To Iceland,
With Love
I. C. Springman
Copyright © 2012 I. C. Springman
DEDICATION
To the far-seeing and courageous People of Iceland
and to Indignados everywhere.
For DLW, SVP, and RWR
First, last, and always…
CONTENTS
BEFORE - Burning Down the House
1 Once in a Lifetime
2 Road to Nowhere
3 Brand New Day
4 Nobody Told Me
5 Hasta Siempre
6 Closing Time
7 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
8 My Old School
9 Sloop John B
10 Stay Visible
11 We Both Go Down Together
12 Calamity Song
13 How To Be a Millionaire
14 Strange Times
15 Last Train
16 Cold Wind Blowing
17 I Travel
18 Life During Wartime
19 2 + 2 = 5
20 When Two Worlds Collide
21 Good Night, Bad Morning
22 Blindsided
23 Poker Face
24 Bridge Burning
25 High and Dry
26 The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance
27 While All the Vultures Feed
28 Janie’s Got a Gun
29 Seven Nation Army
30 Turncoat
31 (We’re Never Going to Survive Unless We Get A Little More) Crazy
32 Raise Your Glass
33 Never Say Die
34 Bad Girlfriend
35 Endgame
36 Blow It Up
37 Shut Up and Drive
38 Dead End Street
39 End of the World as We Know It
AFTER - Army of Me
BEFORE – Burning Down the House
December 2008. A darkened conference room in McClean, Virginia. Above a semi-circle of motionless heads belonging to anonymous U.S. intelligence honchos, a Power Point presentation was in progress. The words “Operation Ghost Dance: Background” monopolized a wall-sized flat-screen TV.
Over an intercom, a dry and disembodied voice recounted the relevant facts. “On 15 September 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury suffered a significant information system breach. Sensitive data was compromised, much of it relating to the evolving global financial crisis.”
The screen displayed side-by-side mug shots of a man and a woman – our heroes-to-be, John and Jane Doe.
“Subsequent investigation back-traced the perpetrator across the web with inconclusive results. However, further data analysis and mapping revealed a disturbing fact: two contract employees of two separate tier-one agencies –“
Here a house flashed on the screen – a two-story 1930’s traditional in an affluent New York City bedroom community, say Scarsdale or New Rochelle. White clapboard siding and black shutters. Nice landscaping.
“—lived at the physical address associated with one of the so-called ‘bounce points’ or intermediate computers implicated in the breach. Expedited inquiry confirmed intelligence community security guidelines were violated as follows--”
The screen filled with the words “Personal Conduct – Failure to Disclose.”
“Both employees failed to disclose the potentially compromising nature of their relationship, which could be expected to have consequences for sensitive compartmented information. While their marriage of approximately six years duration was known –“
Close-up of wedding photo. A tuxedoed John and a radiant white-gowned Jane locked in a passionate post-ceremony embrace.
“—neither agency was properly briefed as to spousal vocation, raising fundamental questions of judgment, lack of candor, reliability, and trust.”
The screen filled with the words “Psychological Considerations – Failure to Report.”
“Both employees failed to report that they entered marital counseling a brief time ago, nor did they seek the services of agency-certified therapists as required.”
The words “Financial Considerations – Debt-to-Income Ratio” took center screen.
“Both employees moved from direct tier-one employment to contract status circa 2005, possibly lured by the prospect of higher private sector earnings. In 2007, the Continuous Competitiveness model implemented by the Department of Homeland Security reduced net income service-wide.”
The screen now showed a graph with a green income line trending down and an orange debt line trending up, with a red arrow measuring the 125% gap in between.
“Apparently, the couple failed to adjust in a timely manner. When these issues came to light, their debt-to-income ratio exceeded agency standards by a considerable margin.
The screen flipped again, displaying the words “Handling Protected Information – Risk Management Violations.”
“Though all branches of the U.S. Intelligence community have a common mission and set of interests, segmentation of information is an accepted operational necessity. The potential for breach of client confidentiality, negligent disclosure of proprietary knowledge, or other unauthorized release of sensitive protected information is greatly magnified by personal relationships.”
A photo from Pearl Harbor, with battleship sinking amid smoke and flames, fleetingly illustrated the moderator’s point.
“Basic risk assessment and management practices required that both employees notify supervisors of close daily contact with intelligence agents responsible to another chain of command. This did not occur.”
The words “Information Technology Systems – Illegal or Unauthorized Use” appeared. The moderator took a sip of water, which went down the wrong way. He coughed. His bored audience shifted impatiently. He went on.
“Illegal or unauthorized entry into any information technology system; illegal or unauthorized modification, destruction, manipulation, or denial of access to information, software, firmware, or hardware in an information technology system; downloading, storing, or transmitting information on or to any unauthorized software, hardware, or information technology system is strictly prohibited.”
The accompanying cartoon of a spy in a fake Groucho Marx nose, kneeling beside a filing cabinet and transferring files marked ‘TOP SECRET’ and ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ into a briefcase, seemed to aggravate the audience even further. There were vague mutterings. The moderator pressed doggedly forward.
“Data accessed in the 15 September Treasury breach was routed through a device physically located in the couple’s residence. No satisfactory explanation for this eventuality has emerged nor has the couple volunteered exculpatory information.”
The screen filled with one very large word: “COMPLICATIONS.” The mutterings ceased. The moderator cleared his throat.
“Network forensics tie the 15 September breach to prior and subsequent incursions of equal or greater sensitivity at the Departments of Defense and State, SWIFT interbank transfer system, and the World Bank. The potential for harm to national security, key allies, and global stability cannot be overstated.”
Another split-screen now displayed John and Jane in full battle rattle in separate combat situations.
“Employees are National Clandestine Service Paramilitary Operations Officers – Delta Force and Special Activities Division.”
A new electricity filled the air. Several of the bigwigs sat forward in their seats. The word “TIMELINE” flashed up, and as the moderator spoke, a series of dates appeared.
“On 25 September a Joint DIA/CIA task force was formed: Operation Ghost Dance. As of 28 September, Test One commenced. Blanket surveillance was initiated and employ
ees (hereafter ‘targets’) were separately assigned the same mission –
Briefly, a wanted poster displayed, the picture of a wide-eyed and wooly-headed young man with a bulls-eye superimposed over his guileless face.
“—a decoy assassination. Both failed, a notable anomaly given their combined career kill rates of above 97.5%. Both claimed failure was due to ‘circumstances beyond their control.’ On 30 September, Test Two commenced. Targets were assigned to assassinate each other. It was expected they would a) confess or b) flee. The assignment deadline passed without result—“
The screen exhibited a picture of John and Jane’s lovely house engulfed in flames and surrounded by a SWAT team.
“—at which point a SWAT team was dispatched to the targets’ place of residence with orders to apprehend and detain. Targets resisted with deadly force. Residence caught fire, several assets were liquidated, and targets fled in a neighbor’s minivan.”
Photo of a minivan pursued by multiple cars and SUVs, guns blazing in both directions. Background collisions and rollovers of both civilian and pursuit vehicles added to the sense of mayhem.
“A high-speed chase ensued, during which several agency vehicles were totaled and several more assets liquidated.”
Photo of a convention center advertising a Home and Garden Expo. It was night, the parking lot deserted.
“Targets were eventually cornered after hours at a Home and Garden Show.”
Photo of absolute carnage. A convention center packed with vendor booths dedicated to fencing, siding, flooring, kitchen and bath products, home furnishings, lawn care, and DIY projects riddled with bullet holes and festooned with lifeless bodies.
“A gun battle resulted in the loss of an additional sixteen assets, giving us a final score of: targets - two dozen dead, home team - zero. And the targets escaped.