The quickest way to let you all know of a breaking news story is to post a new article that hopefully everyone will see.
Richard Wolffe, an analyst on MSNBC, reported tonight that his White House sources have told him that the President and his security team are investigating the possibility that the “breakdown” in our intelligence on the “underwear bomber” was deliberate! I reiterate that this is only reported by Mr. Wolffe at this point, and that nothing has been proven.
That being said, if this story does pan out to be true, it will be one of the most disturbing stories of our times.
There could be multiple reasons why the information about Abdulmutallab was not passed to the proper agencies which would have prohibited him for boarding that plane in Amsterdam for the United States. It could be a simple “failure to communicate”; it could have been “lost in the shuffle” of an overwhelming amount of data coming in from all over the globe; it could have been some kind of inadvertent clerical error or omission from some list. But the most disturbing scenario is that it could have been either for “turf wars” between agencies like the FBI and the CIA….or it could have been for political reasons!
It was reported last year that the former vice president’s loyal associates still hold their jobs in the CIA, and that Mr. Cheney talked with some of them on a regular basis, even after he left office. With the heated political rhetoric by Mr. Cheney, it takes no stretch of the imagination that he would have his own warped agenda in wanting the President to look as bad as possible, especially on the subject of fighting terrorism. He has repeatedly come out with outrageous charges, attempting to cut the legs out from under the President on any and every issue…but especially our battle against religious extremists. He has released another statement as late as today to Politico with more of the same.
I don’t want to jump to conclusions before the facts are known. But if this lapse in intelligence is due to some sick, deliberate attempt to defeat the President, I cannot guarantee that I can keep my anger in check. To think that any professional CIA agent would risk the lives of 300 American citizens on that airplane for a political vendetta is unfathomable…almost surreal!
If this is a matter of “turf wars” between agencies, it is just as serious. Lives were risked for the sake of somebody holding all the cards and gamesmanship! Unacceptable…totally unacceptable! Heads should roll!
The President is to meet tomorrow at the White House with all parties involved. Let us hope that he and his staff can get to the bottom of this, and then to work towards keeping all Americans safe from the threat of terrorism without the usual partisanship of the right. This, after all, is not in any way a partisan issue. This is about the safety of all of us.
I once had a reason to work with the FBI on a major case. This was just a few years before Bush. It was an exemplar of multi-jurisdictional cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies coming together to solve a major crime. Then came Bush and Ashcroft. Within two months, the local and state guys were frozen out of the information pool. Fortunately, they caught the perp before that happened, but it was a shock to those of us civilians who’d had decent relationships with all involved. We were frozen out, too, and we had information all parties could have used.
For Obama to try to piece back the links for inter-agency cooperation(as I understand he is ordering done today) is superb, but I wonder how much damage can be undone. I slightly know Panetta, whom I believe to be one of the Good Guys, and I watch in absolute horror as he defends the status quo. What IS going on here?
And then, I wonder how much those tied to Cheney, Rummy, and The Family control in the departmental levels that make the probability of intelligence “failure” that much greater. These people’s turf wars or deliberate intent scare the bejeezus out of me. (Bejeezus – an entirely technical term, you know…)
c’lady, thanks, as always for your extremely valuable input! I have to ask a question (as always):
If you had to define relatively briefly, what the game plan for the Family and their allies actually is, what would it be?
Is their goal to turn the U.S. into a Capitalism-driven nation with Christianity as a de facto state religion? Do they even aspire to something bigger like U.S. world domination?
Any insights would be much appreciated.
Hi kesmarn – big question we all need to ponder. First the Family are not what you see on TV. They are not, as far as I can tell, true “end times” Christians who believe Christ will come again any day now, if only the world is rid of, well, people on the Planet and our ilk.Those folks are merely tolerated since the Family members don’t really believe a lot of that.
The Family is Christian in name only – the “Jesus plus nothing” mantra is really like a branding (meaning with a hot iron) to force compliance and subservience. Beyond that, they are dedicated to a world run by their own kind, UNDER their own direction.
They were founded in direct opposition to labor organizing. They created a mythic Biblical story that the original disciples were “businessmen” as if that made any sense. However, it justifies a total hierarchy of the wealthy, IF business leaders are willing to bow to the Family’s dominance. Over the years, the Family has attracted some of the nation’s largest corporate players. This in turn allows them to support some of the world’s worst tyrants, just so long as said tyrants defer to the Family’s supremacy.
So yes, in the long and short run, the view of The Family is a world of men (women are subservient, too) who claim Christ but don’t need to bother with the teachings or directions of Christ, and who are wealthy, powerful, and willing to defer to the Family leadership. The rest of us are to be supressed in all ways. We are to follow, period.
They have no problem with anyone who’s had a homosexual relationship. They have a HUGE problem with anyone who asserts GLBT people are equal in the eyes of God and have civil rights. That, not the acts, is the unforgiveable sin.
They have no problem with bloodletting in the name of US corporate imperialism, just so the final victory comes to them in natural riches, dominance of the colonial power by them, and so they can spread their control everywhere. Enslaved people? No problem. They will send missionaries to bring them to Jesus.
Other than expanding their own power, they really have no apparent agenda. But, then, if you ultimately control everything – no democracy or free press, no labor unions or uppity women, no liberation movements or pressure for equality from the poor, well, what else could you want?
People such as Pat Robertson, the late Jerry Falwell, Paul and Rob Schenck, are lower-tier folks who help the oppressed soothe this inequality with quickie salvation.
So – the rich get richer and more powerful, and the poor get salvation. Period.
I think these people are truly, truly dangerous. And while the End Times people are real nut cases with their own consequences to the world, these people are massively worse because they have real power already. I fear for our President because I think they can and may have eradicated opponents who stand for real people and not for them. I really, REALLY hope I’m wrong.
Hi Choicelady! Glad to see your timely comments on the “Family”…at least timely for me as I am in the middle researching this organization for an article here. I’m in the middle of Jeff Sharlett’s book and have been poking around on the Internet to see what I can find. Suffice it to say, the more I read, the angrier I become! The arrogance of these men is appalling.
Your assessment is spot on! From what I have learned, they believe that they are chosen by God to promote Christ world-wide and to rule over the rest of us. Therefore, as they are ordained by the ol’ boy himself, nothing they do could be considered wrong. The list of members and associates reads like a “who’s who” in Washington.
They are doing Jesus’ work. They very quietly work to infiltrate every branch of government to see their agenda through. It is my understanding that they wish to actually overthrow our democratic system of government, replacing it with a theocracy based on total subservience to Jesus Christ.
There is so much to this story, and so much more information that time will not allow me to go any further. I plan to post perhaps by the end of this month or early February. I am collaborating with SueinCa as she is quite knowledgeable on the subject. I hope that your comment, as well as mine, will whet everyone’s appetite for more.
Hey Em
I just got Republican Gommorah and will start reading as soon as all my notes on the family are put into my word doc. In fact I better get off here and do that now. In the meantime, I am making some notes on how we can divide up the subjects. When I have some definites I will send them to you. The more I read, the creepier they are.
Suharto in Indonesia, Alexander Wiley Sen on Foreign relations – Guatamala dictator(cn’t remember his name), Siad in Somalia, Mervyn Hart – Manufactures Assoc(US) whose aim was disenfranchisement of the poor who he considered unfit for voting, the Famiy’s support of ex Nazis to run their operations in post war Germany, supposedly religious. It is quite a history, although not particularly an endearing one.
The head of the company has to preserve the status quo to a great deal or they will go rogue on him and subvert him. The CIA is like no other organization that way.
Choicelady, I totally agree. The more I find out, the more it frightens me. I am no conspiracy nut, but there is enough information that has leaked out to make a believer out of anyone with a brain.
This does not surprise me.
Sadly, we will never know the truth.
‘Morning, javaz.
Morning, Abby!
Hi javaz. I have just surfaced from lots of reading…for the big vote. Lots and lots of articles.
It’s quiet here this time of day, I am baking bread here in the kitchen and keeping one eye on that, one eye on the thickening snowclouds outside, and one on my pc…but wait, I dont have three eyes.
No wonder I am having problems!
Well, there you go, Abby – that explains everything. I thought it was just me. We also all need three hands – there is always a shortage. Of course if we’d had three, we’d never have invented tools, so maybe it’s just as well. Good luck with the snow, and I hope the bread turned out great. The PC you seem to be handling just fine.
Might I suggest, Brit Hume style, the benefits of opening up your third eye, something which only the Hindu faith offers?
Funny!
However,
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. ”
– Matthew 6:22, is thought by many to be a reference to the third eye.
Thank God you’re here.
:]
Hi there, Abby!
Emerald! What a fine (but startling, especially when you read it just waking up) article. A necessary one, too: this needs to be explored… to the deepest depths. I am still digesting it, but for now, this. You say:
“… the most disturbing scenario is that it could have been either for
Thanks for your kind words, Abby!
You described what the Bush/Cheney administration did for 8 years…scare the American people out of their wits. After all, a frightened populace is easier to control. It almost looked at times that they actually wanted to have another 9/11 kind of attack just to ratchet up support for their immoral war.
There are still enough Bush “left-overs” in various agencies in the government that I would not be surprised if there were some who valued their political agendas more than the security of this country. I believe that it would be naive to not consider the possibility. Some of these people are ruthless!
Oh, I am considering it all right!
The thing is, if one party uses scaremongering as a method to control the public’s thoughts, and votes, what is there to stop either (1) the other party from doing the same, or (2) people accusing the other party of doing the same, this whether the other party is doing the same, or not. The answer to (1) is: ‘Integrity.’
Sadly, the answer to (2) is: ‘Nothing’.
The sh*t will be flying soon, a more elegant name for it would be something like The Great Accusation Race.
I’d like to add something to something I said in my longer post. In case anyone here might think that I have no evidence for saying that these New Labour terror raids always seem to happen when either (a) New Labour is under fire for something else and wants to distract the public’s attention from that something else, or (b) when support for New Labour’s war on terror is lagging, I do have this much. Whenever these raids have occured, newspaper reporters from outlets such as SKY, ITV and the BBC, are on the scene BEFORE the raid vans arrive. That means they were told ahead of time about the impending raids and subsequently would have their cameras set up when the vans arrive (usually with flashing lights and men in strange gear streaming out the back of them at high speed). If the concern is our security only, by foiling some plot in the making, why bother alerting the media like that, PRIOR TO the raid taking place?
That’s not hard to answer: New Labour wants those images, of itself fighting terror, all over the 6 o’ clock nightly news, Newsnight, the Sunday morning talk shows, and in all the newspapers too.
I believe these raids are more stunts to sway the public than anything else, or at least that they are as MUCH stunts to sway the public as they are genuine attempts to make us safer over here.
BTW, you totally need to write on British politics. Though this is indeed a greedy request from an avid Westminster watcher from across the pond. 😉
Thanks, Khirad. My chief interest is really English Lit and Phil of Religion. I am reading both (over in America the words would be ‘I am studying both’) at university over here. I don’t know if I could bear to write on British politics, or on any politics. I am just learning about politics (btw, much of what I have learned, about how politics works and about individual politicians in America, I have learned from you guys, from your posts both at hp and here) and already my idealism has taken a beating: I have become a little cynic. Some of what goes on, or seems to go on, in politics anywhere, breaks my heart.
Something on the philosophy of religion would be good too. 😉
As for politics. Politics is us. It’s never perfect and never what we would perhaps like it to be, but it is us.
It’s humans arguing, negotiating and fighting over the core ethical issues – how should we live together and what do we owe each other as fellow humans.
Try not to give in entirely to cynicism.
Good point! I’ve had many a discussion with people who say they’re “above” politics, and I remind them that politics is nothing than how we make decisions as a society.
Bernard: thank you for encouraging me to not give in to cynicism. You are right of course. I just had a few surprises, that’s all, during the primaries. I suppose I am not REALLY a cynic, idealism runs in my veins like fire, but opportunism does exist and it’s an awful thing.
:[
My minor was English Lit.
Lots of Le Morte d’Arthur and Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare comedies.
I did not know that, Pepe. I mean about your minor being English Lit. What was your major, may I ask?
My major was journalism.
Wow! I wish I had your background. I want to be a journalist in my next life! 🙂
Cynics are just disappointed idealists.
“What Obama is up against”
That was a great article, and sounds about right. Another reason why we’d have a hard time prosecuting Bush era crimes – many are still there.
Allen Dulles, by the way, lord… what crap didn’t he get us into?
The article subtly mentioned JFK’s intent to dissolve the CIA and had, if I remember correctly, already written the memo to do so…just before Dallas. Dulles was head of the CIA at that time. He despised Kennedy. I’ve always thought….oh well, I guess we’ll never know.
The Dems and GOP are often painted as one and the same by critics, but look at how they (and Eisenhower) pushed back. On the Dulles brothers, I would suggest reading “All the Shah’s Men” and the movie “The Good Shepherd” was an interesting – if not altogether satisfactory viewing – look at the early CIA. Others, including yourself, probably have better and more comprehensive references. Needless to say, Dulles got into far more, and was practically a shadow emperor, the man behind the curtain. The conspiracy theories on Kennedy are, for good or ill, only fueled by his history. Having non-spook directors is full of its own problems, as well, though – and left out of the loop as much as the president.
Sorry Khirad! I should have stayed on line last night and answered your comment which is a very good one.
This matter of “spook” directors and leaving the President out of the loop is one of the most frightening aspects of our intelligence apparatus. I wonder how Leon Panetta is making out with these guys. I believe him to be an earnest and honest man, but it would not surprise me if there is a lot of shenanigans going on behind his back. The recent expose about the CIA assassination squads were a real eye-opener.
Truthout ran this article a while ago. I think it’s relevant to what has happened:
What Obama is up against
(Sorry, Em! I decided to move the link to it’s own post. 🙂 )
Ooohh! So that’s what happened! I thought I was hitting the wrong button somewhere! No problem!
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How do you get it to open in a new tab, by the way?
<a=”http://www.link.com/” target=”_blank”>Link Name</a>
It’s the target=”_blank” that opens the new tab.
You can do CTRL-Click to open the link in a new tab.
Wow. What a chilling column that is. Quite believable too. So who is more destructive — Islamic jihadists looking for a fight or the Cheney operatives trying to bring down the administration from within?
Hey e-cat! Your question is spot-on! I would have to vote for the latter!
It seems that everything proposed to protect us is obstructed at every step. We never seem to have enough money to adequate police our borders, guard our ports, secure our airports, but there is ALWAYS money enough to fight some ridiculous war that only provokes more terrorism.
I was glad that Nellie posted this link. That just supported my suspicions that “the Dark Lord” was somehow involved in this debacle. I honestly think it would please him highly for another attack to happen just to prove his point.
Addendum: I would love to be able to give Cheney the benefit of the doubt on this one, but his track record of complete disregard, and even disdain, for the American people is a matter of record. I have said for years that he is clearly the most dangerous man on the face of the globe!!!
Em, the implications of this are really staggering, imo. When I first read it, I thought, No way, but after some thought, and after reading a bit more….it actually is quite conceivable.
E-cat, I agree with you. Many would just chalk this off to conspiracy nuts. But there have been so many instances of secret activities by the CIA. You know the old adage,”where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
In my humble opinion, we must not be naive. After all, these guys are spies, some of whom are thugs! Killing and coup d’etats are their specialities. Working to undermine and thwart the President would be child’s play for them. In fact, I do fear for the President. Going up against the CIA can be hazardous to one’s health! This far right-wing fanatical ideology is just as dangerous cloaked in American “patriotism” as it is in Islamic jihad.
Least we forget the whole “Pelosi Lied” dust-up, it was revealed during those hearings how the WH via Cheney controlled and lied to congress and the public about the intelligence. They broke laws and lied on the reports that were supposed to be the checks on the executive. Such a warped belief of what/why this republic was formed.
I swear Cheney and Rummy must have some really dirty hands and pictures/files on many “intelligence principles.”
Any other person, and I would say it was myopic to highlight a similar intelligence failure made under my admin’s watch, but Cheney is never phased by his hypocrisy. Still, what on earth is Cheney’s game – not keeping his trap shut? It gives credence to it. If not directed by him, that he still has buddies in the intelligence community who tip him off on such things, so that he can exploit it politically (this itself would be a scandal). I dunno, I’m with KQuark on this, but Cheney was also friends with Scooter. You can’t put it past him, especially if he really does believe Obama’s a threat so much as to manufacture the point. But, I’m cognizant I’ve walked into woo-woo territory and am going to step back to take a broader survey of the situation.
In any case, for all those who say we should forget the Bush years and this is all Obama now, Cheney sure does that selective amnesia line of ‘reasoning’ a disservice.
I realize this is leaning toward the woo-woo territory, but consider the TIMING of Cheney’s statements in his speeches and to the press. His press release to Politico was reported on MSNBC tonight, but the site does not yet have it posted.
Chris Matthews questioned tonight if Cheney was mentally unstable. If paranoia is any symptom, then I would have to say that he is. I can see the scenario of Cheney’s faithful minions in the CIA suppressing the intelligence to make their old boss “right” in his assumptions about the President. Stranger things have happened in Washington.
Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Tricky Dick
A lot of people have questioned Cheney’s mental faculties. Many say he is not the same person he was as Defense Secretary.
I’m starting to wonder if that is indeed the case. That he’s starting to lose it.
Wow! That article pulls no punches. I happen to agree with them about Kennedy and the resistance he met from the MIC over escalation in VN as well as the Bay of Pigs when I believe he was simply betrayed.
Interesting that the article mentions Alan Dulles and the dissolution of the CIA. And then, guess who was on the Warren Commission which managed to suppress evidence on the JFK assassination?
Thanks for the link, Nellie! I’ve bookmarked that one for further reading.
Hey Nellie! I don’t know why this reply to your post ended up down here! I was responding to your link.
Olbermann made a comment directed to Cheney tonight; worth watching:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#34694994
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
I read this story(posted below) and I thought it might be a bit off, but it bothered me enough that I kept the bookmark. It speaks, in a way, to the comments by Richard Wolfe. Scary stuff.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9951
WOW!
And that’s in Veterans Today — not exactly a tin foil hat publication.
I did not think so, but I had never heard of them till I read the article.
Hey Sue! I’m glad to see you here! Missed you! 🙂
I read this article a few days ago. It might have been you that gave me a link. Yes, it is extremely scary!!
Really? I thought you might have given it to me. Maybe I got it from somewhere else though. I just bookmark them and then go back. I have been making a necklace and earrings for my sister-in-law. Also had to clean house after taking Anthony home LOL. He wrote a song and I am going to post it here in a blog. He sang it for us and I thought it was pretty amazing for a 9 year old child. But I am his nana, I will let all of you be the judge tomorrow.
Aren’t our offspring wonderful!!! :-)I hope you had a good day playing in the snow. I’d love to see your work on the jewelry. Post a picture!
Been doing a lot of reading. Rachel had another comment about Ensign and the C Street clan tonight…nothing much new. Just keeping it on the front burner, I guess.
BTW, mine call me “Nana” too! Somehow, Grandma just never fit my personality! LOL
Oh mine either…….I was only 45 when he was born, i thought it too early LOL. He had a great time at the snow. He and Papa went way back in the hills to a lake that was covered in snow.
Sounds delightful! 🙂
Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist — but this looked suspicious from the get go. What with Cheney constantly saying “we’re going to get hit, we’re going to get hit” and Republicans praying for it every day. What a sick group of sociopaths. How did we ever let them get into our government.
I’m no conspiracy nut either, nellie. But I would almost swear that Cheney is at least hoping for an attack just to prove his sick point. I’ve about had enough of his evil!!
I wouldn’t put it past Cheney. He is a scary mother… He would be cut down to size if the MSM did some fact checking when he spews out “thoughts.” What can be done about his CIA contacts, I don’t know.
I almost hope this is true. It would be the incentive we need to finally make some real changes. Getting Cheney’s followers out of the government would make me feel much safer.
When it became obvious that Cheney was not going to be held accountable for his war crimes, I wondered what it would take to put this man in prison. If this is true and it can be shown that he was involved in suppression of intelligence, I cannot see any way he would not be charged and tried for treason!
I truly hope that this was just some bureaucratic snafu and an easily solvable problem. Somehow, this whole thing never did pass the smell test. First of all, how did this man get on that plane bound for the US without a passport???
See the article I posted (website). All of the questions I am sure we all have are raised in the article. With a pic of Cheney at the beginning.
Yep! I noticed that! Very appropriate, IMHO!
I could not agree more. I swear if I saw the creep on the street, I would stick my foot out and just watch him fall.
One breakdown you described IS treason and the other while serious is a systematic failure like we’ve seen before too many times.
I doubt and hope it’s not the former for the country’s sake.
Agreed, but neither scenario is acceptable when the lives of Americans are at stake.
Absolutely but one would just be the biggest partisan scandal since Watergate.
Sometimes I wonder if we need to bring this divide to a head — we have people in government who don’t care what happens to us any more. Something needs to be done to expose them for what they are.
Bush made a concentrated effort to place as many of his cronies as possible in jobs prior to his leaving office. I believe one good place to start is to fire every single one of them! Justice Department included. There are a bunch of rats over there!
Oh, Em! I can only hope that this is a false rumor. It would be too utterly depressing to think that anyone could stoop that low. I’ll keep an eye out for further updates on this one. Thanks for posting!
Quite frankly, I would not put it past them (Cheney et al.). But then I still think that 9/11 was, at least partially, an inside job.
Thanks for posting this, Emerald ~ You’re right; if this really turns out to a deliberate, political move – prepare for the chit to hit the fan. And while we must be careful about speculation, it wouldn’t be a surprise to any of us, knowing that Cheney’s moles are still there in many layers of the current admin.
That said, I also give high marks to Richard Wolffe on his reporting and acumen. Did he state this on tonight’s Countdown? I see from their website that he’s a guest tonight. I’m for sure going to watch it, after I get my lazy arse off the couch & fix some me some supper ~
Hey Jan! Yes, he stated this on Keith’s show tonight. He said that he had been informed of this by a “White House source” but did not identify the person. I would say that this is a little more that just a rumor since the information came from the WH. I like Wolffe and cannot believe that he would report something this potentially explosive unless he was sure of his source.
That being said, my suspicions about Cheney are my own, but if anyone had an ulterior agenda here, it would have been Darth Vader.
I remember the look that Wolffe gave to Shrub when he called him Wolfie! Daggers!
The Shrub was such a complete PUTZ!
Just saw that Wolffe was also a guest with Rachel M tonight – and she has another segment on the intelligence failure thing. I’ll be watching after I have my late supper – should be interesting.