Cause and Effect

1) July 2012: I file criminal complaint in the Naples courts against Mac for electronic privacy violation. I report the crime to all relevant authorities. I report this to my chain of command.

2) September 2012- May 2013: In spite of the actions of a few bad actors in the Dutch military, I decide to continue to work closely with other personnel in the Dutch Navy whom I respect and like in order to support joint U.S. / Dutch joint capacity building operations. I spend a week aboard a Dutch Navy ship and work with the Dutch Special Forces. I accept an invitation to work with the Dutch planners in Den Helder for an upcoming mission.

3) May 8, 2013: Still upset about what Mac and his crew have done and frustrated with the ongoing harassment, I write a message to the Dutch Ministry of Defense on the website Rijksoverheid.nl. I write a similar message the following day to the MIVD open-source e-mail address, mivd@mindef.nl:

May 8, 2013 5:18 PM

Sirs,

My name is Dr. ********* ******. I am a researcher working for ******. In the normal course of my duties in Fall 2010, I met two of your field operatives on the ****** in Naples, Italy. Your personnel were ostensibly serving as liaison officers with the ********. However their subsequent behavior and the behavior of their support staff revealed their covers, as well as the tactics techniques and procedures of your organization. In doing this, your team violated my privacy. This was impolite and illegal.

Additionally it revealed poor tradecraft on the part of the operatives. I have attempted to deal with the problem locally but the results have not been satisfactory. This is why I write to you now. As I consider my next steps, I would like to have a conversation with someone from your organization to discuss what has happened and to find a way-ahead. I request an apology for the impact this has had on my life. I am currently in Den Helder on business and will return to Amsterdam for a planning conference on May 20. I would be pleased to meet with you during that time. Please let me know how and when this might be possible.

Sincerely,

*******

4) May 23, I meet with an investigator from the Dutch Navy, J. He is surprised and upset by the privacy violation, and he offers to look into the matter.

5) May- June 2013: I correspond with J. On June 21, 2013, he writes, apprising me of the developments in his investigation. Foolishly, I believe that this will actually result in people being held accountable for their criminal behavior.

From: J*******@mindef.nl
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 09:57:06 +0200
Subject: RE: Follow-up

Goodmorning *******,

First I must apologize for not answer you in a earlier stage.
But now I understand this is a very delicate issue.
We agreed that I should investigate what was known of this case at top level of my navy. When I asked the justice department of the navy they told me they knew much of the case through information given by the LCDR. They did not know that you filed a criminal complaint at the justice department of Naples against this LCDR.
My navy is not pleased with this case and are willing to come to a solution and will inform me about the steps they going to take. This is just a small sitrep because I don't know much more at this stage.
I hope you doing well and I will come in the air when I know more.

Sincerely,

J******

Luitenant ter zee der tweede klasse oudste categorie
Coördinator Lokale Vertrouwens Personen (CLVP) CZSK

 

6) On June 21, 2013 the U.S. Embassy receives a message from a legal person in the Dutch navy, detailing a complaint from Mac and Sjors, with heavily bowdlerized personal e-mail messages from me in a clearly counter-intelligence operation designed to discredit me, and with the following language: "Both Dutch officers feel deeply harassed by Dr. ***** and it is very clear that her behavior has had an enormous impact at the lives of both men. They are afraid that their careers and their personal lives will be damaged by *****." A strange conclusion, and a stretch, considering that the only form of "harassment" from me may be considered the e-mails where I accuse these men of the privacy violations that they actually conducted. I do not approach either men, nor attempt to affect their personal lives. Even when I had the opportunity to cause trouble for Mac because we were both on the same ship in November 2012; Instead, I offered  him the opportunity to explain and apologize. These are supposed to be tough military men, and yet their own military characterizes them as baby-birds, crying to mommy because I made some honest e-mail messages about their bad acts.

7) On July 1, 2013 in spite of being the victim of a crime, in spite of reporting this to all appropriate authorities, in spite of this being an obvious attempt to discredit me because of my existing criminal complaint against illegal action, I lose my job. I am told that I have reported everything appropriately, but that the decision is partly because of the atmosphere resulting from the "Snowden" affair (Snowden first came forward in March 2013). In response, I write to my boss with the following: "You mentioned the environment of the "Snowden" affair and the heightened security perception within the U.S. There is one crucial difference: I was always the victim - never the perpetrator. Every action I have taken has been in response to the criminal acts that were committed against me. These actions have had deep repercussions in my life already and it seems a terrible thing that my life and work should continue to be affected by someone else's criminal behavior"

8) February 2014: I start collating my notes and logs, and begin to write out the details of everything that the Dutch intel folks have done, and the awful consequences - not only in my life, but also in Sjors' life. I intend to preserve the truth of what has happened here. I think that this sort of bullying is never acceptable - that there should be consequences for those who have behaved wrongly. I asked for an explanation and apology, and I was slapped back.
What could they have ever feared from me that I am not still capable of conducting? They have not removed my voice, nor my reason for speaking. Perhaps this is the only thing I retain, after all they have taken.