The other day I asked a very serious question: How Many Americans Will Die Because of Barack Obama’s Weak National Security Leadership?
As I noted at the time and have noted previously,
That Obama is sweeping out career intelligence officers is a clear sign he intends to clear out the policies these intelligence officers advocated and implemented — the very same policies that kept us safe for eight years.
But there is an additional, very serious issue at stake here.
The low level guys, the Jack Bauers if you will, are seeing all of this. They see a President right now who made tough decisions in secret and stood by those decisions when they became public, even though those decisions were hugely unpopular. The low level guys intrinsically knew they could kill bad men in undisclosed locations and be supported if the lights came on.
These same men see the incoming President unwilling to stand behind one of their own — a career CIA officer in John O. Brennan. It is an unspoken message to all of them that should they take the bold action needed to keep freedom secure, they may not be backed up by President Obama should the actions come to light.
They will therefore return to their state of being prior to 9/11. And darkness will again start creeping from the shadows.
Obama’s chickens are coming home to roost. Jake Tapper notes today that people inside the CIA are beginning to bristle at Barack Obama throwing them under the bus.
But some experts say the move could have a chilling effect on the CIA even beyond President Obama’s decision last week to release the so-called “torture memos.”
Calling the ACLU push to release the photographs “prurient” and “reprehensible,” Dr. Mark M. Lowenthal, former Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production, tells ABC News that the Obama administration should have taken the case all the way to the Supreme Court. . . .
Lowenthal said the president’s moves in the last week have left many in the CIA dispirited, based on “the undercurrent I’ve been getting from colleagues still in the building, or colleagues who have left not that long ago.”
“We ask these people to do extremely dangerous things, things they’ve been ordered to do by legal authorities, with the understanding that they will get top cover if something goes wrong,” Lowenthal says. “They don’t believe they have that cover anymore.”
That is exactly what I have been saying. Compare the left’s treatment of the present information and memoranda to Valerie Plame. She had not been an active spy for some time and the left demanded Bush administration heads for her name coming out.
On the other hand, here we have present employees of the CIA and those who, up until January 20, 2009, were making life and death decisions in the war on terror being publicly outed by the Obama administration and their compatriots in the media.
One can wonder if Obama just hopes these guys get offed by terrorists so he does not have to actually take a bold stand against the Democrats’ intended witch hunt.
The Obama Administration could do no better than it is presently doing to aid and abet our terrorist enemies without actually, you know, supporting them. When CIA agents and our military are no longer willing to do the deeds in darkness that keep us safe domestically, the terrorists will slowly start testing for weaknesses again.
Remember the scene in Jurassic Park where the raptors kept testing the electric fence to see if the power was still on? Barack Obama just turned the power off and issued a press release to tell the world.
How many Americans will die because Barack Obama just can’t help but undermine our national security?
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
The Obama Administration could do no better than it is presently doing to aid and abet our terrorist enemies without actually, you know, supporting them.
izoneguy (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 2:25PM EST (link)Well said, Erick…
Is there anyway you can get on Hannity and read this diary??
Maybe Hannity can read it today???
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
Not to mention, is it coincidence that Iran and NK are taking US citizens, oops I mean "spies", hostage?
Common_Cents (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 2:30PM EST (link)Our foes sense weakness so they are going to get much bolder.
Is it also any coincidence Iran and NK were named as part of the axis of evil?
Obama=Golfer in Chief, Leading from,
behind, the Back Nine.Leaders don’t create movements. Movements create leaders. Get involved. Your future depends on it.
Govt “invests” YOUR tax money for POLITICAL return rather than economic return.
NSA people might have to report activity by leaking it to the press?
Erick Brockway (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 2:43PM EST (link)I mean, if info on terrorist cells is passed upstairs and ignored, leaking it anon may be their only hope.
Agreed on passing it to Hannity. Heck even O’Reily, Beck. It needs to be hammered daily, before it’s too late…again.
Note to lefties;
“Don’t be afraid to see what you see.” -Ronald Reagan
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I'm at a loss...
rbdwiggins (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 2:53PM EST (link)Who in the Office of the Solicitor General is capable of defending “State Secrets” and prior precedent before the Supreme Court, and is willing to oppose the ACLU in the process?
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan
The former Solicitor General believes Obama has opened a door he can't shut
JustLeaveMeAlone (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 4:43PM EST (link)Obama’s tap-dancing — first no, then yes, then no, then maybe — is a ruse. He’s set up other people to run with the ball, giving him so-called plausible deniability — but it’s all a load of manure.
Check out Byron York’s column today:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Ted-Olson-Torture-probes-will-never-end-43594177.html
If anyone should have a clue about this, it’s Ted Olson — his experience in DoJ, the Independent Counsel system, and his own loss to terrorism (recall that his wife died on one of the planes hijacked on 9/11).
I’m convinced this is all in Obama’s game plan. Maybe as a distraction away from the economy and the Tax-And-Spend-Democrats (sorry, I realize that’s redundant) socialization of the American economy, but it doesn’t really matter. The collateral damage here is going to cost lives. Lots of lives.
And for what? To turn our country not into Sweden, but into a Soviet-style centrally managed economy.
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
The precedent will have been established...
rbdwiggins (Diary) Saturday, April 25th at 9:43AM EST (link)Such as the Obama Administration’s abrogation of its constitutional responsibility and its failure to provide for the safety and security of the American people.
If the Obama Administration continues to politicize intelligence, it’s highly likely that path will create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan
I've never paid much attention to Cal Thomas
BAW Friday, April 24th at 2:57PM EST (link)but on Fox earlier he said something that really caught my attention. He said, “The last time the left was in charge…” and he was talking about the Carter administration. He was talking about the damage done to our intelligence community and the 30 years it took to recover.
I immediately thought, what about Clinton? But, of course, he’s right. Clinton did not govern to the extreme left. He cared too much about getting re-elected and knew Carter was the reason the country didn’t trust the Democrats on national security. Clinton did plenty of damage but it was not nearly as bad as Carter.
I have been guilty of thinking Obama was like Carter only in respect to the economy. I worried he would return us to the days of the ‘misery index’ and worse since today’s economy is already a mess. But it is so much worse. He is sending us down the path toward the horrors of the Iranian hostage crisis (and the creation of Nightline). And in today’s world, I’m afraid to even think about the consequences of what Obama is doing. I’m afraid to think about how many people will die.
I am not by a nature a pessimist but this is making me nauseous.
I have been nauseous since January 20th
RepMom (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 3:25PM EST (link)The consequences of Obama’s actions, inaction and reactions are far-reaching to every aspect of our daily lives. The problem is that there are no “adults” in charge that are willing to take an unpopular (or any) stand and stick by it – unless they are talking about “right-wing extremists” or apologizing via world tour for supposed slights that kept our country and most of the rest of the world safe for the last 8 years.
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. —-Abraham Lincoln
GWB, please help!
zeebeach Saturday, April 25th at 7:26AM EST (link)I know it’s considered PC to support, and not criticize, one’s successor to the office of President, but this is an extraordinary situation. GWB needs to speak out, as his VP is doing. This is just too scary for PC attitudes. Let’s roll!
Why put yourself at risk taking a Tango prisoner?
Old_Crow (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 3:52PM EST (link)No interrogations = no hard intell = no reason to take the extra risk to your own life in order to capture vice kill a Tango.
Interesting how the liberal media isn’t interested in pictures of terrorists cutting off the heads of western infidels or folks caught cooperating with our military during the early part of OIF.
“Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” — James Madison
Utterly despicable
pac_NY (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 3:59PM EST (link)But how much more outrage are we expected to tolerate?
Obama is deliberately attempting to incite radical factions against the US.
This has got to stop.
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. -Psalm 104:32
Does Obama, himself, even care or recognize
RJD (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 4:14PM EST (link)the consequences of his actions? I’m guessing not.
This goes beyond incompetence. I think Obama actually believes he is absolved from all of this, that he is above it. He is a dangerous person.
I do, on the other hand, think Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod know exactly what they are doing. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that all of this is being done in part to wrest control away from Pelosi, Reid, et al.
It smacks of a certain type of power play, to concentrate more power in the Executive branch. Everything else is simply collateral damage.
The seed has been sown.
Maggie_in_Indiana (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 4:25PM EST (link)Everything you just said about the low level security guys is true and that’s what got me to thinking . If you are hesitant or unsure you will get support from your President on the job you were hired to do even though the command has changed,why would you remain in your job? Perhaps this is also the thought behind the releasing of the reports. Clean house,get rid of all those who may have been involved or who now may disagree with Obama’s policies.
Obama only surrounds himself with those who go to the mat for him,openly,and behind closed doors on his blackberry.
Maggie in Indiana
Barack Obama just turned the power off and issued a press release to tell the world.
RedInABleuState (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 4:25PM EST (link)If you don’t like the country, why in the hell did you want to be President?
The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion. — Edmund Burke
It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds. — Samuel Adams
Remember Alinsky's Rule 8....
rcov092 (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 5:23PM EST (link)“Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)”
All of this is a ruse to ttally distract us fromthe three centrla prizes Obama is pursuing right now:
Complete Socialization of the Financial Markets (he wants to change the preferred (non-voting) the Treasury now holds in the banks to Common (Voting) giving him not just effective control over the entire financial market but legal control.
Cap & Trade- just imagine all the revenue he will have to implement even greater control over our markets and our lives.
Health Care – will sow up total control over all of us. The only thing he will need to rid himself at that point is a Supreme Court that believs the Constituion is relevant.
WE MUST STOP HIM NOW!
“Not One Red Dime for the NRSC or NRCC till they stop trying to elect liberals”
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Outstanding work, Erick.
Flagstaff (Diary) Friday, April 24th at 10:26PM EST (link)This belongs in the Wall Street Journal or Investors Business Daily, where more people can see it.
It would greatly improve the contents of the Arizona Daily Sun.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
Obama wants to be king, not president
smorgasbord Sunday, April 26th at 12:29AM EST (link)All of the conservative blogs seem surprised when Obama does something that will heart the USA. You either haven’t figured out, or have forgotten, Obama does not want the USA to succeed. If nothing else will convince you of this, him wanting a civilian police force UNDER HIS CONTROL that has as many members as the military, and funded equal to the military, should convince you he wants to take over the country. What did Adolph Hitler call his civilian police force? Obama can’t activate the Nation Guard, governors have to do that. With his civilian police force that is as strong as the military he could easily take over the country.
I honestly believe Obama wants to be King, not president. He knows he can’t be king in a republic (we are not a democracy), so he is aligning himself with those who will help make him king. Since a person can only be king in a dictatorship, Obama is friends of dictatorships since he wants to have one of his own. Using this logic it is easy to see why he wants to be friends with Venezuela and Cuba.
Remember, he had to have a title BEFORE he was president, so he CREATED the title of “Office Of The President Elect.” How long will it be before he DEMANDS to be called “Your Magisty?”
He bowed to the Saudi King because the king is like the Godfather to Obama. You only bow down to those you are in allegiance to. In that simple act Obama showed the world who he is subject to, and who he honors the most.
I think Obama’s plan is to turn the USA over to other countries, and he figures he will be crowned king over it, or a part of it. Now I understand why he couldn’t keep from laughing during his 60 Minutes interview. He knows they are helping him become king, and he will be ruling over them as their king some day.
Teh Mess-I-Yah is pointing Israelis and all Jews towards the same fate.
Kenny Solomon (Diary) Sunday, April 26th at 8:50AM EST (link)In another complete surprise, we have this (again, not a peep from our own media)………….
US: Syria and Israel Must Talk ; Syrian FM Praises Ahmadinejad
My published comment after the article is number 11 and reads…….
I have a transcript of the Israel/Syria ‘talk’.
Israel: “We want to live in peace with the rest of the world.”
Syria: “We want all Jews dead everywhere in the world which is our non-negotiable version of peace.”
———
Sincere thoughts from the USA…….
Hey President Traitor: We’ve got your number. You’re not fooling anyone.
Hey State Department (read that as Hillary on direct orders from President Traitor): We’ve got your number. You’re not fooling anyone.