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| White House defends counter terrorism aide |
| 2010-02-12 |
| THE battle over President Obama's top counter terrorism aide has escalated. Senator John McCain blasted John Brennan for accusing Republicans of aiding al-Qaeda by being critical of his response to the failed Christmas Day airline attack. The White House came to the defence of Brennan in the face of new criticism over a recent editorial in which he accused Republicans of aiding Al Qaeda with their criticism of the interrogation of failed Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Brennan has 25 years experience in counter terrorism and does not wear his politics on his sleeves. "John is there each and every day working in his office to try to do everything he can to keep the American people safe," Gibbs said, adding that the administration has asked him to stay on. Republicans have assailed Brennan and the Obama administration for its handling of Abdulmutallab, who was read his Miranda rights, outlining legal privileges including the use of an attorney, after 50 minutes of questioning. Critics say Abdulmutallab should have been treated as an enemy combatant and subjected to a military tribunal instead of a civilian trial. Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for Brennan to resign after a hearing in Congress last week in which Brennan said he was tired of criticism from armchair quarterbacks. Bond's counterpart in the House, Republican Pete Hoesktra (R-MI), urged the administration to fire him. On Tuesday, Brennan accused Republicans critical of his response to the failed Christmas Day airline attack of aiding al-Qaeda. Brennan made his accusation in an opinion article published in the USA Today. "Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of Al-Qaeda. Terrorists are not 100-feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill," he wrote. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 Frozen Al, That is what I suspected without evidence. Do share links to stories on this if you have them. His statements seemed discordant, disconnected... I agree with LE in principle; it is still unsettling that someone with that amount of experience missed the forest so widely. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-02-12 11:54 |
| #5 That bus has to have an industrial-strength suspension, Al. Amazing number of people have been thrown under it already. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-02-12 11:47 |
| #4 Free Radical, My understanding is he was instructed to say these things. It would not surprise me if the comments were penned by one of the WH speachwriters. Win/win for Obama. If it works, credentialed "expert" endorses Obama policies. If it doesn't, another peon gets thrown under the bus. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2010-02-12 11:41 |
| #3 On 9/11/2001 a large number of people (including myself) concluded that people like Mr. Brennan were part of the problem. He was. Credentials do not = competence. Career CIA officer, CIA station chief ME Middle East(1996 - 1999), deputy to CIA director, Political Officer U.S. Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Department of State, Deputy Director, Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis, CIA....he apparently didn't connect the dots with not just AQ, but with Iraq, AQ Khan, and a whole lot of other really bad guys that got us to where we are today. |
| Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 2010-02-12 10:05 |
| #2 Brennan has 25 years experience in counter terrorism ... On 9/11/2001 a large number of people (including myself) concluded that people like Mr. Brennan were part of the problem. It's strange... the guy has a killer CV. On paper, he is exactly the sort you would want in charge of CT. Is there something about his outbursts that we don't know? I'm confused. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-02-12 09:17 |
| #1 There they go once again, defending the indefensible. "John is there each and every day working in his office to try to do everything he can ..... ready himself for that DNI or DCI post. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-12 07:43 |