The American Spectator : Stupidity, Intelligence, and Egypt

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Loose Canons

Stupidity, Intelligence, and Egypt

By Jed Babbin on 2.14.11 @ 6:08AM

Leon Panetta is the least of this administration's problems.

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Turkey's descent into Islamic radicalism is slowed only by its once-secular military and by the cultural separation between Turkish and Arab peoples.

In Egypt, that cultural separation doesn't exist. Its military could prevent an Islamist government from taking hold. But that task is made immensely more difficult by Obama's efforts to legitimize the Brotherhood and by Clapper's bizarre statement.

Facts are all that matter in intelligence and analysis. Digging for facts, stealing them whenever possible, is the job of Clapper, Panetta and everyone working for them. An intelligence agency's job is done when it produces timely, accurate and well-analyzed facts to policy makers.

If an intelligence analyst or his boss imposes a political judgment on the facts before they are passed on to the policymaker, he is betraying his duty. And when an intelligence boss embraces his boss's political goals in disregard of the facts, as Clapper did, he is betraying the people who work for him.

Spies and intelligence analysts are people. They must believe that their hard work -- some working at great personal risk -- is valued by their bosses. To them, it matters little what the policymakers decide based on the intelligence they produce. When they hear a Director of National Intelligence speaking as if he were a White House spinmeister, they cannot trust that their work is taken seriously.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mi) is the new chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He's a former FBI agent, which means he's fact-oriented and methodical. Rogers should convene a series of hearings to determine how deep the political rot has penetrated our intelligence agencies.

There are a lot of problems besetting our intelligence community but none of them can be fixed without first curing the political infection that prevents them from functioning effectively. For Rogers, that must be Job #1.

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About the Author

Jed Babbin served as a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush. He is the author of several bestselling books including Inside the Asylum and In the Words of Our Enemies.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (102) | Leave a comment

Richard Baker| 2.14.11 @ 6:43AM

Glad to see a reference to Stansfield Turner. While at CIA he decimated the HUMINT side of the agency and, as noted in the article, we now don't have people inside the councils of our enemies. With an emphasis on satellite and intercept means, we now might as well use a Ouija board.

oldfart| 2.14.11 @ 6:50AM

We are being eaten away from the inside.

MAJ Mike| 2.14.11 @ 7:31AM

The current administration gives circus clowns a bad name. I would trust those asshats to sweep my driveway.

John| 2.14.11 @ 7:35AM

The article represents well known neoconservative fantasies dressed up as some kind of insight. it's obvious that America now needs to back the democrats in ME and not tyrants . It needs to start with Saudi first. It needs to ensure that American tax dollars are used to help isreal to reabsorb the six million palestianian Muslims Christian refugees. It's a no brainer. the world is changing for the better. And I'm liking it.

Intelligent Design| 2.14.11 @ 7:56AM

http://www.commentarymagazine......riat-15590
For 60 years this UN agency has been paying four generations of Palestinians to remain refugees. There are now about 4.6 million in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza who receive housing, utilities, health care, education and cash from the UNRWA. The UN is sponsoring terrorism, and the United States is funding it.

David W| 2.14.11 @ 8:30AM

After this happens, will Jews and Christians be allowed to return to the lands they were forcibly removed from? You know, the islamic-dominated countries that purged Jews and Christians from the homes their ancestors had been on for generations? No? Only Palestinians are allowed to go back to the lands they left willingly (since no Arab country wants to actually allow the so-called Palestinians to settle in their countries)? Ah, I thought so.

Chalkdust| 2.14.11 @ 9:10AM

I generally say I'm amused by liberal comments like John's, but not this time. You know the type of comment I refer too: "I stuck my thumb into the morass and pulled out a Democracy....what a good and smart boy am I."
Mr. Babbin's article is well though out and one of many which has raised the alarm on the deep crises this country finds it's self in regarding the gathering of deep background information our nations leaders must have to make informed decisions and public statements. (Provide the extant administration has the un-common good sense to use it.)
Secondly, anyone who says they can see a real democratic government forming in the next five years out of this current steaming pile in Egypt, is either a progressive who admires Jimmy Carter's Iran or insane.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 12:23PM

Chalkdust---I think you're a trifle optimistic, my friend. Why aren't we asking the Mossad for their estimation and asking for closed congressional briefings?

Chalkdust| 2.14.11 @ 3:27PM

This current administration wouldn't ask the Mossad for the time of day. Congressional headings are beyond the pale. Unless the Demoncrats can find a "gotcha" against the right, they're not interested. The Republicans are too timid and not called the stupid party without good reason.
My guess is the government will play it by the seat of their pants like they're doing now.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:22PM

You said it better than I could have myself, Chalk. Welcome to the site.

Tom in Michigan| 2.14.11 @ 5:27PM

Your comment about "six million Palestinian Christian refugees" is a pure fantasy. There are probably only ~400,000 Palestinian Christians worldwide. At present, the 50,000 Christians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and `125,000 in Israel. Now, the fact is; some 50,000 did indeed flee Israel along with other refugees after the 1948 War but, there's nowhere near "six million" Christian refugees.

Stammon| 2.14.11 @ 7:41AM

"six million palestianian Muslims Christian refugees"

Wow, aren't you the nutcase. Tell me, what is the percentage of the " palestianin Christian refugees" the Israelis are keeping out of their land?

John| 2.14.11 @ 9:42AM

Approximately a few hundred thousand plus. They were ethnically cleansed by zionist settler militias from Haifa . The Palestinian movement would be nowhere Without the great sacrifices of the palestianian Christians. Many of them live in America.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 4:10PM

Agreed. Observers or specators here have little or zero idea of the complexity of the region.
Much of the PA and PLO braintrust is Christian - finance, lobbyists, backroomers. Interestingly, the sites in Bethlehem and Nazareth are no-go zones for the JDF and are readily segregated by Israeli tourist bureaus to avoid exposing tourists to the truth.
This is minor compared to the back-room neocon arm-twisting they have done to successive WH admins. It is fascinating how the WH buckles once the zionist faction weighs in - number 1 is Bolton as the buttboy for this whitewash.

Iran and Egypt are spectacular flipflops by BHO and Junior in the last 10 years, precipitated by hysterical reactions in Tel Aviv and within AIPAC.

True conservatives should be goading the WH into pressuring for full revolts in these countries as chaos creates opportunities where none existed before. But Tel Aviv shudders and we react accordingly.

W| 2.14.11 @ 4:38PM

canukistani, or is it jharp,
those jews are just too smart for us, right? they manipulate us, thank God we got anti-semites and fools like you to set us straight.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 7:20PM

I am no anti-semite, many of my christian Lebanese friends are semites - I support them, and the zionists co-opting the term is disingenuous at best.
I am anti-stupidity when it comes to equating zionist goals with American interests.
Today, if you stand back and actually pay attention, there is zero interest for us in supporting Israel at all. There are no resources, no trade routes, no mitigating factors - other than a false sense we are still being scapegoated for the ill-advised creation of the state of Israel itself.
As Americans, we should be promoting freedom, not underwriting yet another religious state - a state as a Christian, the birth and deathplace of my Savior - I can never attempt to gain citizenship in.

Make sense to you?

They will defend themselves well as they always have, but making our presidents look stupid by including their stunted interests into our calculations is bad policy and at worse complicity.

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 7:47PM

Your view of Isreal and it's place in the world is myopic at best and dangerously naive at worst.

You're either a dyed in the wool lib or just a kid.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:23PM

That's a fake, not canuckustani. It's Jharp or somebody, but Canuckistani is Conservative and not antisemitic.

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 8:30PM

I don't get to visit this site often enough to know the regulars, but a rose by any other name still sounds like a complete idiot.

My apologies to the real canuck for any confusion.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:24PM

Zionists co-opting the term? Antisemitic has been used as a synonym for Judeophobe for over a millenia.

BackToBasics| 2.14.11 @ 10:32PM

Even if we were to do what you wanted regarding Israel, Islamists would still want to create a one-world caliphate where everyone would join Islam.

Our support of Israel is immaterial to the terrorists demands and their hatred of all things not Islam and their ultimate goal of a one-world caliphate.

The 2 main reasons they rant at America as the Great Satan. etc. is firstly, because we are still the dominant power in the world. But I actually think that, secondly and more importantly to them, they perceive the west as a weaker target than the east, meaning India and China mostly.

So, they are going after us and the west in general first. Our support of Israel is in the mix of reasons why they hate us but it is such a small country and I do not think that they perceive Israel as a long-term threat. Their statements and actions bely the Israel-as-cause-and-effect reason as to why they aim their terrorists and hatreds at us. They simply think that now is the time to move faster and in more focused way towards a world dominated by Islam.

I think they want to "take" America and the west first (basically the white powers), destroy Israel as a nation, and then work on the perceived softer targets of South America and Africa. India and China SE Asia and a mostly depopulated Russia would complete their grand schemes.

And one of the biggest symptoms as to why we are perceived as weaker in the east is our "politically correct" thinking. Again, this is a only symptom of deeper problems. But how can we not be perceived as weak when majorities in the western nations cannot even define WHO their enemies are and WHERE the real threats are coming from.

And the real threats are not coming from Israel! Threats are varied and multi-faceted and from MANY different groups, including non-Jews. But as for any Jewish problems, it seems more that a certain few non-Irsaeli Jews are manipulating Jews and leftists in the west more than anyone in Israel is.

Your fears and concerns about Israel itself and how it ties into problems we face with Islam are overstated.

We should not be blind to faults and devious leadings by at least a certain few leaders in any group, and that includes Jews and Israel, but your post goes further than that and does smack of at least a fair amount of anti-semitism.

If I read between the lines correctly, you perceive our support of Israel and the "Jewish-lobby" more than a political threat. ""You perceive it as a threat against Christianity itself!"" I think you've lumped all Jews together in this fear you have. If carried too far, this thinking will lead to overt anti-semitism. And the circle completes itself once again.

And I repeat; our support of Israel is immaterial to the Islamic terrorists demands and their hatred of all things not Islam and their ultimate goal of a one-world caliphate.

Tom in Michigan| 2.14.11 @ 5:34PM

Pure nonsense. The entire Palestinian Christian population is ~400,000 worldwide. Indeed, many Christians also fled after the 1948 War but, it was only about 50,000 or about 35% of the Palestinian Christian population.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 7:22PM

Better check it out.....it all begins to make sense when you see the concessions Tel Aviv makes when Christian interests are in play in the West Bank.

Intelligent Design| 2.14.11 @ 7:52AM

Egyptians are ready for democracy, so long as it complies with their state religion: Islam. Muslims want to bring the same kind of democracy to your Hometown, USA.

vtwin| 2.14.11 @ 12:05PM

A Christian religious fanatic warning us about Islamic religious fanatics, right I got it.

irish19| 2.14.11 @ 12:43PM

Yep. One man, one vote, one time. Just like in Iran.

john| 2.14.11 @ 4:40PM

Google , " kill infidel sura" and you will find out what islam is and really wants to do.

Paul Kotik| 2.14.11 @ 8:03AM

I'm not all that confident in the popular view that the Egyptian military is the steady, reliable rock of constancy in that equation. Not at all.

It is a conscript army. As Andy McCarthy has observed, it is American-trained and American-equipped, but Egyptian manned. There's no reason to suppose that the rank-and-file differ from the general population in supporting the death penalty for adulterers by a majority of 80%, for example.

I see a high likelihood of the Egyptian military cracking under pressure. I'm not confident that all the American training in the world can stop illiterate fellahin from taking off their boots and running like hell when the rumor spreads that the Jews are about to nuke the Aswan Dam, or somesuch. Only this time, since they'll be in the center of Egypt rather than out in the Sinai facing the Israelis, they'll take their weapons with them.

Or something. I just wouldn't be padding my comments on Egypt with with boilerplate about the military being a sure thing.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 8:18AM

Folks,
Each of you need to get over to the American Thinker today.
There are three articles that are absolutely must reads.
www.texassaidno.com

PCC| 2.14.11 @ 9:33AM

Please stop using the AmSpec blog to promote your book.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 9:59AM

PCC
No!
That book just might save your life, by peering into the future, just as Mr. Babin points out tht our intelligence community should.
...Well, it probably won't save "your" life. You are not quite smart enough to read it, and you have probably already spent your allowance.

John| 2.14.11 @ 10:57AM

I think we've all had enough of this book business. We've got the message ken. Lets move on.

Tim the Enchanter| 2.14.11 @ 11:40AM

Leave Ken alone. The book thing- it's what he does.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 12:24PM

It's an excellent book, and much better to read than your witless blogs, John.

PCC| 2.15.11 @ 4:09AM

Dear K(OT),

Nice reply, pal. Your baseness is showing. Another reason not to buy your book.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 12:30PM

I have no problems with him using it. He didn't write it just for money---it outlines his philosophy quite entertainingly and well.

Ret. Marine| 2.14.11 @ 8:33AM

Yeah right, the military, according to obamas Bin Lyn, bull excrement- is going to set the stage (s) to democracy. The NID, sounded as absurd as the nomeaning to it media, all ignorance and no facts. Anyone ever stationed under the USA and the UN operations in the Siani understands very well just how prepared the military is, mostly muslims with the muslim mentality to boot does not bode well for the international or internal peoples of this region. The shift from a dictator, put mildly, a ruler who understood the only thing the muslims understand is strength, to the mob rule crowd, have opened up a hornets nest for the entire region intentionally. And let us not forget to mention the mob, by the way all friends of the "I won", and their involvement with this uprising. These people in normal time would have already seen the inside of GITMO for their involvement. How many actions do these rent-a-mobs, under abamas Bin Lyn, have to make before We the People demand they be tried for their involvement in this coup? They have had a hand in this for over two years now, and as usual, the idiots in charge still can't get on the same script to cover their behinds in the involvement. I really have pity for these dunces, for they know what they do. We shall endeavor to not miss the entire point of their involvement in this affair, the first Allie just got lost to the islamist and the hordes at the evil barack house, by hook and crook and on purpose.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 4:13PM

...ok, so what would have been different if Junior or even RR was in charge?

Nothing, so go back to bed.

Curly Smith| 2.14.11 @ 8:35AM

And why wouldn't Obama, Clapper and the rest of the Administration support the Muslim Brotherhood? They, like Hamas, the Mad Mullahs, Palestinian Authority, Islamic Jihad, and all the rest, use the same language as the Democrats. If you strip out the names you don't know if it's a meeting of the DNC or Tyrants Forever!

The biggest danger is always with people who "know" things that simply aren't true. The thugs of the world speak the Democrats' language, the Democrats believe "the enemy of my enemy" stuff and they can't see that they're being spun, that they're being fed their lies. But, since the Soviets trained all of them it's entirely possible that the Democrats and the tyrants are kindred spirits.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 5:17PM

The most tryannical and islamic state is Saudi Arabia, period. But, they made a deal with Roosevelt and every pres since has held hands with the fat bastards.
Enemy of my enemy is our friend #1.

I hate to pop your bubble, but Iran is occupying exactly zero countries, except one, their own. We have troops stationed in about 150 countries, and evry one of them is lead by a good ole democracy?

Bush 41 went into Kuwait to defend an Islamic dictatorship. How'd that work out after 20 years?
Enemy of my enemy is my friend #2.

RR dealt with the Iranians illegally to subsidize his CA operations. How'd that work out for us?
Enemy of my enemy is my friend #3.

RR subsidized the Mujahadeen, the Taliban farm team, for a decade and then we cut and run.
Enemy of my enemy is my friend #4.

Musharaff was an enemy of the US, spread nukes in the region and recognized the Taliban regime. After 9/11, we needed a client state to buy off. All on Junior's watch.
Enemy of my enemy is our friend #5.

Want another one? Ben Franklin and Adams made a deal with the French royals during the WofI as Jefferson was whoring around Paris.
Enemy of my enemy is our friend #6.

Who is the kindred spirit with the tyrants, again?

BackToBasics| 2.15.11 @ 1:49AM

BHO is THE kindred spirit with the tyrants. I've been disappointed in all our presidents in more than one way also, but he tops them all.

BackToBasics| 2.15.11 @ 1:57AM

What? Good 'ol Jefferson whoring around and making babies with his slave gorls to boot? Not the T. Jefferson who is a forerunner of the Democrats we have today.

Look, I'm no supporter of Bush I or Bush II and RR had his weaknesses too. But is FDR the only Democrat you have issues with? I can see some of your points but to not cite any of Cater's, Clinton's or BHO's faults weakens your position.

BackToBasics| 2.15.11 @ 1:58AM

sp - slave girls

WilliamInWien| 2.14.11 @ 8:46AM

Perhaps NASA should have been following the unrest in Tunisia and then Egypt as part of its Obama inspired outreach to the muslim world. And, do not confuse me with the facts, I have already made up my mind, "democracy" will prevail. Time will tell!

JP| 2.14.11 @ 8:50AM

I thought the choice of Panetta was a wise move. He is a Beltway Insider; he knows his way around Congress, K-Street, and he is a politican first and foremost. He would be the last person to authorize a covert action in say, Dafur or Lower Slabdovia. And being a power-broker, he could be counted on to protect his turf. What more could one ask for? The CIA is just another bloated federal bureaucracy that consumes $50 billion in taxpayer's money in order to create thousands of classified Powerpoint presentations no one will read.. Nothing of any importance goes on at Langley. As Jed Babbin points out, the CIA hasn't had a decent HUMINT arm since the days when Leverne and Shirley and Billy Beer were hits. The only thing a DCI has to do now is politik, approve budgets, and schedule sensitivity training for his employees.

Everyone knows that if President Obama wanted to know whats going on in Cairo, he calls the Mossad; if he wishes to know what's up with Putin he calls MI6; and if he wishes to know what's up with Michelle, he calls CNN.

PCC| 2.14.11 @ 9:37AM

Looking for a place to cut the budget? Why not start with the CIA? A huge, slow bureaucracy that hasn't got any of the big ones right since Vietnam. If, as one contributor above says, its budget is $50 billion, I'd say that's probably about $49 billion too much.

Stan Redmond| 2.14.11 @ 9:37AM

There can't be reform of Islam as long as the first commandment of the USA remains, "Thou shall not criticize Islam." Islam IS the problem. Bush pussyfooted around declaring what the problem really is and Obama has been on his knees praising Islam. Until a US president dare state the obvious about Islam then the Islamic world will always be a cesspool of violence, misery, and tyrany.

Dai Alanye| 2.14.11 @ 12:00PM

Correct. We couldn't fully confront the USSR until Reagan accurately labeled it an evil empire. Nor can we efficiently confront militant Islamism until we point out its barbarities, and demand reform.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 5:30PM

What are you talking about?

The USSR was going bankrupt long before RR showed up. Walesa and even the Pope had more influence on its undoing. RR's support for their work was critically important, however.

Bush 41 waffled EXACTLY the same way BHO did when Yeltsin was standing on the tank in Moscow.

Any smart president takes advice from people that purport to know about the issue - with neocon dissonance pervasive. Presidential instincts like Junior's peering into Putin's heart only gets us into more mischief.

Mubarak was a "gentle" giant that did the US' bidding for 3 decades. There are many vested interests in play that would definitely provide ANY president mixed messages about what to do next. BHO handled it as well as can be expected., and assuming any GOP schmuk would be doing better is pure fantasy.

BackToBasics| 2.15.11 @ 2:15AM

from your post - "The USSR was going bankrupt long before RR showed up."

Yes it was but Reagan recognized it and acted on it. Carter did not. Reagan aslo understood why it was going bankrupt. And although I respect him, I always wished he had tried harder to stop the deficit spending in this country. Central power and control via the socail services spending is now breaking America just as central control and power did in the USSR.

But to his credit, Reagan acted on the fact that the USSR would not be able to hold the republics together and would not be able to compete with our technological breakthroughs unless they had a more open society.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 10:01AM

Stan,
Well spoken.

martin j smith| 2.14.11 @ 10:05AM

It starts from the top and works its way down. This issue of lack of competence in foreign affairs merely reflect our current president. He must be defeated on both economic and foreign affairs.

Anthony| 2.14.11 @ 10:07AM

With all due respect to you Jed, a former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, bloggers like vtwin, James, John, and Phil have assured us that the movement of peace is well underway in Egypt.
I loved Clapper's comments about the Muslim Brotherhood being secular in nature, Clapper gets the Obozo of the week award, normally reserved for the Pretender-In-Chief.
Clapper gets to join the Three Stooges, Obozo, Clinton and Panetta, for as we know, the Three Stooges had several clowns to fill the role of Curly.

Intelligent Design| 2.14.11 @ 1:02PM

The Muslim Brotherhood is so secular that they are going to change their name, deleting "Muslim" and substituting with "Progressive" Brotherhood.

Intelligent Design| 2.14.11 @ 1:05PM

Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? "Progressive Brotherhood". Reminds me of "Community Organizer".

Albert| 2.14.11 @ 10:41AM

The British ran India (which included Pakistan and Burma) with a total of about 100,000 men - soldiers and civilians. They had a corps of "political officers" (spies) who kept them up to date on what the tribal leaders were thinking and doing, and probably quietly eliminated a few potential trouble-makers, either shipping them off to relatiovely comfortable confinement in somewhere like the Andamans or by more direct methods. They knew the language and the customs of rthe people they were mixing with and knew how to exploit tribal divisions. A Bin Laden would not have lasted long. - a few bribes in the right place, if you knew what the right place was, and he would have been handed over, with billions of dollars, thousands of lives and Western prestige saved. This shows what can be done with a few of the right men in the right place (admitedly to become a "political" you had to be among the cream of the crop). But is the US doing anything remotely comparable today? It does not appear so.

JP| 2.14.11 @ 1:11PM

The Brits do things like administer and spy very well, and at a bargain price. MIG probably doesn't even have enough money to buy its operatives PDA; but, they always know what's up in places like Niger (remember the Yellow Cake fiasco?), or Belarus, or Cyrus.

Our CIA can give you the GPS coordinates of Mubarak right down the arc-second. But they would be the last organization to tell you what he had for lunch -even if he went through a drive thru. In that case, the CIA would demand an extra $100 million to fund a special task force, which would be staffed with MBAs from Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown - none of whom even know what a drive-thru is.

Richard Baker| 2.14.11 @ 10:41AM

Shemp, Joe Besser, and Joe DeRita were Curly's replacements. Who in this administration would each of these represent as the Kenyan is Moe and Biden is Larry?

Louis Jenkins| 2.14.11 @ 10:56AM

Make no mistake, we are at war with Islam. They were first to declare. Why do we even have a CIA? We know who is at war with us. To bad they don't.

John| 2.14.11 @ 11:30AM

When did they exactly declare war on us? Islam has no hierarchy. So who was it. or do you 9/11. An atrocity carried out by Saudi nationals. These were non state actors who no support from any Muslim state. I would of course support the attachment of king abdullah of Saudi to a cruise missile fired towards mars. this would remove an evil tyrant and help NASA in its explorations. But that is unlikely to happen because abdullah &co; are close allies. May be if the west propped up democracies rather than tyrants the world would be a better place. Change you can really believe in. Also to note the muslim world is still coming out of two centuries of total colonisation. I find that if you stop killing people they tend to be more civil. We need more jaw jaw and less war war.

Ted| 2.14.11 @ 11:51AM

1. "When did they exactly declare war on us? Islam has no hierarchy. So who was it."

Bin Laden declared war on 23 FEB 1998. You might also go back to the Iranian Revolution to date it. Between the 1970s (and possibly earlier depending on who you cite) there have been many "declarations of war" against the U.S. by Salafi / Islamist elements.

2. "These were non state actors who no support from any Muslim state."

Technically that is not true as they did have the support and protection of the Taliban regime, which for all intents and purposes was the legitimate Afghani government prior to 09/11.

3. "Also to note the muslim world is still coming out of two centuries of total colonisation. I find that if you stop killing people they tend to be more civil."

Unfortunately the Islamists will never be civil. They want to re-establish the Caliphate. They have been very clear about this.

4. Loved the comment about the NASA exploration.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 12:00PM

John,
You are such a comic; a "funny-book" in the terms we used in my childhood.
When your co-religionists stop cutting the clitori out of your little girls and selling them into slavery you call marriage pre-puberty.....
You and I can talk on level ground.

Until then, you are a funny-book...that is anything but funny.
Uh, your Taquiya won't work here, muhhamed. Mr. Bin Laden, and all of his counterparts across the Muslim world have declared war...for a thousand years and more....against we "infidels".

Just recently, oil has allowed your co-religionists to buy our weapons, and mute SOME of our voices.
We still plan on putting you folks back on your donkeys while you study your korans. Just keep pushing and enjoy squatting in the dirt when our tennis-shoe toilets quit working.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 12:29PM

Dear Ken,

John is your Clint---an unredeemable idiot. Your book was fantastic, and well worth reading, along with Caliphate by Tom Kratman and America Alone by Steyn. And no, I'm not Ken in a different name, although I wish I touched as many people positively with my work as he does with his.

John| 2.14.11 @ 12:33PM

Female genital mutilation (fmg) is not a practice that exists in Islam. However some Muslims and christain groups in Africa practice these rituals as part of their culture. Hopefully education and stronger goverment action will eradicate this evil practice. Islam doesn't have violent born in it. Islam has always rejected the use of force. Of course in a world of over 1.5 billion + muslims covering the entire globe you're bound to find a few nutters. But they are not representative of Islam . I beleve once American bases fleets troops occupation, support for Zionism declines- the relationship between Muslim and the west will blossom into the stratosphere. Muslims also once play a pivotal role in the growth of learning and science. I believe in the very neat future Muslims will once again be a shining example for humanity.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 1:09PM

Sorry, John.
You are either a liar, or a batchelor. Your wife Muslim will never respond to you. She cannot.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 6:27PM

Saudi fat bastards, you know, our allies, have multiple wives, practise Wahabbiism - the most violent and retrograde version of Islam, and actively suppress ALL dissent.
They are viscerally scared of the brown masses from Pak and Indo, and are hysterically opposed to anything Persian.
These are our best friends - and as a Texan, you should know better.

Where in our Manifest Destiny does getting into bed with fat camel jockeys fit with your skewed view of the world?

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 7:43PM

Oh, I see, so your ideology is superior because you've thrown your lot in with the skinny donkey jocks instead.

Umm, OK

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:28PM

Dear John: Muhamed was a mass murderer. Jihad is usually defined as holy war. And what Muslims did to the Hindus is horrific.

I'm sorry, but one can tell an apologist for Islam is lying when they start writing words. Sharia Delenda Est (and Israel is a major weapon there).

Dai Alanye| 2.14.11 @ 12:07PM

John, I fear, is quite the doofus. Those who give aid and comfort to our enemies must themselves be treated like enemies. This category includes states like the Saddam's Iraq, Syria, and Iran. On the margin are Yemen, Saudi Arabia and ---more and more---Turkey. Many others could be added to this latter group, of course.

W| 2.14.11 @ 4:06PM

John, really you need someone to do a better job translating from arabic to English. Doesnt al-jazeera translate if for you?
The muslims have been at war since 1792 when they started highjacking American ships in the Meditarranean, and enslaving and ransoming Americans. Back then we called it the Barbary Coast, it was algerians, tunisian, moroccans, all muslims. Why do you think they did that John? Was it because the knew there would be a Gunatanamo 200 years later, or a State of Istrael 150 years later?
The muslim world has not been colonized by anyone except fellow muslims, remember the Ottoman Empire?

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 6:44PM

If you are going to conjure up strawman arguments, I think the little issue of the Crusades may be the proverbial first shot. Our hands are not clean on this issue of religious zealotry. Funnily enough, over the centuries the Arabs have treated the Jew far more civilly than any pale-faced enlightened euro ever has, and similarly, the Eagle of Saladin on the Egyptian flag is a fitting reminder that civility - even in war - was better demonstrated by a hated Muslim than our own tribes centuries ago.

The muslim world has been co-opted by western money time and again through history. You cite the Ottomans, but I also cite TE Lawrence - knowing any occupier is probably not wanted.

British and French folly in the Levant, German and Italian follies in NAfrica and finally Soviet bribery being seconded only by our bribery in the region during the cold war.

Whatever their failings, the Arabs, regardless of religion, are tough, educated people. How would you like to be a country of 80 million people with everyone and their mother opining on what they should do next?

I think you would grab your rifle and a jug o' wine and sit on your porch waiting for the posse to arrive.

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 7:41PM

Poor canuck,

I know your trying to sound learned and kudos for the attempt, but once again, it's a fail.

You are trying to compare apples and oranges in comparing one people from another place and time to those in the here and now.

So, good on ya for reading your history books, but a big miss on current events.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:30PM

Actually, no the Arabs haven't treated the Jews better. Both treated the Jew abysmally, but it is obvious that Jews do much better in Christian countries now. Suggest you read Bat Ye'or.
The Egyptians are not, on the whole, well educated.

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 10:44PM

Ah, the myth of the highly educated Egyptian population, of course that's nothing more than a sop to liberal elites.

It's a little tough to conern oneself with academic enrichment when the preponderence of one's income is required just to feed oneself, thus is the plight of the Egyptian people today, and in this they are not alone.

I bought some agri stocks a couple of months ago and have watched them move steadily upward ever since. I am conflicted as I watch them on their upward trajectory, now trading at a 52 week high, I can only feel an unease.

W| 2.15.11 @ 9:37AM

1. The Arabs/Muslims treated Jews so well that must be the reason that Jews are moving to the arab countries. The Jews were treated like Christians, they had to pay as tax to live as second class citizens. Dhimi?
2. The Crusades were not an isolated event, they were a response to the Muslim/Arab attacks on the pilgrims to Jerusalem.
3. TE Lawrence led some Arab tribes against their colonizers, the muslim Turks, not Europeans.
4. Keep reading Al Jazeera, you then will not be confused by the facts.

Steve A| 2.14.11 @ 11:17AM

If we could only utilize NASA to convince the Muslim world that we recognize their contribution to science (magic carpet, scimitar, suicide vest) is appreciated by the West, perhaps we could negotiate a peace.

Jeff Perren| 2.14.11 @ 12:05PM

Good article but I think this:

"when an intelligence boss embraces his boss's political goals in disregard of the facts, as Clapper did, he is betraying the people who work for him."

has it backwards. He is betraying the people he works for: us.

Perusha| 2.14.11 @ 12:30PM

Islamism is the problem, and everything else is details.

What is the sine qua of Islamism?

Shakespeare is the bayonet into the soft underbelly of the insane fools who have been programmed since birth into the nihilistic “religion” began by Mohammed---

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”

The true believers in control of Islamo-fascism rest their whole case on their variation of the Bard from England thus---

“You love life, we love death!”

Well, can you say, “Hoist on your own petard”?

What the fed up Egyptians did, in essence, was to use THAT belief against their enslavers, by NOT fearing death as they joined together to revolt.

Therefore, just you wait, Henry Higgins, until the Iranian Green Movement, en mass, begins to ACT in a manner that bodily is also UNAFRAID of death or torture.

When in a deadly war, a thinking man who goes to battle, especially the ones at the point of the fighting spear---in the infantry, say---eventually realizes that he is ALREADY dead, and thus can act bravely and fearlessly.

Expect the worst, and hope and fight for the best.

Anyway, as Scarlet O’Hara, of Gone With the Wind, said, “After all, there’s always another day!” (Or effectively those words), at the end of that film--- death is not the true end of life. THIS life, yes---but, on a clear day, you can see FOREVER!

There are errors of commission AND omission.

The amoral people on the Left can willy-nilly make as many of these as they want, and even contradict themselves---they are FREE!

Conservatives and others on the Right, especially those in power, either by electoral vote as a politician or as media “stars”, save a few “fringe” types like the heroine of our besotted age, Ann Coulter, blatantly commit the OMISSION error.

We need myriad Victor Davis Hanson’s!

Each elected American should have a clone of VDH to advise them on what to say about the latest. Oh, what poor debaters right-wingers have become!

Also, the historical reminder VDH provides, in detail, today, of 2004-2007, is simply the latest cry that epitomizes the way those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

Forgetful DOOM is our just reward, so look out for more American pain.

Right thinking leaders must stop committing errors of omission, and before even taking anything an Oprah type says seriously, they MUST reveal the latter's hypocrisy!

The way to successfully argue with a liberal is to use the reductio ad absurdum strategy.

Using their own assumptions and logical analyses, it is easy to turn their words against them, and, hey---a majority of grown ups should thus be able to grasp the impossibility of liberal’s ploys.

Actually, given that Obama fooled enough people to become the president proves that the USA is in deep spit, and that the majority of Americans ARE inherently “insane”, given Einstein’s definition of that word.

Take care of yourself!

Dave Williams| 2.14.11 @ 12:49PM

"Islam has always rejected the use of force." A-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!! Thank you, John, for my laugh of the day, week, month, and year. Why don't you read some HISTORY, you purblind, mindless ideologue, and you might get some idea of how Islam spread in one century or so from a mere local aberration to control of millions of square miles?? I daresay there's ALWAYS some force involved when something like that happens.
But no, you're hopeless. Idiot.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 1:12PM

Dave,
thank you for noticing. (grim smile)

but give the Muslims a break! They are limited to a whip no bigger than a thumb-width...and stones no bigger than a tennis ball for stoning.

Tim the Enchanter| 2.14.11 @ 2:33PM

Why, of course. Have you ever tried to accurately throw a rock bigger than a tennis ball?

syd chaden| 2.14.11 @ 1:34PM

In countries which are ruled by autocracies, the intelligence agencies see, hear and report what their leaders’ party line dictates. We are not ruled by an autocracy, at least, not yet, but that appears to be what has happened to our intelligence service. Our intelligence works for “the good of the country”, but our leader defines “the good of the country” and that definition reflects the leader’s political views. Viewing world events through that lens is what politicizes our intelligence, and leads to pronouncements like Clapper’s.

John| 2.14.11 @ 3:36PM

yes islamic world did spread rapidly after the death of the prophet. How a few tens of thousands of Arab beduin from the deserts of Arabia were able to deafeat the standing professional armies of Persia Rome eygpt is still a mystery. The Arabs now for the first time in history had an empire. I would ask anybody to compare the Arab Islamic expansion with any empire before and afterwards- it was pretty benign and mostly wellcomed. But that is all water under the bridge. The empires including colonisation of Muslim lands in the last few centuries were brutal and unwelcome . Islam is an incredibly beautiful faith. To me the serenity of Islam has no comparison. All worship and self is directed at the creator as taught by all prophets of god Jesus Mohammed Moses etc. I hope god brings a serenity and comfort into your lives as he has into mine.PEACE

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 7:14PM

John,

I just threw up a little in my throat!

Seriously, you poor, sad, misguided, dolt, how dare you preach that garbage, muslim, pablum to free people!?! As much as you tried to assure all that you are one islamic proficient genius, it is painfully obvious that you know nothing of what you write.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.14.11 @ 4:47PM

John,
I hope the Creator comforts and gives your seeeeesters peace, and your mothers peace.
You Muslim males never will.

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 6:50PM

The GOP wants to classify a drugged rapee as less violated than a punched-out rapee.

We are truly enlightened people, eh Kenny boy?

Where's the outrage?

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 7:32PM

I got your outrage canuck.

Please spare us the righteous indignation of the liberal, what a load of crap! Thanks to your tender sensibilites the streets are crawling with repeat offenders as a result of the liberal 'catch & release' program. No vile predator escapes the liberal's sympathy, the victims (current and future) be damned. You'll forgive us our complete and total disbelief in your protestations.

I am so sick of the liberals feigning concern, when the facts are out, that you're the least likely to do anything about it.

So, at there very least, since as a liberal you're highly unlikely to do anything for anyone, you could keep the pretense of compassion to yourself.

No one's buying it.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:32PM

Canuckistani---on the other hand, if the above is your view of Israel, there's not much difference between you and the author of Mein Kampf regarding the Jews.

But it seems to me you've been co-opted.

Dixie Pixie| 2.14.11 @ 5:07PM

The Egyptian Constitution has been annulled.
Parliament has been disbanded.
Egypt is now ruled by a hidden Military Junta.
And this is a passage to a Glorious Democratic Future?
What is the Obama Administration and the MSM smoking these days?

There is a wide body of experience on what a Democratic Revolution looks like.
After all the "Color" Revolutions in Eastern Europe after the fall of the USSR there are distinct characteristics to a democratic revolution.
All those characteristics are missing from the Egyptian Revolution.

The worst aspect is the Obama claim that his administration is the most intelligent and moral ever.
Yet when the crisis occurred Obama and the MSM acted like a drug addled duck.

Dan| 2.14.11 @ 5:10PM

Anyone interested in how the CIA has faired from it's inception should read "A Legacy Of Ashes". Wrong, wrong and wrong again.

Intelligent Design| 2.14.11 @ 6:38PM

The long bloody, disgusting record of Islam:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

canuckistani| 2.14.11 @ 7:04PM

Before you declare your uber-indictment of all Muslims, let's be clear on the most effective killers in human history:
1) Stalin - white guy, atheist
2)Hitler - white guy, atheist ex RC
3) Ivan the terrible - white guy
4) Robespierre - white guy
5) Louis XVI - white guy
6) George III - white guy
7) Mao - chinese atheist
8) Pol Pot - asian, non muslim
9) Papa Doc Duvalier - black RC
10) Castro - hispanic ex RC
11) Pinochet - hispanic RC
12) Idi Amin - black muslim.
13) The Dutch
shall we continue?

missbosslady| 2.14.11 @ 7:36PM

Nice attempt at diversion canuck. You successfully avoided the topic at hand.

Don't worry, we all know why you zigged.

Intelligent Design| 2.14.11 @ 7:43PM

First, Muslims are not a race. There are Muslims of various races in nearly every country. What they have in common is Islam, which combines so-called "religion" with the state, to form a theocratic dictatorship. Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia prohibit the practice of "religions" other than Islam. There is no religious freedom and no "Bill of Rights". The Constitution of Saudi Arabia is the Koran, the law is sharia, so called "holy" law, with its 7th century barbarism. Secular law is not recognized by Islam. The lack of freedom in Islamic states closely resembles life under Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Castro, and the others you list. Just as much as Nazism or Communism, Islam is subversive to the U.S. Constitution.