Understanding the Culture of the Secret Service
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-19/understanding-culture-secret-service
The Secret Service has announced the departure of three employees connected to a prostitution scandal involving members of President Obama's security detail. Eight others remain under investigation. The incident has focused attention on the training and oversight of Secret Service agents. It's also damaged the agency's reputation as an elite federal law enforcement team. After meeting with Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, Senator Susan Collins asked whether there was evidence of other misconduct -- and if the incident indicates a larger problem in the agency. Diane and her guests discuss the culture of the Secret Service.
Guests
Ronald Kessler
author of "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect."
Paul Rosenzweig
visiting fellow, The Heritage Foundation and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security (2005-9).
Michael Isikoff
national investigative correspondent for NBC.
Jon Adler
national president, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
Comments
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"Understanding the Culture of the Secret Service" Come on! Understanding the culture of government would be more accurate. From the ongoing GSA scandal to the revelation that the Medicare system is 25% waste, billions unaccounted for in Iraq and Afghanistan, Michelle Obama's 16 vacations, the presidents wild speculation investments of our tax money in green energy and on and on and on. How could anyone be surprised by this latest scandal. There is a cancerous disregard for the American tax payer in our government from the highest office down to the lowest levels of government, a disgusting attitude of invulnerability from job loss or reprisal for incompetence or dishonesty. Truth be told government corruption has bled into our culture as a whole in the form of the entitlement generation, the only question remaining is how long the productive can survive with ten monkeys on their back before we become Greece.
Government is the problem!
Given all the scandals from Tailhook to sexual assaults on female military personnel and now Secret Service and military misconduct, it seems that straight males pose a much greater risk to security and morale than gay men and women ever did. It makes the controversy over DADT and discrimination in security clearances rather ridiculous.
Love you Diane.
As much as I respect your intelligence, I believe you are jumping the gun in your condemnation of the Secret Service.
Old adages tend to always ring true: tip your servers, tip your bartenders, and, most importantly, tip your hookers! What is most disturbing is how little discretion that these men exercized. After all, the name of the agency is the SECRET Service.
Christopher Baker
Saint Louis, Missouri
Is a Court-martial in order? Dereliction of duty in protection of the President of The United States. Treason? some charges should be made.
Mr. Adler's absolute denial that this is something of a pattern of behavior doesn't pass muster. It is hard to believe that these men brought prostitutes back to their hotel without some sense that this behavior is at least tolerated. I am confident that in the ensuing months we will hear similar stories from current and former Secret Service officers.
And I find the offhand statements of some officials and commentators that prostitution is legal in Colombia and thus the implication that it was ok to be completely offensive.
This new scandal doesn't surprise me one bit. I'm sure this has happened before, but in the past the participants were more discrete. It's just another example of human nature getting out of hand. It's happened before and it will happen again.
As my brother once said, "There's only two kinds of people in this world: the caught and the uncaught".
Mr. Adler is toting the party line. I have heard that Mark Sullivan is a weak leader. He should be replaced
how many women of the security service where on this advance detail.When i came as a lowly immigrant to this country, i felt an extra responsibility representing my home country. My behavior reflecting on it. I had no training in this, but for some reason this was an innate feeling i had not expected.
Prostitution or not permitted, it demeans everyone when we behave without thought of others, and demeaning women in general.
If one or two had been involved, I would say it was an isolated incident but an entire group getting in on the action can only occur when there is a systemic culture that starts at the top. The head of the service should have immediately been relieved of command.
And why haven't we seen names and photos of the agents involved. I can tell you if this had occurred in our local police department, the officers names and pictures would be all over the front page. It seems the national press is giving these agents a "pass" and by not holding the individuals accountable, they are condoning their actions.
Finally, why does the press continually refer to the women as "foreign nationals." We are in their country -- aren't we the "foreign nationals?"
Titillation. LeDoux writes that abused children lose half of their attention by spending their alertness on looking over their shoulders for any type of assault they fear. Insult, beating, hassling, PTSD. Applies to all humans. TV stations rely on distraction stories, baby runs out of house, interview with neighbors, etc. etc., because some Communication company is beating down the door of the mother. Communicate more fear, more alertness, more fodder for tabloid TV. Secret service will explain, elucidate, and then reserve their energy for their jobs. Not here to entertain journalists or TV stations.
Today guests provide a gallery of behaviors NOT to exhibit on the radio -- at BOTH extremes.
Jon Adler -- the fellow talking like a cartoon FBI agent, while trying to pretend no facts exist, and saying "allegation" in every sentence -- could not be making his cohort look ~more~ guilty. PR FAIL! (Bonus PR FAIL to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association for letting such a Bubba caricature speak for them.)
And, the fellow trying to sell books... Ronald Kessler? I've heard him several times already this week on NPR; his ability to hyperventilate is unsurpassed. It's difficult to imagine how much more desperate he could make himself sound -- or how much less authoritative. PR FAIL!
Remarkable! We're listening to one guy who can't pretend LESS that ANYTHING went wrong, and one who can't pretend MORE that EVERYTHING went wrong.
Anyone who allows themselves to believe this has not happened before, if not routinely, is fooling themselves.
"Absolutely nothing like this has happened before." I guarantee he will have to eat those words.
Any agent supposedly fired will immediately get a new and better job as the ss is a good old boy network. Imagine if there was a ss woman on that mission?
You must not be naive about this issue with the Secret Service. As I say to my teenagers, for every time you get caught doing a risky behavior, there are many more that you didn't get caught. Just don't do the behavior.
We ask these guys to put themselves in the line of fire every single day, deprive them of the opportunity to have meaningful personal relationships and deprive them of sleep, and then we acted surprised when they take care of a basic human need, namely sex. These people are healthy human beings, by all accounts. What else are they going to do but engage prostitutes? The security of the president and his entourage wasn't compromised. What more do we need to know? I'm sorry, but this is just a case of a journalist wanting to get his share of headlines.
Mr. Adler's comments about the secret service not having a pervasive subculture that led to the current scandal are not credible. The argument that the FBI has great respect for the Secret Service is beside the point and does speak to the sub-cultural issue. These are two male dominated organizations.
This scandal and the involvement of superiors suggests that like other male dominated institutions the Secret Service tends toward a macho subculture and adolescent male behavior akin to college fraternities.
The American public is not naive and protestations that the behavior in Columbia is not an indication of a pervasive organizational culture are somewhat insulting. I found it interesting and somewhat telling that Mr. Adler cited Bangkok as another spot offering similar entertainments to agents.
Mr. Adler's comments about the secret service not having a pervasive subculture that led to the current scandal are not credible. The argument that the FBI has great respect for the Secret Service is beside the point and does speak to the sub-cultural issue. These are two male dominated organizations.
This scandal and the involvement of superiors suggests that like other male dominated institutions the Secret Service tends toward a macho subculture and adolescent male behavior akin to college fraternities.
The American public is not naive and protestations that the behavior in Columbia is not an indication of a pervasive organizational culture are somewhat insulting. I found it interesting and somewhat telling that Mr. Adler cited Bangkok as another spot offering similar entertainments to agents.
No one is in a position to judge the "morality" of these agents. If we're talking about breaking a specific protocol, fine. But what protocol is that? Do they not have any off-the-clock time on an assignment like this? Who cares if they engage in a legal activity -- decriminalized even in parts of the U.S. -- that, on its surface, would not seem to put anyone at risk? This story seems far more worthy of TMZ than NPR.
The lawyer defending the secret service has done a wonderful job. He's got he talking points down and has delivered them beautifully; that, however, does not mean that he's right. His job is to put a positive spin on this whole situation. After all he's being paid to do so.
This lawyer states that the culture of the secret service is one of honor. Maybe; however, there is no honor in 1) hiring a prostitute and, 2) then not paying her for her service. A thug would do that, certainly not someone with 'honor'.
Was George Bush involved?
I really doubt that there is a plausible threat to the President's safety from a few Colombian escorts.
However, the media has recently quoted a lot of irresponsible comments coming from members of the Regressive party and representatives of the NRA.
Where are the women agents?
Using the term conspiracy theory to cast suspicion on the reporting of this story is offensive and an attempt to hide the state of this agency. There's no way a hotelful of male agents can bring prostitutes to the hotel and it be a limited bad apple situation.
In response to a caller's comment that Secret Service agents were seen drinking at a topless bar in Dallas the night before the Kennedy assassination, one of the guests said that there is nothing wrong with agents having a drink or two when relaxing off-duty. Agreed.
But it's one thing to have a drink or two with colleagues in the hotel bar and quite another to go out to a topless bar. Legal or not, this isn't the kind of activity that as a taxpayer want to support. Let's not forget these folks were in Dallas -- and Colombia -- on official business. These trips were paid for by taxpayers. I think we have a right to expect better behavior than frequenting topless bars and prostitutes regardless of the legalities.
I'm a member of a DC area swinger's club and along with the doctors, lawyers, dentists and soccer moms, an extremely high percentage of our members work for agencies like the Secret Service and all the branches of the military. Also firefighters and police are well represented. Perhaps it's something to do with the dangerous nature of their jobs that draws them to this lifestyle?
All this talk about adultery and immoral behavior is far from the concern I have. These agents were on a "mission" and I see that as no different than a military unit on "alert" or engaged in manuevers. Those activities are 24/7, i.e., no time for partying. The focus should be whether the agents are guilty of a severe dereliction of duty.
I suppose it's fitting when our current president travels abroad he is accompanied by pimps, johns and whores. After all he treats the American tax payer like any pimp would, like a whore.
I was a housekeeper in Washington D.C. in the late 1970s, for a member of the Secret Service, one who served under Ronald Reagan. He was an Eagle Scout, living in a million dollar plus home on the posh side of town. His 'wife' was an 'escort' for congressmen, a photo model. Being middle-class American myself after taking the job and getting to know this couple, I have to say that to imagine his loyalty or patriotism any less than sterling would be wrong. However, their lifestyle was one of sex, drugs, S&M, etc., and their parties for other members of the service and friends were FAR beyond my scope as a young person just starting out in the world. Mr. Adler's assertions that, to paraphrase, 'this is an aberration' are just laughable. I'm still laughing. I understand this is his job to spin things white, clean and neat for his clients, but honestly I'm still laughing.
Whether or not someone, male or female, is having an adulterous relationship is none of anybody's business except the couple involved. It only becomes the government's or employer's business if it affects the work required. Ms. Rhem seems to believe that it is a moral issue we should all be concerned about and that adultery in the workplace should not be allowed (especially by men).
Why hasn't the issue of women's rights been more to the fore in this story? Prostitution may be legal in Colombia, but it is not in the United States. The reasons are myriad, from moral through feminist. We ought to be disgusted over more than the security breech.