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2011-01-23 Afghanistan
We do have a functional CIA -- it's just that he went into business for himself
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Posted by  2011-01-23 00:43|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ]  Top

#1 Nice, liberal media. Let's expose this guy and his operations, so y'all's president can fail and be exposed for the failure he is.
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-01-23 01:46||   2011-01-23 01:46|| Front Page Top

#2 Lets hear it for private enterprise.
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2011-01-23 04:17||   2011-01-23 04:17|| Front Page Top

#3 Doing the jobs the American government won't can't.
Posted by Procopius2k 2011-01-23 08:41||   2011-01-23 08:41|| Front Page Top

#4 I suspect that this, as well as mercenary armies, are the wave of the future. National intelligence services have to deal with broad brush intel on a timetable and involving diplomacy, so there's lots of room for independent contractors to operate.
Posted by  Anonymoose 2011-01-23 11:11||   2011-01-23 11:11|| Front Page Top

#5 "He is also stirred by the belief that the C.I.A. has failed to protect American troops in Afghanistan, and that the Obama administration has struck a Faustian bargain with President Karzai, according to four current and former associates. They say Mr. Clarridge thinks that the Afghan president will end up cutting deals with Pakistan or Iran and selling out the United States, making American troops the pawns in the Great Game of power politics in the region."

All we are doing is wasting lives of young men and women and treasure in Afghanistan.

We don't have the treasure to save South Asia and make it a democracy. I firmly believe the best move for National Security and to keep the USA strong is to give Afghanistan to the Chi-Coms.

We can't help people who can't help themselves. Democracy cannot exist in a country where there are more child rapists than people who can read.
Posted by Penguin 2011-01-23 12:05||   2011-01-23 12:05|| Front Page Top

#6 I have been preaching here for the better part of a decade that the CIA is fundamentally broken due to politicization , insularity and crony-ism (especially ivy league snobbery), rampant fiefdom building by bureaucrats, silo structure programs with no lateral visibility thus massive blind spots, over-all mismanaged and obsessed with ass covering.

The failures around 9-11 showed how broken the CIA is. The anti-Bush leaks were the epitome of the political (left) bastards pushing their liberal politics ahead of their constitutional oath and the security of the nation. And yet there were no consequences for anyone in either of these cases.

The CIA needs to be ripped apart, some of it parceled out to other agencies, and rebuilt.
Posted by OldSpook 2011-01-23 14:15||   2011-01-23 14:15|| Front Page Top

#7 Then again, I admit to prejudice in this area: I favor O&A which is where this guy came from.

Its the desk bound paper pushers and the pencilwhipped Pentagon pampered princes who object to this guy, principally because he is doing things effectively which show just how ineffective the establishment is. Another angle is the lack of ability of bureaucrats to use this sort of intel ops as a political tool -- those DC Aeron-based Power Point REMF rangers do not like NOT having spin control nor being unable to hide info that proves their analysis and suppositions to be wrong.

But strategic intel types, and ops types whose lives depend on solid intel and as much context as you can grab... well they love stuff like this which is why this guy is getting business.

Again, the CIA is broken, and this guy is filling in where the CIA is so dysfunctional as to be completely useless.
Posted by OldSpook 2011-01-23 14:30||   2011-01-23 14:30|| Front Page Top

#8 I still say round file the CIA and the other broken intel agencies and bring back the OSS under WWII rules.

I prefer the idea that our enemies wet themselves at the mere thought of drawing the OSS's attention. Screw the world liking us, time to inspire some fear.
Posted by Silentbrick - Lost Drill Bit Division - Halliburton 2011-01-23 14:44||   2011-01-23 14:44|| Front Page Top

#9 I like his dazzle camo overcoat.
Posted by Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2011-01-23 17:33||   2011-01-23 17:33|| Front Page Top

#10 If they don't like us
Then they will respect us

If they don't respect us
Then they will fear us

We do not need to be in a popularity contest with respect to foreign relations. We look out for own interests, first. And if those interests coincide with other countries then great.
Posted by Alaska Paul 2011-01-23 18:05||   2011-01-23 18:05|| Front Page Top

#11 As it sometimes says on the Burg's byline: oderint dum metuant
Posted by OldSpook 2011-01-23 18:21||   2011-01-23 18:21|| Front Page Top

23:27 George Hupaviger4591
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