Obama, Bush and the CIA
[Guest post by DRJ]
Erick Erickson at Red State claims President Obama’s mishandling of the recent CIA deaths in Afghanistan has damaged America’s intelligence mission in Afghanistan and elsewhere:
“It appears Barack Obama inexperience and amateurishness has just started bonfires on the bridges connecting him to the American intelligence community and delivered a huge, HUGE psychological win to Al Qaeda.
People tell me the President’s rush to acknowledge the attack on the CIA in Afghanistan and mourn the deaths openly, publicly, and via press release is a huge no no. The CIA and greater intelligence community would prefer not to have the attention put on them. Additionally, because the President took the time to draft a blanket statement focused on the CIA in general instead of individually and more privately focusing on the families of the victims, it acknowledges the CIA’s work in Afghanistan, acknowledges that the attack has an impact on the CIA, and gives the terrorists a new recruiting tool — “you too can cause America to publicly mourn the loss of their spies.”
Erickson also notes the White House is “subtly blaming the intelligence community for the failure to deduce the Delta/Northwest attack.”
I don’t want America to fail whether we have a Republican or a Democratic government, and I especially don’t want Americans to die because of intelligence or wartime failures. But if Democratic mishandling of the War on Terror wakes up politicized members of the intelligence community who declared war on the Bush Administration, it may be worth it in the long run.
— DRJ
There are very few direct ways to critique President Obama without him retreating behind the shield of “racism” his team trots out.
The “shoeshine boy meets Sarah Palin” is part of the plan in my opinion.
Obama looks weak on the war on terror; propagate an image with alleged racist intent.
The CIA’s bread and butter is deniabilty.
Indirect attack.
Obama will have a harder time fighting this.
If I felt Obama was spending too much time golfing and used the common english word “lazy” to describe him, I’d be lableled as racist… I don’t think President Obama is lazy, but if I did, and if he indeed was, I would have to divest myself of common english and embrace an indirect way of speaking that is unnatural to me, but second nature to the CIA.
The CIA’d just leak a task log, or a recreation calendar.. add a tiny bit of context and a wee dash of snark and then let the information speak for itself from there… and everyone knows that is just the weak sauce… the real juice comes if you keep on dissing.
I remember the days when Reagan was the teflon man.
I wonder know if the “teflon of ‘racism’ ” is greater protection than the teflon of quality.
I’d like to see President Obama own his ideas and actions, rather than constantly blaming the “past”, or “partisanship” or even worse, hiding behind the skirt of “racism” that his team so eagerly deploys.
A good leader is going to have bad ideas, pursue dumb policies. He or she needs to embrace the truth, see it for reality, take responsibilty and grow.
One of my favorite movie scenes is where King Theodin has his chief advisor Wormwood chucked ignominiously out the door and down the stairs.
SteveG (909b57) — 1/3/2010 @ 4:46 pmObama just has no clue how the government he’s been put in charge of actually works. Not a clue.
SPQR (26be8b) — 1/3/2010 @ 4:49 pmOK
I meant to say I wonder now if….
SteveG (909b57) — 1/3/2010 @ 4:52 pmIt’s not about race, it’s about competence and common sense, all of which is lacking in this administration
bishop (cd6b99) — 1/3/2010 @ 5:07 pmI faulted Bush in 2006 for not sending someone over to the CIA and cleaning house over CIA leaks against his administration–he was the target of a lot of them, some directly authorized by high levels in the CIA. Bluntly speaking, the CIA has no d@#n business in US politics. Practically speaking, the CIA has violated that rule–on many occasions.
If you’ve got your wits about you (a fact not necessarily in evidence with our current President) and you know that the CIA has a tendency to strike back politically when pissed off–you don’t piss ’em off.
Obama never seems to get it; he rails at bankers and fat cats on Sunday, and then calls them in for a White House meeting and asks them to help him out on Monday. It’s a pattern–of a very childish man.
Mike Myers (3c9845) — 1/3/2010 @ 5:33 pmThe ineptitude of it all is just mind-boggling.
GeneralMalaise (68a574) — 1/3/2010 @ 6:18 pmIn response to the comment “Obama just has no clue how the government he’s been put in charge of actually works. Not a clue.” What did we expect? He was a senator for a whole 4 months before becoming the leader of our nation. Oh, sorry, 4 1/2 months. Sobering thought.
Craig Covello (329ff2) — 1/3/2010 @ 6:26 pmThe CIA had a war on Bush most of his two terms. I read Shadow Warriors and wrote a review of it. It suggested that the CIA was at war with Bush. Now they have the president they wanted. I hope they are happy. I suspect the shadow warriors were all in Langley, not in the trenches.
Mike K (2cf494) — 1/3/2010 @ 8:00 pmI worry that a civil-war within the CIA will substantially cripple the intelligence gathering and analysis needed to deal with AQ.
AD - RtR/OS! (06f36f) — 1/3/2010 @ 9:47 pmIf it wasn’t for that aspect of this situation, I would just sit back and laugh my @$$ off over a bunch of spooks going after each other hammer & tongs.
BTW, any word from Mrs.Wilson?
I’m praying hard and but still buying ammo.
Krusher (fad639) — 1/4/2010 @ 3:27 amAD, I know you weren’t talking about ghosts when you uttered that racist epithet. I know it because you hate the idea of a black man succeeding at anything. That’s why you said it, racist.
John Hitchcock (3fd153) — 1/4/2010 @ 5:54 amPlus it highlights how incompetent the CIA was to get all those people killed. The CIA should be abolished and replaced with non-poofters what give a sh*t about America.
Our little country is not in good hands.
happyfeet (e9e587) — 1/4/2010 @ 6:24 am[…] Patterico’s Pontifications » Obama, Bush and the CIAJan 3, 2010 … Comment by Craig Covello — 1/3/2010 @ 6:26 pm. The CIA had a war on Bush most of his two terms. I read Shadow Warriors and wrote a review of … […]
Craig covello | Commoditiesassociate (10a39d) — 5/28/2011 @ 6:42 am