Captain Queeg Commands the Good Ship Obama?

This is not encouraging.  According to Marisa Taylor and Jonathan S. Landay of McClatchy's Washington Bureau, President Barack Obama is circling the wagons on leaks.   This was happening before  Snowden blew his whistle.  It sounds serious:

WASHINGTON -- "Even before a former U.S. intelligence contractor exposed the secret collection of Americans' phone records, the Obama administration was pressing a government-wide crackdown on security threats that requires federal employees to keep closer tabs on their co-workers and exhorts managers to punish those who fail to report their suspicions." Insider Threats, June 24, 2013

He "exhorts" punishment and targets those who "fail to report their suspicions."  How do you determine the level of suspicion a person has unless they report it?  Why would they report it if they knew they were going to be punished?  This is reminiscent of the dreadful immigration law proposed under Bush that made it a felony to know but not report an undocumented guest worker.

McClatchy reports that Obama implemented something akin to total spectrum dominance for leaking:

"...known as the Insider Threat Program, is sweeping in its reach. It has received scant public attention even though it extends beyond the U.S. national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. " Insider Threats, June 24, 2013

The article makes clear the impact on unclassified as well as classified information:

"The program could make it easier for the government to stifle the flow of unclassified and potentially vital information to the public, while creating toxic work environments poisoned by unfounded suspicions and spurious investigations of loyal Americans.  Insider Threats, June 24, 2013

A federal workplace "poisoned by unfounded suspicions" is a serious warning about some major paranoia on the part of the president and those influencing him.

What does Obama have to hide?  What is he so afraid of?

In a just world, they would all (just about all) apologize for their negligence and malfeasance and resign.  But that won't happen.

END

Special thanks to Mark Adams for the tip.

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