US intelligence system in "crisis" -- former arms inspector David Kay

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former arms inspector David Kay painted a dire portrait of the state of US intelligence, saying the infrastructure is so broken that even the appointment of an national intelligence czar was not likely to fix it.

Kay, who resigned in January as the head of the Iraq Survey Group -- the US outfit tasked with the futile exercise of hunting down Baghdad's alleged weapons of mass destruction program -- said the US intelligence network was in a full-blown crisis, pointing to a series of cataclysmic lapses, including the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and the flawed intelligence on Iraq's weapons program.

"The US intelligence community is in a crisis, and this crisis is so grave that it weakens an essential underpinning of both our diplomatic and our national military security capabilities and their ability to support US national interests," Kay said at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"Remedying this crisis cannot be simply achieved by naming a National Intelligence Director. What is necessary is vision, and an unswerving commitment to serving the nation beyond the political and policy interests of any one particular administration," he said.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040818/pl_afp/us_attacks_iraq_kay&cid=1521&ncid=1480

[bemildred]

1. Blah blah blah ...

There is no crisis. They have never in the last fifty years
been more than marginally competent at anything but destabilizing
third world democratic regimes. I suppose it is sort of a crisis
that they don't even seem to be able to do that now.

[TahitiNut]

2. Gosh, who woulda guessed back in December 2000 that ...

... "intelligence" would be a major problem with the Busholini Regime?



:hi: Me.

[movonne]

3. Vote this !!!

[Beetwasher]

4. I Gotta Say, Kay Has Surprised the Hell Out Of Me

I really thought he was a Bush lacky at first. He isn't.

"Instead of holding people responsible, we reward them for failure. Unless you change that part of the culture, organizational shuffling of deck chairs has no hope of being successful."

The guy has guts and integrity. I'm really shocked.

[Zorra]

10. Me too. The crow I'm eating right now doesn't taste so good.

There are a lot of former and current officials speaking out about the lack of accountability for failure in higher levels of intelligence and national government, and the failure of the 9/11 Commission report to address areas that need critical reform. Makes me wonder about who is protecting who and why, and who are they actually serving - the American people or someone or something else else?

Like Sibel Edmonds:

In order to cure a problem, one must have an accurate diagnosis. In order to correctly diagnose a problem, one must consider and take into account all visible symptoms. Your Commission's investigations, hearings, and report have chosen not to consider many visible symptoms. I am emphasizing 'visible', because these symptoms have been long recognized by experts from the intelligence community and have been written about in the press. I am emphasizing 'visible' because the few specific symptoms I provided you with in this letter have been confirmed and publicly acknowledged. During its many hearings your commission chose not to ask the questions necessary to unveil the true symptoms of our failed intelligence system. Your Commission intentionally bypassed these severe symptoms, and chose not to include them in its five hundred and sixty seven-page report. Now, without a complete list of our failures pre 9/11, without a comprehensive examination of true symptoms that exist in our intelligence system, without assigning any accountability what so ever, and therefore, without a sound and reliable diagnosis, your commission is attempting to divert attention from the real problems, and to prescribe a cure through hasty and costly measures. It is like attempting to put a gold-lined expensive porcelain cap over a deeply decayed tooth with a rotten root, without first treating the root, and without first cleaning/shaving the infected tooth.

Respectfully,

Sibel D. Edmonds

CC: Senate Judiciary Committee
CC: Senate Intelligence Committee
CC: House Government Reform Committee
CC: Family Steering Committee
CC: Press

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0802-06.htm

[tom_paine]

5. Actually, part of the problem is likely the transition to Imperial Slave

Once ole Pirter Goss gets in there, shreds documents, stonewalls investigations, and purges anyone who dares question Der Fuhrer, things will be right as fucking rain again.

:puke: :puke:

Actually, the CIA is in transition from an agency that once sort of protected us to the new KGB, which sort of protected Russia but who's primary job was to CRUSH any Soviet Citizenry who dared question the Party.

Like a Goss CIA. JUST like a Goss CIA.

[goclark]

7. That why he should not be named

He will go crazy,even if it's two months.

[tom_paine]

9. Exactly. And yet the Dems are going to allow it, it seems

I don;t want to believe it, but it looks like it's coming true...

[teryang]

6. Failure or mission objective?

There are distinct aspects to the intelligence organization. Collection, analysis, dissemination and covert operations. It is often the case that the latter function requires obstruction of the former functions.

Those who have been rewarded for failure have actually been rewarded for deliberately interfering with the collection, analysis and dissemination function so that the covert operations particularly the diastrous 911 episodes and their predicate of government protection of "terrorist" operations for political purposes not be brought to light. FBI Agent Rowley first brought this to light with reference to 911. Other aspects of routine covert ops, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and illegal arms transactions involving prestigious institutions and "VIPS" as pointed out by Sibel Edmonds also have to be hidden from view and kept from the analysts and publics view. FBI surveillance of Deutschebank AB shennigans and Pakistani ISI agents in the US, running guns, anti air missiles and money laundering ran right into the 911 plot. It was swept under the rug as it had to be to keep a viable operation and treasonous plot undercover.

[barb162]

8. I think this subject and Kay

should be on every national news and/or discussion show.

[Disturbed]

12. Congress and the Admin...

will listen to all of the experts and apply a few caps, claim that the system is cured and everything will go back to the way it was. No one is really interested in deep rooted reform because most of the people in power now would need to be voted out, fired &/or some would be indicted and recieve prison terms. The system has rotted beyond any instant cures.

[leesa]

11. I'm sorry, but this is BS. The CIA TOLD Bush there was nothing

in Iraq. The CIA WARNED Bush before 9-11. This is just more Bush Crime Family blaming someone else for their mess. It was the Bush Crime Family creation, the OSP, that said their were WMDs because they wanted to invade and steal the oil. We were warned by MANY countries before 9-11 that it was going to happen, some very close to the actual date.

Do not let them get away with blaming their crimes on the CIA.