Gunwalker’s Body Count Grows

Gunwalker’s Body Count Grows, Along with the Obama Administration’s Cover-Up

It seems like only a matter of time before administration officials face felony indictments for their role in Operation Fast and Furious.

September 21, 2011 - 12:00 am - by Bob Owens

 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa was brutally frank in a Tuesday morning conference call with new media representatives dedicated to the ongoing Gunwalker scandal.

The California Republican kicked off the call with a brief statement reporting that Marisela Morales, Mexico’s attorney general, now says that at least 200 Mexican deaths can now be traced to weapons from the gunwalking program.That number has been revised significantly upward from earlier unofficial claims of approximately 150 deaths attributed to Operation Fast and Furious guns.
The revelation of the increased body count comes less than 24 hours after the Los Angeles Times published a story that rightly describes the actions of the Obama administration as an unresolved betrayal.
This betrayal — and Morales pulled no punches in using that exact word — is being ignored by the majority of the U.S. mainstream media, which vacillate from pretending that Gunwalker was just a minor law enforcement snafu to echoing White House-orchestrated attempts to smear the Oversight Committee chairman and obstruct the investigation.
The question-and-answer period that followed Chairman Issa’s statement focused narrowly on Operation Fast and Furious, with only one reporter slipping off-topic to ask a quick question about the breaking Solyndra scandal.
Perhaps the most important clarification to come out of the call was confirmation that the Oversight Committee does indeed intend to call for a special prosecutor once they have completed their own investigation, which they optimistically would like to have wrapped up by the end of the year. Chairman Issa was quick to point out that finishing the House investigation by the end of the year hinged upon a transparent and timely release of information from the executive branch, including the federal law enforcement agencies involved and the Obama White House.
The White House has thus far refused to divulge any of the documentation the congressional investigators have asked for, and the administration’s political appointees are stymieing all attempts to get information out of the Justice Department, Homeland Security, and other involved agencies. Rep. Issa seemed quite aware that his goal of resolving the congressional investigation in 2011 was going to be obstructed by an administration in full cover-up mode.
Issa also revealed that the reason a special prosecutor has not yet been brought in to investigate the plot is that once a special prosecutor begins to investigate, the Oversight Committee has to stop its own inquiry. The committee wants to be certain that they have explored every avenue and leave no source or witness uninvestigated before turning over the case. He also pointed out that a special prosecutor will be a Department of Justice employee investigating his own employer. Thus, Issa wants to be certain that they have enough knowledge to hold the prosecutor accountable.
I had the unique opportunity to ask Chairman Issa a point-blank question that seems to trouble so many people following this scandal.
After reiterating that every law enforcement agent that has been asked about Operation Fast and Furious has said that there is no way that it could have been a viable law enforcement operation, I asked Chairman Issa if there was any evidence of another reason for the implementation of Operation Fast and Furious and the other alleged gun-walking operations.
“This was dumb, it was useless, and it was lethal,” was the soundbite most of us will take away from the call in answer to that question, but his longer answer — which I regret I do not have a transcript of — is far more telling.
Nothing in his response could be construed to mean that Rep. Issa thought Operation Fast and Furious was a legitimate law enforcement operation. And if it does not appear to have been implemented as a legitimate law enforcement operation, then we are left with the possible alternative that the goal of the operation was both illegitimate and unlawful.
Issa put it rather bluntly: “The administration wanted to show that guns found in Mexico came from the United States.”
He elaborated a bit when he noted that while he wouldn’t presume to know the precise goals of Operation Fast and Furious, it certainly did seem to tie in with the narrative the Obama administration was trying to push — that U.S. guns were turning up at Mexican crime scenes. That allowed, the suggestion hanging in the air was that a goal of the Administration was indeed a “Reichstag fire” designed to support a narrative that has been publicly woven by Attorney General Holder,  Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano, and President Obama himself on multiple occasions.
One reason to assert the prominence of U.S. firearms in Mexico would be an attempt to once again bring forth an “assault weapons” ban like the failed 1994 law that sunset in 2004.
While the Oversight Committee investigation is far from over and a special prosecutor’s investigation hasn’t even begun, it is beginning to appear that the evidence and testimony being compiled so far indicate that the Obama administration was willing to break federal laws and get hundreds of people killed in Mexico and the United States in order to fabricate conditions that would help them implement their domestic gun control policies.
If so, it is entirely unethical and illegal, and it seems like only a matter of time before administration officials face felony indictments for their role in Operation Fast and Furious and perhaps the other alleged gun-walking operations that make up the Gunwalker scandal.
If that is indeed the path this scandal takes, the question may need to be asked whether U.S. justice is enough for the co-conspirators, or if  Attorney General Morales should be given the opportunity to prosecute Obama administration officials in Mexico for actions that have left so many of their citizens dead and injured.

Uk Secrets exposed. Now we need to see Obama's Secrets

Britain handed rebel to Gaddafi torturers: Devastating secret files in Libya reveal UK 'crossed the line' to prop up tyrant

• Letter shows MI6 provided intelligence which led to the 'rendition' of a Libyan dissident
• Abdel Hakim Belhadj said he wasn't allowed a bath for three years and was kept in an isolation cell

By Jack Doyle and Neil Sears
Last updated at 12:11 AM on 5th September 2011

 

Tortured: Abdel Hakim Belhadj said he was hung from a wall and kept in isolation

Damning claims have emerged that Britain helped send a terror suspect into the bloody hands of Colonel Gaddafi.
A secret letter found in an abandoned Libyan government building appears to show that MI6 provided intelligence which led to the ‘rendition’ of a Libyan dissident who was then tortured horrifically.
Abdel Hakim Belhadj, who by a bitter irony is now a senior military commander in the rebel army, last night claimed British agents were among the first to question him in Tripoli, adding that he was very ‘surprised that the British got involved in what was a very painful period in my life’.
He said: ‘I wasn’t allowed a bath for three years and I didn’t see the sun for one year.
'They hung me from the wall and kept me in an isolation cell. I was regularly tortured.’
Astonishingly, the letter’s author appears desperate to take credit for Britain’s role, and fawning in his attitude to Musa Kusa, Gaddafi’s intelligence chief who was known as the regime’s ‘envoy of death’.
He writes: ‘This was the least we could do for you and for Libya to demonstrate the remarkable relationship we have built over recent years.’
The letter lays bare the startlingly close relationship between British spies and senior figures in the Gaddafi regime, and raises serious questions about whether the UK helped in one of the most controversial elements of the U.S. ‘war on terror’ – the illegal movement of prisoners around the world.

 

The explosive letter was among hundreds of documents found abandoned by campaign group Human Rights Watch on Friday in the offices formerly occupied by Kusa as head of the Libyan foreign ministry.
Their authenticity has not been officially confirmed.

Headlined ‘for Musa in Tripoli from Mark in London’, the letter about Belhadj is thought to have been written by Sir Mark Allen, MI6’s then counter-terrorism chief, who now works for BP.
It was written days before Tony Blair arrived in Tripoli for the notorious ‘Deal in the Desert’ in March 2004.
In the letter, the writer discusses the arrangements for the PM’s visit, including the suggestion that Downing Street wanted Mr Blair and the Libyan leader to appear in a tent together because the image would appeal to the British public.
Alarmingly, at the end of the letter he congratulates Musa Kusa on the arrival of Mr Belhadj, who Human Rights Watch said is also known as Abu Abd Allah Sadiq, and appears to indicate the rendition was carried out by the U.S. on the basis of British intelligence.
There is no suggestion, however, that Britain was directly involved in the operation to capture him.

Hug for a monster: Former Prime Minster Tony Blair with Colonel Gaddafi in Sirte, Libya in 2007

Taking clear credit for the fact that Belhadj is in Libyan custody, he writes: ‘I am so glad. I was grateful to you for helping the officer we sent out last week. Abu Abd Allah’s information on the situation in this country is of urgent importance to us.’
He also boasts of keeping the Americans in the dark and dealing with Musa Kusa directly, and refers to the prisoner as ‘air cargo’.
He added: ‘Amusingly, we got a request from the Americans to channel requests for information from Abu Abd Allah through the Americans. I have no intention of doing any such thing.
‘The intelligence about Abu Abd Allah was British. I know I did not pay for the air cargo. But I feel I have the right to deal with you direct on this and am very grateful to you for the help you are giving us.’
Last night the leading human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC said the documents should be passed to the Gibson inquiry which is considering allegations of British complicity in torture.

He said: ‘MI6 were entirely right to have dealings with Libyan intelligence in 2004 to obtain information . . . but they had no right to assist Gaddafi’s regime by illegal rendition – putting dissidents in the hands of a brutal agency that was well known to use torture and murder.’
The documents show how British intelligence led to Belhadj being captured in Bangkok on in March 2004. MI6 knew of his whereabouts because Belhadj was attempting to seek asylum in the UK.
Documents show that five days before he was taken back to Tripoli, MI6 gave Libya Belhaj’s French and Moroccan aliases, and told them he was in detention in Sepang, Malaysia.
The papers also suggest that there were at least eight occasions when the CIA sent terrorism suspects for questioning in Libya.

Other documents expose how Sir Mark flattered the Libyan spy chief, at one point thanking him for ‘a large volume of dates and oranges’. Spies also sent Christmas greetings, helped obtain telephone numbers and details of Libyan dissidents in the UK, the documents suggest.
Musa Kusa, who fled the regime with the assistance of MI6 in February, came to the UK and is now thought to be in the Middle East.
Last night the Foreign Office appeared to confirm they were genuine when a spokesman said: ‘It is the Government’s longstanding policy not to comment on intelligence matters.
‘Nor would we comment on leaked British documents.’
Sir Mark did not respond to requests for comment. A BP spokesman declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033751/Britain-handed-rebel-Gaddafi-torturers-Devastating-secret-files-Libya-reveal-UK-crossed-line-prop-tyrant.html#ixzz1X1xpeL7K

Bomber freed to avert 'holy war': Lying Labour's key role in handing Megrahi to Libya

By Sam Greenhill and Vanessa Allen
Last updated at 12:16 AM on 5th September 2011

 

Labour secretly helped free the Lockerbie bomber to appease Colonel Gaddafi, who was threatening to scupper oil contracts and unleash ‘holy war’ on Britain, it was revealed yesterday.
Victims’ families expressed fury as ‘smoking gun’ memos exposed the real reason Britain worked frantically behind the scenes to have Abdelbaset Al Megrahi released.
The dictator had warned of ‘dire consequences’ if the man convicted of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 and killing 270 people died in a British jail.

Home the 'hero': A supposedly dying Megrahi is saluted in Tripoli by Colonel Gaddafi son

Officials feared the vindictive Gaddafi would order the harassment – ‘or worse’ – of British nationals, the cancellation of business contracts with companies including BP and Shell, and the end of defence and anti-terror co-operation.

 Labour ministers repeatedly claimed the decision to release Megrahi was taken solely by the Scottish Executive on ‘compassionate grounds’ because he had prostate cancer and supposedly only three months to live. He returned to Tripoli a hero and remains alive today, two years later.

Uncensored documents found lying around in the British ambassador’s residence in Tripoli show how Labour ignored the likely fury of the U.S. administration and Lockerbie victims’ families to pave the way for Megrahi’s release.
Rosemary Wolfe, whose stepdaughter was among the 189 American victims of the bombing, said: ‘These documents are the smoking gun that we all knew existed.
‘They show what we have thought all along – that the Labour government and the Scottish government were complicit in securing the early release of Megrahi.’

Mrs Wolfe, 70, from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said: ‘They have lied to the British people and they have lied to us. Releasing Megrahi was nothing to do with his health, but carried out because of business and oil. Those involved should hang their heads in shame.’
The cache of documents includes a January 2009 memo sent to the then Foreign Secretary David Miliband by Robert Dixon, head of the North Africa section, in which he states: ‘Gaddafi wants Megrahi to return to Libya at all costs.
‘Libyan officials and ministers have warned of dire consequences for the UK-Libya relationship and UK commercial operations in Libya in the event of Megrahi’s death in custody.’

He adds: ‘We believe Libya might seek to exact vengeance.’
Another memo lays bare the duplicity of the Brown government by revealing how ministers schemed to hide behind the Scots when the flak started flying.
Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell apparently laid out ‘parameters’ which included stressing it was Scottish ministers who made decisions on release, and ensuring the Americans did not view the Government as ‘conniving in Megrahi’s unjustified removal from the UK’.
Informal discussions with the Scottish Executive led to an understanding that it would agree to a compassionate release, it was stated in one memo.
Possible consequences for Britain were spelled out in several files, one of which said the UK was vulnerable to the tactics used against the Swiss after Gaddafi’s son Hannibal was arrested for beating servants. These included the arrest of businessmen for ‘visa irregularities’ and closing down local subsidiaries of Swiss companies.
Earlier this year, after a review of the paperwork in the case, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell said Labour ministers did ‘all they could’ to free Megrahi.
Ministers were accused of ‘acting like lawyers for the Libyans’ as the unprecedented release of Whitehall papers revealed how Labour had a ‘game plan’ and secretly plotted to ‘facilitate’ an appeal by the Libyans over Megrahi.

They were determined to seal a BP oil deal and strengthen political ties with Libya, the review found.
When Megrahi returned on a flight from Glasgow to Tripoli, he was accompanied by Gaddafi’s son Saif who told him his name had been ‘on the table in all commercial, oil and gas agreements we supervised during this period’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033773/Bomber-freed-avert-holy-war-Lying-Labours-key-role-handing-Megrahi-Libya.html#ixzz1X1yaCpml

3 Boston Islamic charity leaders convicted again

By Associated Press
Thursday, September 1, 2011 - Updated 1 day ago

A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned the acquittal of a Libyan man and two associates who were accused of conspiring to dupe the U.S. government into granting tax-exempt status to a defunct Muslim charity by hiding its pro-jihad activities.
The appeals court reinstated the jury’s guilty verdict against Libya’s Emadeddin Muntasser together with Samir Al-Monla and Muhammed Mubayyid. The three founded and led the defunct Boston-based Care International Inc.
The organization described its mission as helping war orphans, widows and refugees in Muslim nations. But prosecutors argued that it was a successor to a U.S. branch of a group founded by Osama bin Laden to recruit, fund and transport Muslim militants involved in armed conflicts around the world. The group also distributed a newsletter and published a website promoting jihad and supported extremists.

A jury found the three men guilty in January 2008 of conspiring to trick the government into awarding their organization tax-exempt status by hiding its pro-jihad activities. Jurors also convicted Muntasser of lying to federal officials and Mubayyid of making false statements to federal officials and filing false tax returns.
But a federal judge overturned the tax conspiracy conviction, saying the evidence did not support the verdict.
The government and defendants appealed. Prosecutors argued that although facts proved at trial differed from those alleged in the indictment, they did not alter the crime charged. Muntasser and Mubayyid claimed that that "terrorism" evidence admitted to prove the conspiracy charges was so extensive, inflammatory and prejudicial that it must have spilled over into the jury’s consideration of their guilt on other charges.
The appeals court sided with prosecutors in a ruling released Thursday, saying "the jury asked several incisive questions during deliberation that demonstrated its discriminating appraisal of all the evidence."
The case has been sent back to the district court whose judge will sentence Al-Monla and re-sentence Muntasser and Mubayyid.
Their attorneys did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
Muntasser was born in Libya and was the founder of Care International. Mubayyid was born in Lebanon and was the group’s former treasurer. Al-Monla, the group’s president from 1996 to 1998, was born in Kuwait and is a U.S. citizen.
Their charity group, which was not affiliated with the well-known global relief organization CARE International, raised $1.7 million in donations from 1993 to 2001.
Prosecutors acknowledged Care did some legitimate charity work, but said the group concealed non-charitable activities from the government. Prosecutors said, among other things, the men didn’t disclose that Care had ties to the Al-Kifah Refugee Center in New York, which was linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

 

Telegraph

USA

One in five US Muslims knows of extremist support in community

One in five American Muslims knows of support for extremism in their community, new research has found, despite Muslims being far happier about the state of the US than other groups.

By Jon Swaine, New York

6:26AM BST 31 Aug 2011

As the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, 21 per cent of respondents told a study they had detected "a great deal" or "a fair deal" of support for extremism in their areas.

While the vast majority said that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians to protect Islam were never justified, 19 per cent of respondents did not agree with this statement.

Peter King, a Republican congressman for New York, said the findings "reinforce the need" for him to continue holding controversial hearings on the radicalisation of American Muslims.

"There is a small percentage of American Muslims who are sympathetic to al-Qaeda. al-Qaeda is trying to recruit them. They are the ones we should be looking for," said Mr King.

The study, by the Pew Research Centre, found 56 per cent of Muslims were "satisfied with the current direction of the country", compared to just 23 per cent of the population at large.

Those two figures have grown further apart since four years ago, when 38 per cent of Muslims and 32 per cent of the general population were content with America's direction.
The study also found that 79 per cent of American Muslims rated their communities as "excellent" or "good" places to live.
However more than half of Muslims said they felt singled out for terrorist surveillance, and 43 per cent said they had personally experienced harassment in the past year.
 UK News

Radical Muslims warn of another 9/11

Muslim extremists have held a meeting at the heart of the area where the liquid bombers lived in which they warned of a British September 11.

 By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent

8:50PM BST 12 Sep 2008

One speaker at the meeting, held on the anniversary of the attacks in America, told the assembled crowd that the West should "listen to the warnings."

The meeting, in front of a 100-strong crowd at a community centre on the Lea Bridge Road in Walthamstow, east London, was also addressed by the exiled preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed via video link from the Lebanon.

His appearance was greeted by cheers of "faith" and "god is great" as he claimed to have foiled a bomb plot against him by agents of the British Government, although much of his speech was inaudible due to technical difficulties.

Walthamstow was home to two of the three members of a gang found guilty of conspiracy to murder. They face a retrial over allegations they were targeting trans-Atlantic flights.

Among the speakers were a number of former members of the banned group al-Muhajiroun, once led by Bakri from his council home in Edmonton, North London.

The most incendiary speech was delivered by Saiful Islam, from Luton, Bedfordshire, who praised Osama bin

Laden and al-Qaeda for their "courage" in retaliating against the "dictatorship and oppression" of the West.

He said: "The blame of 9/11 belongs to no one but the American government. They are the terrorists. Sheikh
Osama warned America numerous times, it was because of their own arrogance, because they thought they are a superpower and nobody could match them, that Sheikh Osama taught them a lesson – a lesson they still haven't learned."
Mr Islam warned that unless British and American troops were withdrawn from "Muslim lands" they would be to blame for the consequences, saying the West would "never achieve security until our own lands achieve security".
"Wake up. Withdraw. Listen to the warnings. Muslims will stand side to side, not just al Qaeda. The actions of the British and Americans have given prominence to al Qaeda. All of us have a part to play in stopping the violence or the next 9/11 will take place in Britain, the next 7/7 could take place locally," he added.
The meeting was led by the lawyer Anjem Choudary under the name of a group called the Association for Islamic Research.
He was the last to speak to the group of largely young Muslim men and criticised the Government for persecuting "innocent Muslims" including Syrian–born Bakri who was banned from re-entering the country in the wake of the July 7 attacks.
He also talked of the defendants in the airliner trial along with the jailed preachers Abu Hamza and Omar Brooks, another of Bakri's followers, as well as Abu Qatada, recently released on bail.
"They [the Government] say they are civilized but they don't act very civilized," Mr Choudary said. "They jailed Sheikh Abu Qatada in Belmarsh prison. Is that the way you treat your guests?"
He spoke against mainstream bodies like the Muslim Council of Britain, who condemned the September 11 and July 7 attacks, accusing them of "selling their souls to the devil".
Mr Choudary talked about the black "flag of Sharia" flying over Downing Street by 2020, saying 500 people a day were converting to Islam.
He laughed that Muslim families in places like Whitechapel and Bethnal Green in east London were having .

 USA

US Muslims concerned over Islamophobia as 9/11 and end of Ramadan clash

US Muslim groups have urged law enforcement agencies to be on guard during Eid al-Fitr, the end-of-Ramadan holiday which this year coincides with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

 

  

  18 Aug 2010

A spokesman for the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), an advocacy group, said local and federal agencies across the country were being asked to remain vigilant during the Eid celebrations.

Edina Lekovic, MPAC communications director, said the warning came because of what she called a "heightened climate of Islamophobia" in recent months, citing protests against plans to build an Islamic centre and mosque in Manhattan, not far from the site of Ground Zero.

"We're seeing consistent cases of protests taking place in front of some mosques organised largely by Islamophobic groups," Ms Lekovic said.

"At this stage it's just a precaution because there are many mosque leaders around the country who are understandably concerned for their congregations and want to be sure that they're taking preventative measures and that law enforcement is on standby if, God forbid, there are any issues that need to be dealt with."

Ms Lekovic emphasised that Ramadan and Eid festivals in the United States usually passed without incident.
 By and large, Ramadan and the Eid holidays are peacefully celebrated by Muslims and ignored by the public," she said.
However the furore over the Ground Zero mosque and cases including a Florida church that has announced plans to hold "International Burn a Koran Day" on September 11 have triggered concerns of possible hate crimes.

"We're asking local police and sheriff's departments to be vigilant as well as federal authorities. We're asking federal authorities to examine cases where there are violent acts against Muslims or mosques," she said

Image 1 of 3

The building in New York that could be converted into a mosque Photo: EPA

Image 1 of 3

Linda Rivera holds up a sign in opposition to the proposed mosque

Obama Creates Political 'Cyber-Bunker' For Political War Machine

Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee paid a combined $1.04 million to Bully Pulpit Interactive, which is handling online ads for both groups.

Other Online Strategies

(Washington Times) - On digital battleground, Obama is armed and dangerous. ‘Data geniuses’ deploy online strategies. Obama for America campaign staffers work at headquarters, a 55,000-square-foot office in a high-rise in downtown Chicago. Specialists in digital media work side by side with field operators, Web designers and phone-bank volunteers.

The integration of employees with digital expertise together with more traditional political campaign staff is now standard operating procedure.

President Obama holds the early advantage in the digital campaign for re-election, but his Republican challengers aren’t ceding any ground in the race to gain an edge through social media and other online strategies.

At the Obama for America campaign headquarters in a skyscraper near Millennium Park, the emphasis on digital is everywhere. At one cluster of desks, 10 or so casually dressed young men with expertise in digital media brainstorm about the “next big thing” — perhaps the successor to Twitter — that the campaign will deploy to attract supporters and donors.

“They can focus on the general election, and they’ve raised a ton of money,” said Alex Lundry, vice president and research director at TargetPoint Consulting, a data-mining firm that works with Republicans. “That allows them to do more.”

Throughout Obama for America’s 50,000-square-foot office, specialists in digital media work side by side with field operators, Web designers and phone-bank volunteers. The integration of employees with digital expertise together with more traditional political campaign staff is now standard operating procedure.

“We’re getting organized; we’re getting very organized,” said Katie Hogan, the campaign’s deputy press secretary who was standing near empty desks soon to be occupied by new hires. The campaign recently put out a call for “analysts and data geniuses.”

Mr. Obama passed another e-milestone this week by becoming the nation’s first commander in chief to open an account with the location-based social networking service Foursquare.

The account was announced on the White House blog Monday evening and has been put to use to “check in” and post “tips” and video on Mr. Obama’s bus tour to small towns in Iowa and Minnesota. Within a day of opening the account, Mr. Obama had 11,000 Foursquare followers.

Joe Rospars, the campaign’s chief digital strategist, said in a recruiting email that Obama for America “will wage the most innovative and effective digital campaign in history, a team that will not just surpass but demolish our fundraising, communications, and organizing goals.”

Despite Mr. Obama’s head start in online operations, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said the president won’t have the same advantage as in 2008 because he is no longer the new candidate on the block.

“Obama also had a movement in ‘08,” Mr. Priebus told The Washington Times in a recent interview. “In politics, a movement transcends everything. We had a movement in 2010, and look what happened. You can’t just rest your future in politics on what are you doing for social media.”

But Mr. Lundry, who is not affiliated with a presidential campaign, said Mr. Obama’s re-election operation is moving ahead ambitiously to analyze reams of data from various online sources and translating them into ways to gain donations and voters.

“What’s different is they’re doing it in-house,” Mr. Lundry said. “Every component of the organization is sharing data liberally. Compared with four years ago, people are getting better at collecting data, analyzing it and linking it. That’s where Obama is going, and that’s where [Republicans] are going.”

Mr. Obama, the first presidential candidate to fully exploit social media such as Facebook and Twitter, is able to build off an email list of about 9 million followers amassed during the 2008 campaign. In the second quarter of this year, Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee paid a combined $1.04 million to Bully Pulpit Interactive, which is handling online ads for both groups.

Obama for American paid another $400,000 to Blue State Digital, another online operation co-founded by Mr. Rospars.

In the Republican field, the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led in spending on digital media in the second quarter with about $330,000. The next closest was the campaign of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who didn’t crack the $100,000 mark and who is now out of the race.

Mr. Lundry, who worked for Mr. Romney’s campaign in 2008 and whose firm is working with him again, said Mr. Romney has “clearly the only data-driven campaign on the Republican side.”

Republicans are working on several fronts to match the Obama campaign’s online prowess, although their effort isn’t as coordinated as the Democrats’ because the GOP is months away from choosing its nominee.

Mr. Romney’s campaign has hired Zac Moffatt, formerly a partner at the Republican digital agency Targeted Victory, as the campaign’s digital director. Mr. Moffatt worked for the RNC in 2008 and led the successful digital campaign in 2010 for Senate candidate Marco Rubio, Florida Republican. In the Romney campaign, he leads a stand-alone department at the same level as a traditional communications director or political strategist.

The RNC’s Mr. Priebus described himself as an avid fan of social media and of the political potential of online means of communicating with donors and supporters.

He recounted how the RNC is working with partners in Silicon Valley to roll out a social media application called Way In, which Mr. Priebus described as a combination of “real-time polling and real-time ‘friend’ connections” to allow the GOP to communicate interactively with supporters.

“I think it’s going to take the country by storm,” he said. “It’s more of a social media tool for us to use in communicating with our base, with social media folks, with the youth, with whoever wants to use the tool. We’re thinking of everything that we can do to be better in the social media and digital world.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/17/on-digital-battleground-obama-is-armed-and-dangero/?page=1