Free Republic

Yesterday’s New York Times story on Charles W. Freeman’s decision to withdraw his name from consideration for a top intelligence post was yet another instance of the paper trying to distance Obama from what could have been a disastrous personnel decision. Freeman, who was tapped to head the National Intelligence Council (which produces the National Intelligence Estimates that are vital to policy making), is not only rabidly anti-Israel, but has ties to hostile foreign powers that go way beyond questionable. The Times claimed, “When Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, announced that he would install Charles W. Freeman,...

Ambassador Charles W. "Chas" Freeman Jr.'s nomination as chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC) has quickly become the Obama administration's most controversial appointment to date. Mr. Freeman's two post-government activities involved being a de facto employee of Saudi Arabia. In exchange, he received lavish support for his Middle East Policy Center (MEPC) and lucrative contracts for the consulting firm he founded to guide international companies into finding royal family-connected partners within the Saudi elite. This raises the reasonable questions as to whether Ambassador Freeman acted as an unregistered Saudi agent. This role has created significant concern about his impartiality...