Posted on 05/17/2002 7:44:42 AM PDT by Miss Marple
I am posting this information from a reply posted by Dixie Mom on the "America the Right Way" thread. This information deserves a separate post, and is, I believe, very important. What follows is her independent and original research:
1) The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence press release regarding the 2002 budget. (note the date)
http://intelligence.senate.gov/010906.htm
SEPTEMBER 6, 2001 PHONE: (202) 224-1700
SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZES INTELLIGENCE SPENDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002
Washington, D.C. – The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) today unanimously approved the Intelligence Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2002. The bill authorizes funding for intelligence activities and programs and contains legislative provisions related to intelligence.
The bill reflects the Committee's attention to four priority areas to enhance the role of intelligence in our national security strategy: (1) revitalization of the National Security Agency (NSA); (2) correcting deficiencies in human intelligence; (3) addressing the imbalance between intelligence collection and analysis; and (4) rebuilding a robust research and development program for the Intelligence Community. The budget approved by the Committee today reflects an emphasis on these priority areas.
Chairman Graham said, "The funding increase for intelligence contained in this bill represents what must be the first installment of a multi-year effort to correct serious deficiencies that have developed over the past decade in the Intelligence Community. While the end of the Cold War warranted a reordering of national priorities, the continued decline in funding has left us with a diminished ability to address the emerging threats and technological challenges of the 21st Century. The Intelligence Community is our nation's vital early warning system and we must support its mission to the fullest extent possible."Vice Chairman Shelby stated, "I am pleased that the Committee unanimously supported the President's request for intelligence spending. There is no question we must place our ability to collect intelligence around the world at the very top of our national security priorities. I believe that this legislation continues this Committee's commitment to improving our ability to detect and defeat threats to our people and interests at home and abroad. [snip]
2) Senator Rockefeller (a freshman member of the Intelligence Committee, I believe) made the following comment on the Senate floor post-9/11:
http://rockefeller.senate.gov/2001/flrstmt092101.html
Our dread might even turn to despondency if we consider the agonizing possibility that our law enforcement and intelligence establishments might have been able to prevent the horror of last Tuesday if they had adequate mechanisms with which to collaborate on strategy, share information, and assist in investigation and apprehension of men capable of these heinous crimes.
Dixie Mom then comments:
"Perhaps some alert FReeper has already pointed these things out, but, if so, I haven't seen them.
Hope this helps, and keep up the good work, everyone! "
The first comment, from Senator Graham, was made BEFORE September 11, and indicates that the Intelligence Committee knew how underfunded and and in disarray the intelligence agencies were, and the Bush Administration's budget had also indicated this and was planning needed upgrades.
Senator Rockefeller's comment indicates that he had a sense of the lack of communication between the agencies, and knew that this might be part of the problem.
I cannot say enough about how important this is, since these statements indicate to me that there is NO need for a blue-ribbon investigation, as some of the democrats have called for. They KNOW the cause of this problem, KNEW it back in September, did NOTHING (except probably hope no one would notice that Clinton had tried to destroy the agencies)and ANY blathering about how we need to investigate is simply to get air time and try to bring Bush's poll numbers down.
GOOD WORK, DIXIE MOM!
I've decided to spend the day calling/e-mailing liberal programs today. I'm going to be a seminar caller on that side. "I love your show but have never called in before. I'm a lifelong D but have decided that on this one, the party has gone too far in their efforts to discredit the president. It makes us look so low. In fact, it's enough to make me switch parties because I don't want to be associated with this scummy approach. It's the politics of personal destruction, for sure."
How's that? Do I sound convincing enough?
They are obviously trying to pre-empt the assertions made by Conservatives (beginning yesterday with Rush) that the Senate DID know what the President knew.
There was a post yesterday about Bush Failure? or Intelligence Failure? What about a "goverment failure" (specifically, a "big government failure")?
I can't help be notice that every story I seem to read about this, it is all "why didn't Bush know what the FBI 'knew'" or "why didn't the CIA and the FBI talk to each other"...generally, this who "connect the dots" commentary.
This is oftened stated a different way, "the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing". I think that we all would agree that the government is the prime example of this. Why? Because of its bloated nature. This is also the theory or reason for the Office of Homeland Security. Granted, it is yet another federal entity, but that points the problem even more --we have an agency that is set up to coordinate with other agencies. To me, this is the proverbial "having a meeting to schedule a meeting" syndrome.
Every example points to the need for a smaller, more efficieny, thoroughly-connected government. Our country was found as a bunch of "hooligans" (as the Red Coats called them), but their madness had method. In fact, the American Revolution was a shining example of coordinating efforts to liberate a people. It has been used by many nations in their fight for freedome and liberty. And think, they didn't have real-time communication, or satelite imagery...
Well it seems they were able to defeat the greatest enemy of that time (the British Empire). Maybe we need a little of the same today, as we now fight a faceless enemy in terrorism. What will get us there is not over-bloated government. Maybe a little "hooligan"-like activity is needed?
Too bad the press won't cover this. They'll keep this briefing-gate thing going, though.
Between this and the Buchanan-bots, it can be VERY hard to keep optimism up...
What was once "the world's greatest deliberate body" is now little more than a group of demagogic windbags desperately mugging for the cameras. They proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt by voting unanimously to avoid hearing any evidence concerning Clinton's articles of impeachment.
The Senate has made itself not only beyond contempt, but also utterly irrelevant. What they say means nothing, because they actually do nothing (other than waste our money and abridge our freedoms). Britain's House of Lords looks like the vanguard of statesmanship by comparison.
I say tha democrats should be raked over the coals for doing all they could to disrupt the setting up of Bush's administration. If they hadn't been so disruptive (and obstructionist) perhaps the attack could have been prevented.
What the Democrats did is equivalent to shooting a police officer in the leg and then blaming him for not being able to run after a perpetrator.
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