smart-chipped ID cards that all DoD carry these days, which were not available at CRC at the time, so we were all issued the orange colored  DoD Uniformed Civilian photo ID’s, with appropriate Geneva Convention Category IV (I was a DoD GS-13 which is a Major equivalent) and that is how the civilians stateside deemed the Iraqi’s or Fedayi Saddam, or al-Qaeda could be expected to  treat us according to Geneva Convention protocol should we be captured. We were also issued our complete  TA-50 (complete field deployment duffel bags) boots and Desert Camo’s. I was destined for Kuwait, and was issued ECW [Extreme Cold Weather kit) gear in my TA-50. The ECW served me well in the 125 degree plus Kuwaiti desert. Over the course of that week it was the second literal transformation from civilian to military life. I realized the gravity of the situation upon the issue of Mk40/42 gasmasks because in all my years I had never occasioned the donning of such a device. The spectre of 21st century warfare hit home because I knew was going to a place that Saddam was unquestionably going to target with his Scud-C and al-Samoud missiles with Lord knows what kind of a payload might be loaded in the warhead.
 

Q:  In the bio, you are quoted as supporting the theory that Al Qaeda and Iraq are well connected and indeed you appear to believe 9/11 was not just Bin Laden's soldiers acting alone.  You also appear to support Jayna Davis' conclusion that the Oklahama City Federal Building was not the act of two hicks loosely tied to a militia organization.   Does that bring you grief from those who "pishaw" and pass those concepts off as conspiracy theory inventions and how would you answer that kind of accusation?
A:  Oh yes, it brings me grief by the truck load. I do not believe the entire truth has come out concerning all aspects of what happened on, before and since the April 19,1995 (Act of War). I know we have very significant indicators of Iraqi and al-Qaeda participation. Based upon what I know today to be true I would answer that the accuser of such nonsense is either deluded or disingenuous. And there’s plenty of fault to lay on the doorstep of the two major political parties and their need for self preservation. Bill Clinton was the President and the CinC. By the same token we had Republican control of the House and Senate intelligence committee's. To date only the civilians in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building have paid the price for that intelligence failure. Ditto the WTC-I attack (Act of War) in February 1993.
 

Q:  In one of your articles ("Amnesia and the War on Terror") you take a rather large broadside at Fox News after making it clear no other major media outlet is reporting accurately or with professional objectiveness.  Is it your contention that all media outlets have become panderers of one sort or another?  And if so, where do Americans turn to get the straight story?  Are only Internet pundits to be trusted? And if so, which ones?
A:  FoxNews? Oh, boy. How can any mainstream media outlet be the source of accurate news, which is unquestionably a daily unclassified intelligence briefing for the American public to base its conclusions on (we are a nation at war, are we not?), when the marquis names do not know some of the basics?  Ask Sean Hannity (whom I admire greatly, don’t get me wrong here) who Dr. Laurie Mylroie is. I heard him say on his radio program that he did not know who she is. She happens to be the pre-eminent American authority on Iraqi Intelligence operations and their collusion with al-Qaeda in at least three attacks (Acts of War) perpetrated on US soil and resulting in the death of over 3,000 US civilians. If Sean, or any of the big names in the media wants to be our unclassified news briefer, then he (or all of them) needs to know who the major players and researchers are. Fact is, they do not.

Now, that said, FoxNews is head and shoulders above the other (pun intended) "news outlets" in America. I despise CBS News. Thank God Almighty Dan Rather is retiring. Jenning’s too, back to Canada none too soon.
 
The "straight story" can come from any of the major networks, individuals all have their own bases, like and dislikes. The question is where do they go to fill in the gapping holes mainstream media is not going to provide? That’s where websites like the Northeast Intelligence Network not only fit in but go along way in filling the information gap. We have capability in real-time translating of the Arabic language -- do any of the major networks? No. If you want the truth with details, we’ll have it. Major elements of the US government come to us for details, so why not the rest of the public? Also readers who come to MILNET know quality reporting. That’s why they come here. My other favorite websites are J.R. Nyquist’s website www.jrnyquist.com and Colonel David Hackworth’s "Soldiers For The Truth" website found at www.sftt.org.


Q:  Give us a short paragraph about the world today and where you thing we are heading, visa-vis Iran, Iraq, N. Korea, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Ukraine, Russia.
A:  Unquestionably we are heading for World War IV. As a matter of fact, I think the military actions of WWIV began in October/Novermber 2001 when we took Afghanistan away from the Taliban.


Q:  Give us a brief on the world today and where you thing we are heading, visa-vis Iran, Iraq, N. Korea, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Ukraine, Russia.  (Pick one or all).  For instance, since we now know the world is not a kinder, gentler place, shouldn't we be pushing G.W. to get tougher, not pulling back from engaging those who would do us harm?  How about taking direct action against N. Korea or Iran?
A:  I'll talk about three:
North Korea:  The DPRK is a dangerous nuclear armed place. It appears to be in upheaval with rumors about Kim Jong-Il no longer commanding a firm grasp in leadership. I hope we engage them as best we can; they’re not known to be very engaging, but given the current situation we must try and see if there’s a door opening perhaps with new leadership that’s not twenty-five cents short of a "happy meal".
 
Iran: I have to turn to Biblical eschatology for this. Ezekiel, Chapters 38 and 39. This includes Russia and her allies. They’re not going to achieve a good result. As a matter of future fact, for them the result is abysmal.
 
Syria:  I also turn to the Bible for reference to Syria, read Isaiah 17. The chapter is often sub-titled "An Oracle against Damascus". I believe that chapter describes a biological and chemical warfare, and seems to indicate a Syrian chemical attack on Tel Aviv (Rephaim), with a subsequent retaliation on Damascus which I can only interpret as an Israeli nuclear response.

Q:  For instance, since we now know the world is not a kinder, gentler place, shouldn't we be pushing G.W. to get tougher, not pulling back from engaging those who would do us harm?  How about taking direct action against N. Korea or Iran?  Any recommendations for our government?
A:  I have the feeling these very questions will be answered directly in 2005. I suspect I will be a very busy man.

Recommendations? LOL!  Well, it would seem that  President Bush has followed all of my recommendations to date. I wrote "An American 5th Column: A Plea to President George W. Bush" a couple of months ago. Have you seen what he’s done with the CIA lately?  And you cited my article "Amnesia and the War on Terror" above. The day that was posted on the Northeast Intelligence Network main page, well, it wasn’t  even 24 hours when the mainstream media was reporting that  President Bush while campaigning in Florida was accusing Senator Kerry of "selective amnesia". I have been told matter-of-factly by several people that his lexicon that day was not by coincidence or accident.
 
Recommendations? Yes, I do have one more for our Commander-in-Chief regarding the War on Terror. Sir, whatever it takes, "Git R Done!" 


Q:  Similarly, give us a short paragraph about the current political environment in the U.S.  For instance, with a divided electorate which has twice had one swing state or another deciding the election, isn't it clear the left and right have met in the middle and that in of itself is divisive?  Any recommendations?
A:  I am a conservative in the mold of President Ronald Reagan’s ideals. He was a man of such tremendous principles that it’s often hard to fathom his true greatness. I believe he was one of the greatest leaders of all time. When it comes to politics I would advise asking oneself, "What would Ronnie say/do/think/act about a given political issue?"  He faced all of them and he tackled them all; his is a great political template upon which to fashion ones own politics.


Q:  If Americans were to follow your advice, what would you advise?  Help us understand what we should be doing to fix things in our country?
A:  Number one. Turn to God. Pray to Him, He’s the only one that’s going get any individual human being through what is coming. The Government won’t; the government can’t.  Our currency states "In God We Trust". Really? Prove it.


MILNET thanks Sean for his candor in this interview, and beyond that, in his fine work to date.  Keep up the good work Sean.


Further Reading:
  1. Amnesia and the War on Terror, Sean Osborne, Northeast Intelligence Network
  2. An American 5th Column: A Plea to President George W. Bush, Sean Osborne, Northeast Intelligence Network
  3. The FBI's most wanted Terrorists List, Federal Bureau of Investigation




Copyright ©, 2004, Michael G. Crawford for MILNET