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To: NeoCaveman

I’m sure the Clintons riddled the CIA with ideological appointees as a way to cripple it, with a view toward obstructing/undermining any more aggressive administration to follow. Hopefully our current President has been equally ideological in his hiring practices IOT reconfigure and protect the agency against a future Dem administration. The CIA’s incompetence has become legendary, beginning with the tragicomic George Tenet, whose preoccupation in retirement seems to be recovering his “reputation”, as if anyone cares; instead, he should be asking forgiveness for the lives lost and the political cost of his incompetence. And yet, like an Inspector Clouseau, for all his bumbling he will be rescued by our military’s victory; and rather than being the architect of defeat, he will be remembered as just a weak kneed confabulator whose sins prompted the reform of his institution.


14 posted on 07/16/2007 7:19:21 AM PDT by brigadoon
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To: brigadoon
I’m sure the Clintons riddled the CIA with ideological appointees as a way to cripple it, with a view toward obstructing/undermining any more aggressive administration to follow.

........The CIA’s incompetence has become legendary, beginning with the tragicomic George Tenet.

It's not incompetence....it's mendacity.

21 posted on 07/16/2007 7:55:41 AM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan (NY Times: "fake but accurate")
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To: brigadoon
I’m sure the Clintons riddled the CIA with ideological appointees as a way to cripple it,

I'm not so sure. My impression of the intelligence types I've (very rarely) encountered is more something of academic arrogance and smugness.

Others make the critism that the CIA lacks effective review mechanisms, the analysists reach a consenus and that consensus is never challenged. They don't have "Red Team" or "Tiger Team" reviews, designed to tear their conclusions to shreds. They don't seem to try and test their analysis against ground truth. They don't look for facts that would falsify their conclusions.

Military life is filled with inspections, ratings and reviews and career terminations. The CIA is like an academic institution, once you get tenure, you can rely on retiring in twenty or thirty years, as long as you don't rock the boat. It's not surprising that they have entirely different views of the world. I have long believed that at least 75% of the CIA should be composed of people with at least three years of military experience. Not necessarily in intelligence. For gawd's sake, hire someone who's done something other than shuffle papers all his/her whole life.

26 posted on 07/16/2007 8:44:32 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (I never consented to live in the Camp of the Saints.)
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To: brigadoon

“I’m sure the Clintons riddled the CIA with ideological appointees as a way to cripple it, with a view toward obstructing/undermining any more aggressive administration to follow. Hopefully our current President has been equally ideological in his hiring practices IOT reconfigure and protect the agency against a future Dem administration.”

Haven’t you noticed? The Democrats in Congress are attacking any member of the executive branch who can be accused of the sin of ‘loyalty’ to the White House.

The world is upside down.


33 posted on 07/17/2007 9:40:50 PM PDT by WOSG ( Don't tell me what you are against, tell me what you are FOR.)
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