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Good Read. I am shocked that a US newspaper would bash the clintoons.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 11:59:41 AM EST

War in shadows

Victory in the 40-year Cold War came as we entered the last decade of the 20th century. Its end was confirmed with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact nations of eastern Europe.

We will hear much this week about the late Ronald Reagan's key role in the final victory in the decades-long, tense struggle. Margaret Thatcher, Reagan's contemporary in the post of Britain's prime ministry, credited Reagan most highly with pressuring reform-minded Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev into the revolutionary changes that occurred.

In the wake of victory came the necessity to reformulate years upon years of government strategy, from military planning to intelligence gathering. The old enemy was gone; and the thought of a growing threat from terrorists was far from catching hold.

The CIA, caught between old-school methods and the new world order, found itself the target of substantial cutbacks during the Clinton administration. Conservative ideologues have taken to bashing the Democratic administration for the deep cuts and substantial alterations of methods in intelligence gathering for leading to the failures that allowed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to occur.

This is partisanship, as is trying to blame the Bush administration because it sat in power at the time of the attacks. It does not shed light on the problem or suggest solutions -- it merely attempts to affix blame.

America's intelligence-gathering forces were not what they should have been at the time of the 9/11 attacks. They were still redefining themselves in the post-Soviet world. The terrorist attacks focused all of America on how this very dangerous business must be operated in the future.

In a world of increasing technology -- high-definition spy satellites, listening devices, computer hackers and corporate espionage, intelligence watchers did not take into account the underlying need for information from friendly, human watchers in dangerous places. Technology was the way the game was supposed to be played. Then the terrorists, in their small cells and with nothing more advanced than boxcutters and a will to die, showed us what a terrible price could be paid for not having the information gatherers and analysts in place when they really needed to be.

This concept came to a head at the end of last week, when CIA Director George Tenet announced his resignation for "personal reasons."

Tenet, a Clinton apointee and one of Bush's closest advisers, has been held in high regard by members of both parties for his personal character and his professionalism.

But he couldn't be right in a position that, despite a vast potential for error, has no tolerance for such error. Tenet has told lawmakers that it will take at least five years for America's intelligence agencies to spin up to full speed, depending on funding and other considerations.

That is a long, long time when threats are coming on a daily basis -- even though no attacks have occurred in this country since that one terrible day.

Effective intelligence is a necessity for a government to protect its people. It requires a combination of the best technology can offer with the lowest-common-denominator concept of having eyes and ears in the right places at the right times.

Safety and security are not political issues, regardless of how partisan the debate gets. We are living in a new world. Many facets of our government, many leaders in both parties, did not recognize how the world was changing and who the new enemies would be once the Red Bear died.

We now know our enemy. We know what must be done to combat him. And we must succeed in the shadow war, or we will see the effects of defeat in our own nation.

http://www.ldnews.com/Stories/0,1413,139~10141~2202420,00.html

I don't think the Islamonutjobs are our only enemy. We have another enemy within and I can't figure out if they are one in the same. I really think they are. I just believe deep in my brain that all roads lead to the Clintoons. I think when they couldn't get Gore in they tried to steal the election, that didn't work so the terrorists hit us because Clinton and cronies had dismantled our intelligence gathering capabilities and everything else we use to defend ourselves. Clinton really sent us up to be hit. They divided this country into hyphenated ethnic groups. The PC BS they perpetuated has made defended ourselves even more difficult and apprehending and jailing terrorist next to impossible. I just know the Clintons and the elite of the left are lurking in the shadows. I got a feeling they will try for a major power play when we get hit again.