Posted on 09/29/2014 8:51:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
During his appearance on 60 Minutes Sunday, President Barack Obama had the chance to admit that he got a whole lot about Iraq wrong.
He could have admitted that he got the surge wrong in 2007, when he denounced it and declared that there is no military solution to the problems in Iraq and never was. That was wrong. Obama opposed that surge, which worked and bequeathed a quiescent Iraq to him in 2009. He later implemented a surge of his own in Afghanistan — half-hearted though it was.
Obama could also have admitted that he withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq too soon, a decision made for politics that ended up creating the conditions for ISIS to swallow up a large chunk of Iraq and Syria.
Obama could have also admitted that he got ISIS wrong, when he called them the “JV” of terrorism. They are in fact an offshoot of al Qaeda, just as the so-called Khorasan group is an offshoot of al Qaeda — the jihadist group that he claims to have “decimated” and sent scurrying “on the run.” He could have admitted that none of that was true, that al Qaeda is mestasizing from the border regions in Pakistan-Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria to Yemen to Somalia to Boko Haram in Nigeria. And possibly to Oklahoma and New Jersey and Portland.
Instead of admitting any of that, Obama blamed one of his subordinates.
Steve Kroft: I understand all the caveats about these regional groups. But this is what an army of 40,000 people, according to some of the military estimates I heard the other day, very well-trained, very motivated.
President Obama: Well, part of it was that…
Steve Kroft: What? How did they end up where they are in control of so much territory? Was that a complete surprise to you?
President Obama: Well I think, our head of the intelligence community, Jim Clapper, has acknowledged that I think they underestimated what had been taking place in Syria.
“They” work for you, Mr. President.
This isn’t the first time that James Clapper has made a monumental, deadly screw-up, as you’ll see on the next page. Sen. Dianne Feinstein blamed Clapper for blaming Benghazi on a YouTube movie.
Clapper also lied under oath directly to Congress concerning the government’s spying on Americans.
While Clapper was spying on Americans, and lying about it, he believed that the Muslim Brotherhood is “mostly secular.” The Muslim Brotherhood, now banned in Egypt, are the fountainhead for the Islamic radical reformation and the global jihad.
And yet after all of this, and now “underestimating” ISIS, Clapper remains the director of National Intelligence. If Obama is serious, and Clapper truly is at fault, this ought to be his third strike.
Obama’s answer to Kroft brings up another issue that bears discussion.
Some of us warned loudly that stovepiping intelligence through a single point of failure — the director of National Intelligence — would end up being a problem. Prior to creation of the DNI, presidents received intelligence from a multitude of competing agencies. That had problems of its own, but it did give presidents different points of view on intelligence. The DNI submerges the competition in intel down a few levels, to a point where the president may not even be aware that it exists.
Now, the DNI office and that person filter all of the intelligence that gets to the president’s eyes. In James Clapper, we have a person who has openly lied to Congress, who lacks even a basic understanding of jihadism, and now according to Obama, has “underestimated” the Islamic State. Our single point of failure is in fact a many-times failure.
There are two possibilities when it comes to stovepiping intelligence. The DNI could filter all intelligence based on his own ignorance and biases, or because he is telling the president what he knows the president wants to hear in order to keep his own job. The two possibilities are not mutually exclusive.
We need two things:
(1) A pro-American, patriotic president who is a staunch advocate of efficient and effective government.
(2) A redesign of the intelligence community, including how it interacts, how information is processed, and reduced competition in favor of more cooperation.
Clapper is either the DUMBEST person in Govt. or the most HAPLESS....aside from Hagel.
“If you like your intelligence estimate, you can keep your intelligence estimate”....I know better says the supreme ruler.
In my opinion, Obama has always been full of CRAP no matter what he says.
For a guy who’s supposed to be so brilliant, he’s managed to hire a lot of idiots, hasn’t he?
Clapper On Clapper OFF!!
Stay out of kayaks on the Potomac, Dude!!
How about both.
Will they now accuse Obama of lying?
I doubt it.
If anything, Clapper should be fired immediately. His incompetence is deadly and expensive.
With all the “under-the-busing” going on, will this administration have anyone left to throw under? Let’s hope not.
I mean, it IS six tea minnits, the hard-hitting investigative journalism show, right?
So, Kroft did his homework and was well prepared for that, right?
RIGHT ?
What does that even mean? He can't even throw a subordinate under the bus properly.
This was your fault Obama. Not just because you didn't have a clue about ISIS, but because you were actively backing them in Syria.
And you still are - all this rubbish about the Khorasan is just a figleaf for you to attack ISIS's enemies in Syria.
You own it. You built this whole blood-drenched mess. And at the end of the day, you can't even face what you've done. Pansy.
I can just picture The Clap’s “acceptance of responsibility” . . . as he touches his fingers on his forehead
Clapper: “Did I screw up? Again? Not knowingly.”
Why does he still have a job?
All of this is intentional by Clown Prince nobama. He wants his friends in ISIS to be successful...and so do his commie minions. Even “throwing people under the bus” is Kabuki theater. None of his degenerate minions has been fired...most have been promoted or allowed to retire with benefits.
What we need is for General Turdgeson to come to the rescue.
"Not wittingly", were his exact words.
You never see any of Obama’s people drinking water, do you?
Clapper is clearly guilty of telling the Administration what they insisted on being told.
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