The Department of Defense is reviewing the case of a local man who alleges that U.S. Central Command senior leaders failed to investigate a potentially damaging security breach on the base in 1999.According to the allegations, those senior leaders took reprisals against a group of intelligence officers who raised concerns about the breach and other intelligence and security lapses on base.
Navy Reserve Capt. Chris Koury, of Weaver, says he and a group of other intelligence officers discovered in 1999 that the 50-100 answering machines that were in use in CentCom’s intelligence center for more than a year had a remote-monitoring function. The feature could have given a caller with a phone card and a vendetta against the United States easy access to conversations going on within the classified walls of the intelligence center, Koury and the other intelligence officers say.
Shortly after the discovery, the machines were removed from CentCom.
Koury took his allegations to Alabama’s senators, including Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, who brought the case to then-Secretary of Defense William Cohen’s office. Cohen forwarded the matter to the office of the Department of Defense inspector general, who found the captain’s allegations did not have merit.
Now, Third District Congressman Mike Rogers has shown an interest.
In a letter dated July 18, Rogers asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to review Koury’s charges.
In a response dated Aug. 20, a spokesman for the Department of Defense inspector general’s office wrote to Rogers that the office is reviewing the captain’s claims.
“We will provide you the results of our review as soon as possible,” spokesman John R. Crane wrote.
Crane did not return repeated calls for comment Wednesday, although officials in his office who left him the messages said he was there and on the phone.
Wednesday, Koury was skeptical of the outcome of the investigation.
“I’m glad it’s open,” he said, “because it’s going to show that they’re either going to learn from their past mistakes and be able to self-correct, or they’re just going to continue in their old ways, cover up and correct nothing.”
By “they,” Koury said he meant “the inspector general working in concert with the command leadership…”
Then he thought for a moment.
“Or, the command working through the inspector general.”
A spokesman for CentCom said he had not heard of an inspector general’s investigation. He did hear about the 1999 events that prompted Koury’s allegations, he said.
“It was brought up in the wake of a recent situation that we had here,” Maj. Pete Mitchell said.
Mitchell referred questions about any investigation to the Department of Defense inspector general’s office.
An official at Rogers’ office in Washington said he knew of no further developments.
Rob Jesmer, Rogers’ chief of staff, said only, “Congressman Rogers believes it’s important to follow up with the Pentagon to get their understanding of these incidents.”
