I would say his record is hardly "sordid"... A little news flash to the Blogosphere on the Left, intent on smearing this guy. The PACOM CINC does not make US foreign policy - the President does. The CINC carries it out to the best of his ability, of which he did a remarkable job. There are also greater national security considerations than going to Indonesia and slamming its government. Those types of theatrics may give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, but it accomplishes NOTHING. From a Chinese military who is upgrading itself, to al-Qaeda - who had entrenched itself in the country, the US has much greater national interests. ETAN has NO appreciation for anything beyond its own narrow agenda, and for the Obama team to even consider changing their pick on their account is LUDICROUS! With the greater military and political ties that Blair encouraged, the US is better positioned to affect the actions of the Indonesian government, as it can use aid as leverage. Going into this country and criticizing its leadership will only alienate it, pushing it into the sphere of influence of China. Then the US would have ZERO say, and the Indonesians would continue to kill civilians unimpeded, as they would have China's backing. If you doubt this, just ask a refugee from Darfur how US condemnation has helped his lot in life. Get a grip!
Barriers To Intelligence
- Share:
-
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
The Bush Administration's rough treatment of captured terror suspects has bedeviled President-elect Barack Obama's efforts to fill key posts on his intelligence team, as nearly every qualified candidate is linked, however remotely, to the practices. But according to multiple sources close to his transition team, Obama is circling nearer on some picks.
The head of Obama's intel transition team, John Brennan, was the leading candidate for CIA chief until he was slammed by liberal bloggers for not doing enough while serving as a top CIA and anti-terror official to oppose Bush. Current CIA chief Michael Hayden is keen to stay on for a while in an Obama administration, and intel officials say that would be good for agency morale. But Obama voted against Hayden's confirmation in 2006—and other Democrats believe he defended Bush policies too zealously. Several people close to the Obama transition, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive deliberations, say the leading candidate to replace Hayden is his deputy, Stephen Kappes, who was No. 2 in the CIA's covert-ops division from 2002 to 2004, which means he was almost surely involved in interrogation policy. But Kappes's backers say he was working on counterintel issues—uncovering moles—when the CIA set up its "secret prison" network. If Kappes's star falls, other CIA candidates are said to include another former senior spy, Mary Margaret Graham, and former congressman Tim Roemer, an intel-reform advocate.
The sources say the top candidate for National Intelligence director—a post established by Congress after 9/11, but whose powers are still being debated—is retired Admiral Dennis Blair. A former chief of U.S. Pacific forces, Blair has broad military command experience—a plus for Obama—and he also has no obvious connection to controversial Bush policies. Obama could please his base with another possible pick: Maureen Baginski, an Obama intel-team member who spent years at NSA and joined the FBI after 9/11, is being mentioned as a candidate to become the first civilian and first female director of NSA. A spokeswoman for Obama declined to comment on personnel deliberations.
© 2008
- Share:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
