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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2005-12-18

A Second War, Joined

This President, famously, has finally recognized the evil that Islamicist terrorism poses to the Western World, and shortly after the attacks of 9/11 started to finally put the American military into serious play against it (unlike the efforts of his three predecessors).

Now, it would appear the President has finally recognized the danger posed to American interests by the American intelligence bureaucracy:

This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.

After what seems like a four-year endless stream of leaks from the intelligence community--many of them timed to do the most political damage possible to George W Bush--it's about time the administration took them seriously.

Look, if Washington can get its collective panties into a bundle over the revelation of the faux secret identity of Valerie Plame, it should certainly be very worked up over the revelation of a secret airline, top secret prisons, interrogation techniques, and, now, some of our surveillance techniques and capabilities. Why hasn't it been? Well, I suppose the obvious answer--bias against the President--is really the important one. But it's also the inherent mistrust of the USE of American power so ingrained in the bureaucracy, codified by the Church Commission 30-odd years ago, and improved upon by the Clinton administration and its chief bulldog, Jamie Gorelick.

Perhaps a little Presidential kick in the pants can "encourage" the outrage.
Posted by: Michael / 12/18/2005 01:46:00 AM

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