So does that mean you don’t trust President Trump and Mike Pompeo, the man the president appointed to head the CIA to use this new technology judiciously?
1. From what I read, this NSA within CIA scenario is not part of their charter. Please see article I posted up thread Post #45—it was from an earlier thread posted here on FR.
2. No one here loves Trump more than I do...I drove before dawn to Iowa in the winter to see one of his first rallies, and I also went to the ill-fated cancelled Chicago rally—surrounded by a mob several dozen thugs BTW.
That said, it is not a matter of Trust....I actually do trust Trump and by extension his guy, Pompeo; however, as everyone here has seen, politics is rough business and it is not inconceivable that sadly we could have another radical progressive in office like we did during the past 8 years...
an administration headed by one who clearly had no qualms about using whatever means against his opponents which included American citizens in general and those who did not support him specifically—I am from IL and I know how Obama won his elections here! It was covert opps and intel...
Also right now there are numerous rogue elements within the Dark Government that are not yet under Trump control and are not to be trusted—especially with surveillance and assassination technologies.
So though I think Trump would use this technology judiciously, it needs considerable oversight and needs to be accounted for under the proper agencies.
Fortunately Obama is gone and there is a new administration in DC. With every new administration policies and procedures change. I will not judge the Trump administration by Obama administration standards and yes, it takes time to fully operationalize a change in administrations and yes, I can practically guarantee that there will be radical progressives in power again someday. That is in the nature of a republican form of government.
There has always been “deep government” elements trying to subvert the policies of the elected government. A Founder and the third Vice President of the United States was tried for treason in 1807 (Aaron Burr).
The bottom line question for me is should our intelligence agencies have “Termination With Extreme Prejudice” abilities or shouldn’t they and who gets to decide.
I vote yes and I think that those decisions can be made ethically and judiciously by the president, DNI and CIA. I will not judge Trump by Obama standards nor hamper his ability to confront our enemies because Obama misused the tools that were at his disposal.
If North Korea has nuclear capabilities and long range ballistic missile delivery to reach the U.S. and there was away to take Kim Jong-un out in a car “accident,” I want that option to be on the table for THIS president.