I did some research on Swetnam some days ago when it appeared he was backing up Murray's contentions in the original reposrts about her remarks.Please read and comment, if so inclined, on my message #54 in this thread:
Those "Silly Attacks on Patty Murray
See also links to other Murray threads in messages #31 and #45.
I don't really have much to add to what I said
here, Stultis. I found that Swetnam was a crpytographer for the NSA, which may mean that he has very solid experience in
obtaining information but not necessarily that he is an "expert" at analyzing it. He proudly touts the professors and generals on his board and staff (about 100 people work at Potomac), but doesn't provide his rank upon discharge from the military, which probably means it was Lt.Col. or below. His think tank is about seven years old so he's still struggling to establish it among the tangle of "experts" in Washington, which may explain his decision to chime in on this controversial issue. As for party affiliations, he does mention that he did some work for 41, indicating a possible Republican lean.
Bottom line, IMHO, his remarks on Bin Laden are highly worthy of criticism simply for the fact that he didn't point out where Murray erred, namely, inter alia, in claiming that Bin Laden gives a damn about "day care centers."