5/7/2006

19 Responses to “Not Looking Good for Hayden”

1. Why do we need a civilian intelligence service anyway? After witnessing the entrenched bureaucrats in the CIA actively opposing the president and even damaging national security to do so, I’m thinking that we should get civilians out of roles like this. Bureaucrats just can’t be trusted to do their job and stay out of politics.

   By contrast, the record of the military keeping out of politics has been very good. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that you can’t get into the military without dedicating at least three years to serving your country, with no option to quit. I think people are far less likely to make such a commitment if they are inclined to the sort of solipsistic excesses that the CIA bureaucracy has demonstrated over the last few years.

   Doc Rampage (f06a6e) — 5/7/2006 @ 3:53 pm

   
   

2. The RINO’s coming out against a man before he is nominated is exactly why i’m a member of the not one dime club. I wouldn’t send a dime to the RNC to support anyone. I get their email and letters (due to previous support)almost daily and hit the delete button or toss them in file 13. So far there is one Republican in the entire country that I will send money to and support for office. The rest can pack their bags and fire their staff, they’re done. Welcome back to the minority.

   Scrapiiron (a90377) — 5/7/2006 @ 4:14 pm

   
   

3. Scrappiiron,

   I send the RNC and any Republican asking me for money a letter stating exactly why I believe the GOP has nothing to offer me in the areas that I care about: immigration, entitlement reform, taxes, spending, tax reform, etc.

   I say in the letter that I’m giving Not. One. Dime.

   And I enclose a check for nine cents.

   So far, I’ve gotten every one back.

   diffus (fa92b4) — 5/7/2006 @ 4:32 pm

   
   

4. The GOP is truly the Stupid Party.
   Bush is giving them a chance to have a very public fight over the NSA surveillance deal and they are throwing it away.
   That fight would have the Dems siding with terrorists and the GOP siding with the people trying to catch them and Specter is trying to throw that away.

   Idjits.

   Veeshir (5f9b87) — 5/8/2006 @ 3:38 am

   
   

5. Not knowing more than I know I’m in favor of bulldozing the nest of snakes we call the CIA. The extra curricular efforts to undermine and sabotage sitting presidents doesn’t sit well with me – I don’t care which president they’re doing it to at the moment. Bulldoze it and start over I say.

   If Hayden is appointed as a military man at least he’d come to the job with the understanding that the president is in charge of the executive branch.

   I am highly concerned about what the truth of Goss’ resignation might be. I don’t buy the spin that they all knew it was coming and Friday was just the announcement. BS. If it is scandal based that’s going to suck heavily. If it is really over a policy disagreement with Negroponte and Goss walked in and threw the keys to the building in Bush’ face Friday that is incredibly childish when we’re at war.

   I’m appalled. I don’t buy for a minute that cleaning up the CIA is finished and Goss’ job was done. Is anyone else buying that the CIA is fixed now?

   Dwilkers (a1687a) — 5/8/2006 @ 4:31 am

   
   

6. Hayden Chosen to Lead CIA

   Bush officially named General Michael Hayden (of my beloved Air Force) to succeed Porter Goss as head of the CIA. It was widely reported this weekend that he was at the top of the list, so this is no surprise.

   The Sandbox (72c8fd) — 5/8/2006 @ 8:29 am

   
   

7. Dwilkers asked, “Is anyone else buying that the CIA is fixed now?”

   No, I’m not going for it. The American voters put GWB in office, not the CIA. I’m fed up. The CIA refuses do it’s job because it’s too busy opposing the President’s policies. Enough already. I say lock the doors at Langley and hand out the pink slips.

   Since they missed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the CIA’s record is one of failure, again and again. Now is the right time to pull the plug.

   That’s not throwing the baby out with the bath water, it isn’t our baby, and we don’t need any more bastards on the welfare rolls.

   Black Jack (d8da01) — 5/8/2006 @ 9:37 am

   
   

8. Freedom is circling the drain. Bush may be the worst President we have had. He has no spine, and no developed understanding of how fragile our separation of powers, and civillian control of the military, traditions are.

   I voted for him twice. Sad days for me, and for us all.

   RJN (c3a4a3) — 5/8/2006 @ 11:19 am

   
   

9. Freedom is circling the drain. Bush may be the worst President we have had. He has no spine, and no developed understanding of how fragile our separation of powers, and civillian control of the military, traditions are.

   I voted for him twice. Sad days for me, and for us all.

   I’m so sorry for your loss.

   Perhaps some day you will regain your sanity.

   RLS (0516f0) — 5/8/2006 @ 11:29 am

   
   

10. How easily we give up our freedom. The CIA can be fixed by a civilian. We don need no steenkin’ general.

    Next it will be the military in charge of the Federal Interstate Highway system. We will have military checkpoints at the on-off ramps.

    All, and everything, in the glorious name of “The War on Terror”. Bogus, bogus.

    RJN (c3a4a3) — 5/8/2006 @ 12:16 pm

    
    

11. We’ve had military men in the director’s chair at the CIA before. I’m not worried about that aspect of it.

    What I’m getting a bit tired of is what’s looking a lot to me like an executive branch in disarray in the midst of a major foreign war.

    Dwilkers (a1687a) — 5/8/2006 @ 12:25 pm

    
    

12. RJN:

    I remember those halcyon days of freedom, brought to too soon a close when an ex-military President, elected on a platform of honesty and good-government, appointed a military man to head the CIA, and the coup that followed.

    One reason why there are no statues to Stansfield Turner anywhere.

    BTW, you might want to look up the proper name for the federal highway system. As in the “National Defense Highway System.”

    Lurking Observer (ea88e8) — 5/8/2006 @ 12:29 pm

    
    

13. Yeah, thanks, I had forgotten his tenure. Now I don’t know what to think. Below are two quotes from Wikipedia (??). Maybe Turner wasn’t too dumb even if Carter appointed him.

    “Turner has written several books, including 2005’s Burn Before Reading: Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence, in which he advocates disbanding the CIA.”

    “In November 2005, after Vice President Dick Cheney had lobbied against a bill that would have prevented the CIA from torturing suspected terrorists, Turner was quoted as saying “I am embarrassed that the USA has a vice president for torture. I think it is just reprehensible. He (Mr Cheney) advocates torture, what else is it? I just don’t understand how a man in that position can take such a stance.””

    RJN (c3a4a3) — 5/8/2006 @ 2:59 pm

    
    

14. Turner makes a fool of himself saying stupid things like that. Dick Cheney is no more in favor of torture than you are.

    We are at war with terrorists, and we need to face the realities of that type of conflict. Sometimes captured terrorists have information we need to save lives. It’s appropriate to use coercive interrogation techniques to get that information quickly. Sad, but true

    Coercive interrogation isn’t torture, but it isn’t far from it either. Now, that’s an unpleasant reality, but someone’s got to do it. The least we can do is face the facts and not stab them in the back.

    Black Jack (d8da01) — 5/8/2006 @ 3:45 pm

    
    

15. If it isn’t torture then why do you say “someone’s got to do it”?

    We are on a great big slippery slope, and we are not going to get off of it. G. W. Bush has put the U. S. within the grasp of the one worlders. He is probably too dumb to know it. Our next President will finish the job. We are finished.

    RJN (c3a4a3) — 5/8/2006 @ 7:04 pm

    
    

16. For the obvious reason.

    Someone’s got to step up, face facts, and get the information needed to save lives. If that means using coercive interrogation techniques, then someone’s got to do it, and we owe that someone our gratitude and support.

    The only slippery slope we’re on is the one constructed by delusional homegrown idiots who think GWB is more of a danger to America than bin Ladin, or Zarqawi.

    Black Jack (d8da01) — 5/8/2006 @ 7:22 pm

    
    

17. I think bin Ladin is dead, or ineffective. Zarquawi is a red herring; if not, why is he still alive? That leaves Bush as the most dangerous.

    RJN (c3a4a3) — 5/8/2006 @ 7:41 pm

    
    

18. Hayden is just one in a long line of military officers to head the CIA and most did a good job. If you take out Turner the rest did an excellent job. It’s ok for a left wing liberal president to appoint a military member, but woe be it on a Republican that does the same. I wouldn’t actually say he’s toast, there are a lot of backstabbers in the Republican party today but most are really chicken to stick it out. If everyone stops giving to the RNC and only supports their local people the RNC might get the message out to the RINO’s that there will be no central funding for them. Personally there is only one Republican up for reelection this Nov that i can see myself voting for. The rest can retire and start another career at McDonalds. Be sure and let the RNC know that there will not be one dime until they get back to the conservative agenda and tell the president to stop his liberal BS.

    Scrapiron (a90377) — 5/8/2006 @ 8:35 pm

    
    

19. Gnereal Hayden offered to retire, so he would take the job as a civilian. He would not be the first retired general officer to head the CIA. Do you think it would calm “concerns” about the military running the intelligence community? The real issue is the so-called “domestic spying” program run by the NSA under Hayden’s watch, no matter what tangential opinion any congressman or senator offers. They don’t want to bring the issue up again, because when the facts come out, they all will be proven to be pandering, alarmist, bushaters. The president is only helping his detractors by not going on the attack.

    C-141 Crew Dog (f3fd6e) — 5/9/2006 @ 3:58 am