What? The top "spy" has no clue what his own administrations policy is? Oh, and this is the same guy who a month or so ago had no idea that there were demonstrations in the streets of Egypt. This is the guy who is supposed to keep "the big picture" in the war on terror! He can't find his own shoelaces to tie his own shoes. What the heck is he the Director of National Intelligence, the very heart of the information gathering by the military, by the FBI, the CIA, the black ops people, the diplomats from the State Department, etc. He doesn't know diddly about the Middle East, but he is the one Obama has "in charge"? What?
Here's a bit from the NY Times:
The White House announced a five-point program on Thursday of steps to isolate Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and ultimately drive him from power, all stopping well short of military action, but distanced itself from the assessment of the nation’s top intelligence chief, who said Thursday that “over the longer term” Colonel Qaddafi’s superior firepower “will prevail” over the opposition.There is a "competency" problem not just at the head of the DNI, but with Obama. Why does he have this 69 year old blundering idiot in charge of anything? Retire the guy and put some young fresh blood in charge. If you are serious about a "war on terrorism" you need the brightest and the best. Not some flak who has been a chair jockey showing his skills at winning bureaucratic struggle to aggrandize power. You need people who actually worry about the safety of the country and are willing to spend the time to actually stay abreast of what is happening in the Middle East, the source of the threat!
The steps that the White House announced include a partial embrace of the opposition movement as well as threats to track and prosecute, in international courts, loyalists to Mr. Qaddafi who commit atrocities. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would meet with Libyan opposition leaders next week, and President Obama’s national security adviser made it clear that Washington was looking for ways to aid the Libyan leader’s opponents.
...
The White House campaign to convince both Colonel Qaddafi’s loyalists and NATO allies that the Libyan dictator’s days are numbered were undercut by a military assessment given earlier in the day by the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper. Responding to questions, Mr. Clapper told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Colonel Qaddafi had a potentially decisive advantage in arms and equipment that would make itself felt as the conflict wore on.
“This is kind of a stalemate back and forth,” he said, “but I think over the longer term that the regime will prevail.”
When the guy showed his ignorance of the region and the current events a month ago when the Egyptian demonstrations were underway, he should have been fired. Today he showed ignorance of his own position and the official position of his own boss, Obama. He should be fired! What does it take to get the dead wood out of the building?
One of the reasons why the US was so flat-footed in the early going in WWII was that all the senior officers were deadwood. Vietnam was a disaster because "careerist" like Westmorland was in charge who viewed his job as reporting higher "body counts" and not actually understanding the nature of the war and what it would take to win it. When Carter tried to rescue the American hostages in Iran in 1969, he ran up against a military that was incompetent and filled with machinery that wouldn't work, but no heads rolled. When Bush 43 decided to invade Iraq he had a military under Rumsfeld that "forgot" to plan what to do after victory, so the next 6 years were a bloody fight that cost many lives after Bush 43 declared "Mission Accomplished!". Again, no heads rolled.
Obama needs to fire Clapper immediately!
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