Posted by Satori
(here)
Posted by JoefromtheCarolinas
(here)
I did a FOIA request about the alleged San Diego event with the Dept of the Navy, and they claim the USS Princeton had no records (even though it is claimed the princeton intercepted the object electronically). I was very specific in my request, making sure to request records of "any and all aircraft" in addition to the ships. They claim to have been thorough with the FOIA request, also looking through the Office of Naval Intelligence.
Next I did a FOIA request about the advanced aerospace/aviation threat identification program, and they have no records-- they sent the request to the Defense Intelligence Agency.
I smell a rat.
I'm convinced that the Freedom of Information Act is another one of those statutes that often means the opposite of its name or title. Another example is the PATRIOT Act. There are many such examples and they really pride themselves in coming up with catchy titles that make neat acronyms.
I believe that a main purpose of FOIA is to keep tabs on what information of a sensitive and often secret nature is being sought, and more importantly, who is seeking it. A form of data mining by the PTB of those who are data mining the PTB, or trying to at least.
Very often FIOA requests are responded to by the good ole run around, such as by employing a variety of delay tactics and assertions that the information is not subject to disclosure because it is exempt from disclosure for some reason--usually a bogus reason.
FIOA can be very useful for getting mundane, or routine, run-of-the-mill information, but not so for the stuff that we really need to know and should be given access to without thereby causing the unwarranted and improper disclosure of legitimate sensitive and confidential information.
But what I've just said is not a call to refrain from using FOIA. To the contrary. We need to keep an eye on them and FOIA can sometimes yield results.