CIA memo urging spies to support Bush provokes furore
You will remember that I said awas back, that intelligence is data, that gets filtered, right? Well, looks like Mr. Bush is getting his "data" filtered into an easy-to-read form (for him)
quote:
According to one intelligence source, the "president's daily brief", which the CIA delivers each morning, has already been "watered down" with the removal of controversial analysis about the counter-insurgency in Iraq or the "global war on terror".
That is the single most dangerous thing I have read in a long time.
And this is just plain ridiculous
quote:
"The administration doesn't seem to be able to come to grips with the reality that it was a stupid thing to do to invade Iraq... If it goes too far like this into the political realm our fortunes overseas are going to be hurt."
Mr Goss, a Bush appointee, is seeking to use the CIA's counterintelligence department to weed out leakers to the press, a controversial move that has triggered resignations by senior staff who argued it was an inappropriate use of the agency's mole hunters.
The function of the CIA is to bring critical information and analysis of such to the President's attention. It is NOT to give him that which he wants to hear, and it is certainly not meant to be used to seek and root out those who disagree.
quote:
When the head of counterintelligence - whose name cannot be published under US law - refused to pursue the leakers last week, the No 2 in the directorate of operations, Michael Sulick, was ordered to fire her, according to well-informed sources.
When he refused, his boss, Stephen Kappes, was ordered to step in. Mr Kappes refused and after a weekend showdown both he and Mr Sulick resigned on Monday.
Mr Kappes's departure was widely described as a serious loss."Kappes was a fine officer and he had done a lot of hard things in a lot of nasty places in the world. It's a shame to see him go," Mr Scheuer said.
He argued there should be a staff shakeout at the CIA but said the purge was aimed in the wrong direction - targeting dissidents rather than risk-averse leaders.
The 52-year-old former agent blamed some of the turmoil at the CIA on the abrupt management style of Mr Goss's new team. "There's nothing wrong with being a little bit gruff and a bit abrasive but I've heard these people have been real bastards," he said.
But another former agent, Robert Baer, argued that Mr Goss had no choice but to stop the leaks. "You can't have an intelligence agency operating in the open, writing books and leaking to the press. They lost the confidence of the president," he said.
He argued the CIA in its present state was "dysfunctional".
"Give Goss six months and see what he does. It could be a lot worse, or it could be a lot better," he said.
Getting rid of good men and women, who have repeatedly put it on the line and have actively been out there on the front(s), is IMHO a very dangerous and reckless thing. And leaving the US at this time, with a 6 month gap in good intel is a very, very dangerous thing, indeed.
Well, there is always the NSA.
When it comes to screwing up, Mr. Bush is re-writing the book anew, it seems.
And let me just add this - Iran got nuke design from Pakistan I alwas was uneasy about the US - Pakistan "co-operation", and this just supports what I have been saying all along.
quote:
Diplomats in Vienna who follow the IAEA, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, say the NCRI has been the best source of information on Tehran's undeclared nuclear programme.
The NCRI, like Washington, accuses the Iranian government of secretly developing atomic weapons. Tehran dismisses this allegation, insisting its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The NCRI is the political wing of the exiled group known as the People's Mujahideen Organisation. Both are listed by the US State Department as terrorist organisations.
(Edited by WebShaman on 11-18-2004 07:00)
posted 11-18-2004 06:55
