What chapter is this now?? Here goes...
SSA's Browne 'no innocent bystander'...cleared spy agency deputy pens letter to PM lauding Reshmi's qualifications
By Camini Marajh Head Investigative DeskEVEN as the stench of reported State abuse of the National Security apparatus continues to linger over the twin-island nation, new intelligence czar Colonel Albert Griffith is pushing full speed ahead with a package of reforms aimed at balancing this country's intelligence and crime-fighting capabilities. And he's doing it with "cleared" deputy director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Julie Browne at his side.
Browne, a trusted People's Partnership lieutenant, whistle-blower on the Patrick Manning civilian spying programme and a member of the steering committee which fired the kill shot at the Special Anti-Crime Unit (SAUTT), an illegal para-military crime-fighting unit created by the Manning administration to tackle runaway crime and kidnapping for ransom, was given full public clearance on Thursday by the decorated retired colonel, who has been tasked with building a central clearing house—or National Intelligence Agency (NIA) as it is to be called—for the collection, analysis and distribution of domestic intelligence to the strike arms of law enforcement.
In his first public statement since assuming his March 1 command of the beleaguered national spy agency which has been wracked by a series of political scandals, Griffith sought to shoot down media reports probing the crucial role Browne played in the controversial appointment of 31-year-old Reshmi Ramnarine to the director's chair of the country's premier intelligence agency.
Browne was unmasked by a series of investigative Sunday Express reports as the deputy spy director who went outside her remit to nominate an unsuitable candidate and her very junior technician for the top spy post, in private correspondence sent under the cover of official secrecy to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. She has refused repeated requests by this newspaper to respond to questions relating to her role in the affair and has maintained a stony silence in the face of reports she misled the National Security Council (NSC) and the Cabinet of this country.
On Thursday, Griffith, who moved into the job previously held by the disgraced close pal of the Prime Minister's public engagement and policy adviser, Sasha Mohammed, was mounting a strong defence of the woman who played a pivotal role in ensuring Ramnarine's appointment to the top spy post. Browne, he declared, in a single-page press release issued to the media, was innocent of falsifying Ramnarine's resume, a contention that was never in dispute. He went on to say she was cleared of that particular lie by a polygraph test conducted by foreign experts.
The colonel, however, omitted to provide details on the reported role Browne played in the affair, which permitted an unsuitable candidate with a falsified resume to be appointed to the highly sensitive position following the deliberations of the NSC and the Cabinet. Griffith, whose appointment it was thought would repair some of the damage done by the "Reshmi affair" and put the agency back on track, in his statement to the media, said: "In the public's interest, I would like to respond to the enquiries being articulated in the media with regard to the part Ms Julie Browne may have played in the prior appointment of Ms Reshmi Ramnarine."
He made clear he has sought to "investigate the matter, with particular focus on the falsification of the qualifications of Ms Reshmi Ramnarine" and "the investigations reveal that Ms Browne did not falsify Ms Ramnarine's qualifications. Ms Browne was led to believe that Ms Ramnarine was qualified as she had stated". He provided no explanation, however, for the Browne recommendation:
• Specifically, who requested it?
• And if a request was made, was she a willing conspirator?
• Why was it sent secretly to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar and not to her line minister, Brigadier John Sandy?
• Why did she fail to conduct basic background security checks?
• Why did she fail to follow up on the character references listed? Three of the named references said they had no knowledge Ramnarine was under consideration for the directorship nor did they give her permission to use their names.
• Why did she overlook the embellished work experience cited in Ramnarine's CV? As a 14-year veteran in the agency, she knew or ought to have known the low-level IT technician was never involved in field operations or worked with Mossad.
• Why is she named as a character reference in the CV submitted for Cabinet's consideration?
But more than the security failings, the colonel also failed to address the corrupted appointment process which placed Ramnarine in the top spy chief post and the official deception Browne engaged in, namely, in her January 10, 2011 letter to the Prime Minister, she said: "It is felt that the position of an interim director would be best served by the following:
• Someone who has a history in the SIA (Security Intelligence Agency) and who understands the culture and inner workings of this and similar organizations.
—(Ramnarine was never privy to the inner workings of the agency.)
• Someone with a proven track record in the field of criminal intelligence.
—(Ramnarine has no training in criminal intelligence.)
• Someone who is knowledgeable and experienced with respect to the administrative, operational and technological aspects of the agency's functions.
—(Ramnarine was a low-level Technician I until her meteoric rise to the top of the agency and was never engaged in any administrative or supervisory work.)
• Someone who, at this time, has the support of staff (senior and junior).
—(A lie. Apart from Browne, Carlton Dennie and a few others, the staff did not support Ramnarine.)
• As a member of a transformation team comprising senior members of the SSA and SIA, who are spearheading the merger of the SSA and SIA, Ms Ramnarine has met these criteria.
—(A lie. Also, the so-called transformation team was cobbled together late last year and had barely met.)
• Previous performance appraisals recommended her for immediate promotion as she is known to face challenges head on and can effectively manage duties at a higher level.
—(A lie. Her performance appraisals, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, were at best mediocre. Ramnarine, Browne and Dennie were all marginalised by former spy chief Nigel Clement, who was fired last November 10 by Persad-Bissessar.)
Colonel Griffith's exoneration of Browne also failed to take into account the dynamics behind her "Dear Prime Minister" letter which Persad-Bissessar used as a tool to achieve the larger scheme of putting one of her adviser's close friends in a position ripe with the potential for abuse —the very abuse she forcefully condemned when she accused her predecessor, Manning, of spying on civilians, in the House of Representatives on November 12.
From all the evidence at hand, Browne was no innocent bystander in the Reshmi affair. She played a pivotal role in moving the appointment process forward. She made material misrepresentations to the NSC and the Cabinet and would now have the world believe she took Ramnarine at her word that she had completed an IT degree. If nothing else, the senior intelligence officer has proved inept at her job.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/SSA_s_Browne__no_innocent_bystander_-119549149.htmlWho is Col. Griffith?? Who he connected to in the PP??......
