While You Were at War . . . By Richard A. Clarke

[Kadie]

While You Were at War . . .

By Richard A. Clarke
Sunday, December 31, 2006; Page B01

In every administration, there are usually only about a dozen barons who can really initiate and manage meaningful changes in national security policy. For most of 2006, some of these critical slots in the Bush administration have been vacant, such as the deputy secretary of state (empty since Robert B. Zoellick left for investment bank Goldman Sachs) and the deputy director of national intelligence (with Gen. Michael V. Hayden now CIA director). And with the nation involved in a messy war spiraling toward a bad conclusion, the key deputies and Cabinet members and advisers are all focusing on one issue, at the expense of all others: Iraq.

National Security Council veteran Rand Beers has called this the "7-year-old's soccer syndrome" -- just like little kids playing soccer, everyone forgets their particular positions and responsibilities and runs like a herd after the ball.

In the end, there are only 12 seats at the conference table in the White House Situation Room, and the key players' schedules mean that they can seldom meet there together in person or on secure video conference for more than about 10 hours each week. When issues don't receive first-tier consideration, they can slip by for months. I learned this firsthand: In the early days of the Bush administration, I called for an urgent meeting to discuss the threat al-Qaeda posed to the United States. The Cabinet-level meeting eventually took place -- but not until Sept. 4, 2001.

Without the distraction of the Iraq war, the administration would have spent this past year -- indeed, every year since Sept. 11, 2001 -- focused on al-Qaeda. But beyond al-Qaeda and the broader struggle for peaceful coexistence with (and within) Islam, seven key "fires in the in-box" national security issues remain unattended, deteriorating and threatening, all while Washington's grown-up 7-year-olds play herd ball with Iraq.

more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122901238.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. K&N. Mr Clark is a national treasure and wasted in the private sector IMO n/t

[napi21]

2. We can only hope anew DEM Prez will tap him again!

It's NOT because he's had the courage to speak out against Shrub that I say this. EVERY time I've heard this man speak, he was honest, sincere, and knowledgable...something you sure can't say about anyone in the current admin!

[90-percent]

3. Character

Richard Clarke is the only person in American Government that apologized to the 9/11 families for not having done more to avert the tragedy.

No one else in American government has ever accepted any responsibility what so ever, even though there's plenty of blame to go around and nobody lost their job, or even got demoted?, over this colossal failure.

I'll vote for Clarke for anything anywhere any time any place.

-85% Jimmy

[Octafish]

4. Integrity.

The guy won't sell out, no matter how much he's offered to STFU.

[burythehatchet]

12. I hope the future Dem administration is able to deploy him n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

5. These matters have been left unattended while Bush continues

to build his legacy. I hope when his history is written they tell the truth and call him what he is: the worst President in American history.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Excellent column by Richard Clarke

Thanks for posting Kadie

Kicked and recommended

[leftchick]

7. GLOBAL WARMING!

<snip>

Global warming: When the possibility of invading Iraq surfaced in 2001, senior Bush administration officials hadn't thought much about global warming, except to wonder whether it was caused by human activity or by sunspots. Today, the world's scientists and many national leaders worry that the world has passed the point of no return on global warming. If it has, then human damage to the ecosphere will cause more major cities to flood and make the planet significantly less conducive to human habitation -- all over the lifetime of a child now in kindergarten. British Prime Minister Tony Blair keeps trying to convince President Bush of the magnitude of the problem, but in every session between the two leaders Iraq squeezes out the time to discuss the pending planetary disaster.

[Straight Shooter]

8. Iraq's greatest gift to bush is that he has not had to fulfill the duties of his office.

I call this administration the "Don't look there, look here," administration. No matter what problems there are which need attending in the U.S., such as health care, proper care for veterans, the environment, national security, education, poverty, homelessness, partner abuse, child abuse, the economy, the sinking middle class, on and on and on, all these problems have been absolutely completely ignored because the Invasion of Iraq takes priority over everything else. Even Afghanistan is effectively abandoned.

I have never seen the domestic issues of America so agonizingly ignored, the most horrid example being the effects of Katrina. It's criminal, it's unethical, and it's damn sure immoral.

bush is a miserable failure in foreign and domestic policy. It's a rotten shame he's taking the rest of us down with him.

[pacalo]

9. The longer he continues unanswered, the lower our country's standards sink.

Since when does our country accept this type of ineptness without question:

As the president contemplates sending even more U.S. forces into the Iraqi sinkhole, he should consider not only the thousands of fatalities, the tens of thousands of casualties and the hundreds of billions of dollars already lost. He must also weigh the opportunity cost of taking his national security barons off all the other critical problems they should be addressing -- problems whose windows of opportunity are slamming shut, unheard over the wail of Baghdad sirens.

[Flabbergasted]

10. Richard Clarke was also instrumental in helping supply the mujahadeen

against Russia.

[Auntie Bush]

11. Huh?

Can you explain that a little more? :shrug:

[Flabbergasted]

13. He worked with Pakistan to arm the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan.

He did work closely with Reagan as well as Clinton.

For more info Read his OWN Book "Against all Enemies"\


Really good Read.

[Hippo_Tron]

16. The Carter administration did so as well

It was in the context of the cold war and turned out to be a huge mistake. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do.

[TexasLawyer]

14. kick

[Kadie]

15. .

kick

[Penndems]

17. I'm happy to kick and recommend anything Dick Clarke puts his pen to paper to

If Bush went on television tomorrow and told the country we were being invaded, he'd be ignored.

If Dick went on TV and said the same thing, I'd be packing, locking and loading without a moment's hesitation.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

18. K & R, nicely written. I had to smile, a bit, at the analogy of 7 yrs playing soccer.

We used to call it magnet ball, for the same reason.

Richard Clarke has been consistent and unwavering in his views of the major screw ups we see with this administration. MKJ

[MannyGoldstein]

19. The 7-Year-Olds Need Adult Supervision

Where can we find some?

[Allyoop]

21. Wes Clark

If the MSM would quit hyping "movie stars", perhaps we could get some real leadership at the helm of the ship of state.

We desperately need a real grown-up to dig this country out of the mess created by Bush-Co. I want a leader whose brain is bigger than mine, not someone I'd like to have a beer with. Although, I think Wes Clark fills both wishes. I don't think Wes is in it for himself. I believe that "Duty, Honor, Country" are words he live by, not just a slogan to give his "persona" a boost.

With his deep understanding of the Beltway demographic and mentality, his experience with the Pentagon and military-industrial complex (which he determined not to be a part of after retiring from the Army) and his knowledge of history and the world and experience negotiating with leaders of NATO countries, etc. IMO, he's the man. He knew what a disaster starting a war with Iraq would be and did his best to warn our "leaders". Some listened and did not vote for war. Too many went along for fear they would be accused of being "soft on defense" when they ran for higher office. (Again IMO) I can't claim I know what motivated those votes - it's just my opinion and I will not vote for those people who made such huge mistakes for Commander In Chief)

Please, let's elect a President who has impressive brain power, extensive experience in working well with others, who says what he means instead of parsing whether or not it's politically expedient, who knows and understands history - ours and worldwide, etc.! There may be others out there who can meet these requirements, but they aren't apparent to me yet.

[Joe Chi Minh]

20. When an expert can go straight to the heart of a matter of such

fearful significance, and reveal such derelection, yet again it goes to show what a false understanding of human intelligence is rife, indeed, normal, in the West.

What level of education did those infant footballers attain? What kind of education did their schools and universities afford them? Were they distinguished seats of learning. I'll bet virtually all of them were.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR INTEGRITY AS THE BASE-LINE OF HUMAN INTELLIGENCE. The root meaning of the word, "integrity" is "wholeness", and wholeness is only attainable by an educated heart, i.e spiritual wisdom, conscious or unconscious. There are plenty of "Great and Good" who govern us, who formally subscribe to a firm religious belief, whose actions and attitudes, nevertheless, belie that claim in spades, whose actions and attitudes are in diametric opposition to the most elementary Judaeo-Christian beliefs.

The further we move away from Christian values (many, shared by the other mainstream religions), the more we find ourselves (mis)governed by monkeys. This is not a shot at Bush, (whose appearance is a matter of subjective interpretation), but of most of our current leaders in the US and UK. Not that anti-creationsist evolutionists could complain of the designation. Indeed, they fiercely insist on the narrowest materialistic interpretation of Evolution. Apes by nature; why not by name?

In your the US, fortunately for you, the problem is still not yet the formally Simian one of our left-wing in the UK, but the actual simian one of the far-right in both our countries. You have grounds for great hope.

[EstimatedProphet]

27. Are you actually trying to claim that our problems come from evolution?

[whistle]

22. What a mess Bush/Cheney have created, impeach them now

....Here is Richard Clarke's assessment:

<snip>
Without the distraction of the Iraq war, the administration would have spent this past year -- indeed, every year since Sept. 11, 2001 -- focused on al-Qaeda. But beyond al-Qaeda and the broader struggle for peaceful coexistence with (and within) Islam, seven key "fires in the in-box" national security issues remain unattended, deteriorating and threatening, all while Washington's grown-up 7-year-olds play herd ball with Iraq.

Global warming:
Russian revanchism:
Latin America's leftist lurch:
Africa at war:
Arms control freeze:
Transnational crime:
The Pakistani-Afghan border:
<end>

These are just the most important and pressing international issues. The economy is a mess. The U.S. dollar is in major trouble, good jobs for Americans are shrinking faster than anyone can follow but of even greater threat are the constitutional protections of every American. Militarism and fascism are a real threat to our basic freedoms along with the globalism charade that will destroy the United States as we know it. None of this needs to continue. We just need to gather the courage to act and force congress to act as soon as possible to impeach and remove both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney from the positions they hold and prosecute them for the wrongs they have done

[pscot]

23. This deserves a kick

n/t

[JohnnyRingo]

24. Thanx For Posting

Great article

[tabasco]

25. Clarke is doing a lot more to keep us safe than chimpy.

The Iraq war is a war of corporate greed and has greatly harmed our national security. We have become a despised imperial power, disregarding international law and acting only in the best interests of the billionaires who control the reins of power.

Exxon, KBR, Halliburton, Blackwater profits through the roof! Mission accomplished.

[emmadoggy]

26. Richard Clarke tells it like it is.

You know, there have always been hot spots in the world, wars, starving or poor people, disease, bad or evil leaders, turmoil etc. But never in my life have I felt that the world is as out-of-control as I feel it is now. The harm and damage that this administration has wrought has affected nearly every nook of the globe in one way or another. I have more fear and unease about the world now than I ever have and it's all thanks to the incompetent, greedy, evil bastards who have had control of this nation for the past six years. It's truly hard to comprehend the effect this administration has had on the world (and in the span of only a few years!) and so much of the damage is irreparable.


This little bit from Clarke........"Today, the world's scientists and many national leaders worry that the world has passed the point of no return on global warming. If it has, then human damage to the ecosphere will cause more major cities to flood and make the planet significantly less conducive to human habitation -- all over the lifetime of a child now in kindergarten." ......gave me a sick lurch in my stomach. I have twins who will be in kindy next fall and the thought of what may come of this world during their lifetimes makes me so afraid for them, that I almost question my wisdom in bringing them into this world. For my own sanity, I have to hold out hope that the era of this backwards spiral into doom will be overcome soon and the world can be put back on the path of progress, peace, prosperity and a much greater stewardship of the planet we all need to survive.