Obama Would Fail Security Clearance

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5983 ^ | 10/21/2008 | Daniel Pipes

[NationalConservative]

With Colin Powell now repeating the lie that Barack Obama has "always been a Christian," despite new information further confirming Obama's Muslim childhood (such as the Indonesian school registration listing him as Muslim), one watches with dismay as the Democratic candidate manages to hide the truth on this issue.

Instead, then, let us review a related subject – Obama's connections and even indebtedness, throughout his career, to extremist Islam. Specifically, he has longstanding, if indirect ties to two institutions, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), listed by the U.S. government in 2007 as an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas-funding trial; and the Nation of Islam (NoI), condemned by the Anti-Defamation League for its "consistent record of racism and anti-Semitism."

First, Obama's ties to Islamists:

[CaribouCrossing]

That’s fine. :)

[CaribouCrossing]

That’s fine. :)

[Reily]

Bush is following the law!
Candidates have been given the equivalent of the president's daily brief for 30 or 40 years.(In fact it may date back to Eisenhower & Stevenson!)
They are vetted for this information by the act of winning office.
Character matters !
It matters who we elect to office, oh I forgot....it doesn't we elected Clinton twice!

[Reily]

By winning the presidency one trumps the normal vetting procedure.
Remember the president is in charge of the executive branch of government, The executive branch has jurisdiction over such things. (Particularly prosecuting violations!)
In fact if the President wanted to he or she could lower the security barrier to essentially zero !
Character matters, well I remember when it did!

[erkyl]

I understand the notion of a BHO presidency is frightening. I think we should do everything we can to tell people that he would do terrible things to our military and defense programs, because he will. I know BHO can do a great deal of damage. That said, I don’t think he’s going to win, but, just in case he does, I have to provide myself some level of comfort that as flawed as it is, within our government, specifically in the defense department there are powers that be that have taken steps to protect itself (aka: the US) from even the worst possible scenario: a presidency won by a traitor. They have had to operate under democratic leadership before, and I am confident that there were black programs going on that Clintoon never was briefed about. These are military men and women whose loyalties lie with our country, not with leaders. The layers of the defense department are deep and dark. Maybe I’m wrong, but I honestly believe we have these fail-safes in place. Maybe I’m naively trusting organizations and people who don’t deserve my trust. Or maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve seen an episode of 24 and I’m writing my own worse-case scenario storyline in my head...

[Republic]

AND I DO NOT WANT A CREEP WHO TALKS SMOOTH BUT EXCHIBITS HORRIFIC JUDGEMENT IN HIS CHOICE OF ASSOCIATES AND ORGANIZATIONS, WHO SPIKES CONCERN BECAUSE HE ATTENDED AN ANTI-SEMITIC CHURCH FOR 20 YEARS, WHO ENCOURAGES THE DEATH OF JUST BORN INFANTS WHO SURVIVE ABORTION ATTEMPTS AND WHO WOULD, AFTER ALL THIS CRAP, BECOME OUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF EVEN THOUGH HE COULD NOT PASS A SECURITY CLEARANCE!

WHO WOULD WANT TO SERVE IN OUR MILITARY UNDER THIS COWARDLY FREAK?

BARACK SHOULD GRAB HIS MILITANT BRIDE AND GO ORDER MORE LOBSTER AND CAVIAR AND CHAMPAGNE FOR $$$433 SOME BUCKS AT HIS NEXT HOTEL AND SIT BACK AND CALL BILL AYERS AND COMMISSERATE ON HOW MUCH THEY BOTH HATE AMERICA. HE SHOULD GO BACK TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION AND CLEAN UP HIS DIRTY ACORN CRAP.

[jim-x]

As the elected President, I don’t think he is subject to any investigation and is allowed, and expected, to have access to ALL classified material, regardless of program or compartment.
Not only that but I further believe as THE classification authority, he can declassify any material and can also allow ANYONE access to any material.
Is that scary or what?

[Reily]

The good news about Clinton was most of the time he couldn't care less about black programs. Remember he was rarely ever interested in hearing the presidential daily brief. His national security advisor got those and that's the bad news! BUT by law, he could ask for and get any briefing he wanted! Efforts that required presidential signature like “presidential findigns” for covert action, then he got the full brief, again that's the law!
It will be the same with Obama, he will have the legal right to everything!

[OPS4]

We need to have every RNC office in each state to demand prrof that Barak Obama belongs on thier ballots, since we do not believe he is a U.S. Citizen.

Until he produces a factual birth certificate he should not qulify to be on any state ballot for president.

[azhenfud]

"Defend the constitution against ALL enemies, foreign or domestic (even if it’s the president!)"

Interesting comment - my fear is that since BHO's father and step-father both claim being islamites, the first order of priority after his taking the Oath of Office as CIC is to order all military not to fire upon Muslims again, leaving our soldiers vulnerable to attack.

[azhenfud]

"That said, I don’t think he’s going to win...."

I'm hearing rumors that if BHO doesn't win, civil unrest will erupt and be focused first on those who've displayed McCain yard signs and bumper stickers. Many of "us" have to work, some of the hardliners of those have nothing else to do and are waiting for an excuse to damage and destroy property, loot, and steal. I also hear ACORN is telling ex-cons, this is their chance to get revenge.

Anyone else?

[erkyl]

I’m not talking about shoulds or oughts. I’m not talking about what’s ‘right’ or what’s ‘reasonable’. Those concepts left Washington years ago, probably with Reagan. And I’m not suggesting that the President should not be or isn’t informed about military maneuvers, incidents and operations all over the world as it pertains to protecting American soldiers’ and or civilians’ lives.

I’m suggesting that the POTUS doesn’t necessarily know about all the defense systems, military equipment and top secret programs being conducted in black programs which are designed to protect the US. Add to that the context of this thread, which is that BO wouldn’t pass a basic security clearance, and I’m suggesting that IF he were elected POTUS, there are powers within the government who would continue to protect the US by maintaining a level of secrecy from BO, despite what he ‘demanded.’ This would give us protection from an elected tyrannical, traitorous president, a scenario I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever has been discussed within the walls of the defense department at some time in the past.

I do not argue your point that the POTUS should have to be able to pass the highest clearance available; nor do I argue the point that he ought to have to be vetted on a number of critical levels prior to taking the oath. However, as we have learned, there is no agency within our government nor any judicial procedure to require candidates prove their natural-born constitutional status, so why should we expect that anyone in the government will expect him to pass muster on a silly security clearance. Just give him the keys to the Oval Office and a measuring tape for those drapes...

[Kackikat]

I never said Bush wasn’t following the law, only that his briefings of candidates made my point, that the FBI person made about candidates being chosen by people.

Well I wish character did matter.

[Maximum Leader]

“IF he were elected POTUS, there are powers within the government who would continue to protect the US by maintaining a level of secrecy from BO, despite what he ‘demanded.’ This would give us protection from an elected tyrannical, traitorous president...”

WTF? If he’s elected and obeys his oath, he’s not a tyrant (and if he’s not obeying his oath, he should be impeached). The president is Commander in Chief, he doesn’t need security clearance because he has the power to classify or declassify anything he wishes. Its the person who’d withholds government secrets from the C-C who’d be the traitorous one.

he Constitution can survive 4 years of a bad president, it can’t survive unelected government employees withholding government secrets and decisions from a president because they disagree with the will of the America electorate.

[erkyl]

Think whatever you want. I know what I’m proposing is true. If you knew anything about how defense programs work, you would know that even within the darkest programs, people cleared to work on the programs aren’t even granted access to know other aspects of the program that they are not directly involved with. This prevents them from being able to release secret information should their loyalties become compromised. Should the CIC be captured or lured into the company of traitors or those who would wish to harm the US (say, from Iran, Cuba or Venezuela) and give up secrets in a conversation with them simply because he’s a coward (like Obama would be), this would be a great jeopardy to the safety and security of the CONSTITUTION which these people are duty bound to uphold...not the rights of the POTUS to have all information he/she wants because he thinks he’s the Messiah. It’s a fail-safe to protect the programs that protect the security of the US. You don’t have to believe it, I don’t really care, but your assumption that just because someone sits in the Oval Office he knows everything is misguided and naive.