What we’ve been saying for 6-7 years now. Thank goodness it’s finally *news*. Obama will do something.
“Would You Like To Know More?” (Updated)
Thank goodness for the Columbia Journalism Review. They’ve looked into claims that Politico redacted material from a McChrystal story because it was unflattering to the profession avocation. They pronounce all clear. There’s nothing to see.
As you likely know, Politico after-the-fact redacted their reporters’ statements that Michael Hastings, author of the Rolling Stone McChrystal piece, was so effectively candid because he didn’t worry about access and burning bridges. In Jon Stewart’s non-redacted words, Hastings piece revealed the rest of American media as the mediocre, self-editing access sycophants we all know them to be.
But hold on. The august CJR arbiters received an email from a Politico editor. Therein Politico proclaims the deletions occurred solely ‘to tighten up the piece.’ To CJR the issue is settled. (Although carefully crafted language allows CJR to cover itself for the future). Politico doesn’t escape unscathed. CJR wraps Politico’s knuckles for bad form. How thoughtless to withhold such an explanatory email for a day. Many were left in anguish needlessly.
Jonathan Chait And Battered Pundit Syndrome
Seeking perhaps to maximize page views and SEO optimization (the boy’s gotta eat), Jonathan Chait goes contrarian and affirms the Boy King’s Rooseveltian greatness. He condescendingly diagnoses the ignorance of Obama’s critics thusly:
Part of the reason for liberal dismay in [sic] an ahistorical understanding of how progress works. In the liberal memory, political success is bathed in golden-hued triumph. In reality, it is a grubby, stop-and-start process that looks pretty ugly up close . . .
A second reason for liberal despair is the cult of the presidency. Few people follow the arcana of Congressional debate. They attribute all political outcomes to the president, and thus when the outcome is unsatisfactory, the reason must be a failure of presidential willpower.
Draining The Swamp, Hopey Changey Style (Slightly Revised)
One thing many people forget about Donald Rumsfeld: he didn’t really want to do Iraq. Oh, he did in the sense that Cheney did, and for many of the same reasons. But he was never a Neocon. Securing The Realm and subjugating the Arab/Islamic self-esteem not his primary concern.
His two big priorities were what has now degenerated into a pathetic bureaucratic joke – defense ‘transformation’ – and special operations/forces. He was afraid Iraq would derail his transformation agenda by strengthening conventional force mindset. We know Rummy’s effort to make Iraq a transformative showcase war turned Tommy Frank’s unimaginative plodding into an incoherent ‘fiasco’. Tommy Franks wasn’t the only bungler.
On the plus side of the ledger [from his point of view], Rumsfeld and his coterie tried to unleash SOCOM (and parallel contractors) first. Like another historical figure before him, Rummy found that rather than having to fight to control the mastiff’s leash, he found merely a moribund, sleepy dog and a depressingly slack chain. Oh, the special forces people reporting to him might sit and roll over. If pressed. But spontaneously chase a ball or squirrel with vigor? With joy of the hunt? Nope.
Rummy eventually radicalized the special forces community to his liking. But he had to overcome alot of conservative military inertia. Only after years of careerists seeing that there really are no consequences in America anymore did they fully join the game. Initially with a ‘Why the f**k not?” and now with gusto. It’s all true what critics say: Rumsfeld’s passive aggressive style of maximizing control and seeming paralytic inability to make decisions proved catastrophic. Yet he understood before DoD and most in the White House (except for Wayne Downing) that a militarized ‘Long War’ would be fought and ‘won’ [in some vague sense] by special forces. It was Rummy first, not this White House, who tempted special forces with the Faustian offer of a blank powerpoint slide: ‘What do you need?’ That was 8 years ago.
Mercenary ‘Intelligence’ Spats In The Sandbox
The memo also said that Mr. Furlong had a history of delving into outlandish intelligence schemes, including an episode in 2008, when American officials expelled him from Prague for trying to clandestinely set up computer servers for propaganda operations. Some officials say they believe that the C.I.A. is trying to scuttle the operation to protect its own turf, and that the spy agency has been embarrassed because the contractors are outperforming C.I.A. operatives . . .
To skirt military restrictions on intelligence gathering, information the contractors gather in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas is specifically labeled “atmospheric collection”: information about the workings of militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan or about Afghan tribal structures. The boundaries separating “atmospherics” from what spies gather is murky. It is generally considered illegal for the military to run organized operations aimed at penetrating enemy organizations with covert agents.
Amusing and even predictable. DoD let the Lockmart contract lapse this month. Still, an ‘investigation’ will result in nothing but a pile of dead trees (and overly ornate PDF file).
Once again Dewey Clarridge pops up like a telemarketer at dinnertime. North by contrast channelled his energies into churning out awful television. Nice to know DoD, Petreaus and Lockmart hired a Czech company to assist intelligence operations (putting a retired senior U.S. General who helped start it all on the payroll).
This Administration will do nothing. No one’s clearances will be revoked. No letters of reprimand. After all, a Tampa-based CENTCOM lawyer said it was kosher. Haven’t we seen *that* dance before? Holder probably has everyone involved on ‘call block.’
Congress in its heart of hearts wonders what’s the fuss? Of more concern is why aren’t more Czech holding entities U.S. front companies showing up at breakfast fund raisers?
Thank goodness one no let it slip to the Pakistanis. Imagine if Pakistanis realized American mercenaries and drones were operating in their country. Killing 20-30 people at a time with – to Americans – monotonous regularity. Even a non-radicalized Taliban faction Pakistani eventually might get pissed off. That kind of ‘nut’ could over react to those few silly drone fusillades and other “war” stuff. And suggest someone go buy propane. Or something.
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