I’ll Give You Something To Cry About

Filed in National by on November 18, 2008

Just take a look at the two-headed hydra that is called the Obama Intelligence Transition Team or the Intelligence Community Review Team Leads: John Brennan and Jami Miscik.

Melvin Goodman writes in The Baltimore Sun:

Instead of placing the transition process under a seasoned professional such as Mr. Scowcroft, the Obama team has turned to discredited cronies of the Tenet era. Mr. Brennan, as chief of staff and deputy executive director under Mr. Tenet, was involved in decisions to conduct torture and abuse of suspected terrorists and to render suspected individuals to foreign intelligence services that conducted their own torture and abuse. Mr. Brennan had risen through the analytic ranks and should have known that analytic standards were being ignored in Mr. Tenet’s CIA. He was also an active defender of the illegal program of warrantless eavesdropping, implemented at the National Security Agency under the leadership of Mr. Hayden, then director of NSA.

Ms. Miscik was deputy director of intelligence for Mr. Tenet during the run-up to the Iraq war, when intelligence was manipulated to support the Bush administration’s decision to use force in Iraq. She endorsed the politicized findings of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in October 2002, as well as the unclassified White Paper of October 2002 that was designed to sway votes on the authorization to use force against Iraq. Ms. Miscik was also a willing participant in the crafting of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell’s regrettable speech to the United Nations in February 2003, which was designed to sway the international community. 

From The New York Times regarding John Brennan:

As a senior adviser to Mr. Tenet in 2002, Mr. Brennan was present at the creation of the C.I.A.’s controversial detention and interrogation program, which Mr. Obama has strongly criticized. But Mr. Brennan has distanced himself from the program, and told The Washington Times last month that interrogation methods like waterboarding are “not going to be allowed under an Obama presidency.” During a confirmation hearing, he could face criticism by former C.I.A. officers that he was too risk averse in the hunt for Osama bin Laden while he served as station chief in Saudi Arabia.

From The New York Times regarding Jami Miscik:

Jami Miscik, leading a review of American intelligence agencies, was the head of intelligence analysis at the Central Intelligence Agency during its biggest embarrassment: the botched assessments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

Read the interview from Democracy Now for more information.

You crying yet?

About the Author ()

A Dad, a husband and a data guru

Comments (14)

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  1. cat rowan says:

    For all of those who voted democratic ticket in 2008:
    A little ditty called “Same Song Second Verse” by George Soros

  2. anonone says:

    Guess what? He isn’t the guy that pardoned Richard Nixon. Or Casper Weinberger. Or Elliot Abrahms. Or the other Iran-Contra criminals. Or commuted Scooter Libby.

    You repubs make crime and pardoning an art form.

  3. FSP says:

    Did I have a comment deleted?

  4. FSP says:

    “He isn’t the guy that pardoned Richard Nixon. Or Casper Weinberger. Or Elliot Abrahms. Or the other Iran-Contra criminals. Or commuted Scooter Libby.”

    Yet. Give him time. It’s in the resume.

  5. pandora says:

    Dave, I saw that earlier comment as well. I looked for it, but it’s nowhere to be found. Sorry.

  6. cassandra_m says:

    So who is supposed to cry about this? These two look like the Lieberman First String and apparently that is AOK because they have the Style and everything.

    And Dave, I just looked around for a comment of yours too and couldn’t find anything, sorry.

  7. liz says:

    You will find that Obama is and always was an arch capitalist. He has surrounded himself with the same clowns that screwed up foreign policy. Putting Masik and Brennan on his Transition Team says it all. We will have no real change in foreign policy. Dennis Ross, Zbig Brezinski, are the most right wing forces against any real foreign policy change. We have just rid the country of the neo cons in the republican party and replaced them with blue dog neo cons in the democratic party. I am sick and disgusted.

  8. FSP says:

    Clearly Jason deleted my comment because he’s angry that I took his picture down.

  9. nemski says:

    Yeah, Dave, Jason is one vindictive asshole. 😉

  10. June says:

    Well, I’m not crying — I JUST WANT TO SCREAM!!

  11. anonone says:

    Something’s awry – my comment was originally posted after FSP’s in the AG thread. Maybe we should try having all posts go to random threads and see if anybody can tell the difference.

    BTW, it was a brilliant post, FSG. 🙂

  12. Not Brian says:

    Just when I thought my insane mistrust of the two parties may have been misplaced… thought maybe one man could make a change…

    Thank You Mr. Obama! I do not have to give up my cynicism!

    I am disgusted Hillary is in on this whole thing too… the only one of the whole bunch surrounding him I like is Robert Reich, and I’ll guess he does not get a good cabinet post…

  13. h. says:

    That’s what happens when you elect someone without experience. He is bringing back all of these familiar names because he doesn’t have anyone else.

    How long has he been a senator?

    How much has he legislated?

    How much of that time in the senate was spent campaigning?

    Clinton Era pt.2