------ Forwarded Message > From: "dasg...@aol.com" <dasg...@aol.com> > Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:21:35 EST > To: Robert Millegan <ramille...@aol.com> > Cc: <ema...@aol.com>, <jim6...@cwnet.com>, <christian.r...@gmail.com> > Subject: Obama Joins Bush in Coverup of CIA Misdeeds >
> The cover-ups continue > Obama's pick to investigate Northwest bomb attempt assures failure won't be > punished > By Melvin A. Goodman > > January 13, 2010 > > http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.cia0113,0,7137682.story > > > The Obama > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics/government/barack-obama-PEPLT00740 > 8.topic> administration announced Friday the appointment of John E. > McLaughlin, former deputy CIA > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics/espionage-intelligence/central-int > elligence-agency-ORGOV000009.topic> director, to head the internal > investigation of the intelligence failures that led to the Christmas Day > attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight headed for Detroit. > > With this appointment, President Obama has assured that the culture of > intelligence cover-up will continue. Mr. McLaughlin has participated in the > cover-up of many of the CIA's most egregious failures and misdeeds during the > last decade. When he left the CIA, he served as the agency's chief apologist. > > Most of official Washington views Mr. McLaughlin as the mild-mannered, > professorial CIA bureaucrat whom former CIA director George Tenet called the > "smartest man he had ever met." Few people understand, however, that Mr. > McLaughlin played the central role in providing the Bush administration with > false intelligence to justify the use of force against Iraq > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/intl/iraq-PLGEO0000012.topic> in 2003. > Washington insiders remember that it was CIA director Tenet who told President > George W. Bush > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics/government/presidents-of-the-unite > d-states/george-bush-PEPLT000857.topic> , "Don't worry, it's a slam dunk," in > response to the demand for stronger intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass > destruction. Few people remember that it was Mr. McLaughlin who actually > delivered the "slam-dunk" briefing to the president in January 2003. > > Mr. McLaughlin was behind much of the politicized intelligence before the war. > He perverted the intelligence process, ignored high-level briefings on the > weakness of the WMD evidence and tried to silence David Kay, the chief of the > Iraq Survey Group, when the weapons inspectors found no sign of WMD in Iraq. > > Mr. McLaughlin was also behind the CIA's preparation of Secretary of State > Colin Powell > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics/government/colin-powell-PEPLT00075 > 31.topic> 's speech to the U.N. in February 2003 that used phony intelligence > to convince an international audience of the need for war. According to Larry > Wilkerson, Mr. Powell's chief of staff, Mr. Tenet and Mr. McLaughlin lied to > the secretary of state about the sourcing of serious allegations dealing with > Saddam Hussein > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/arts-culture/saddam-hussein-PEHST000983.top > ic> and WMD. The most serious allegation came from an Iraqi con man known as > "Curveball," who maintained that Iraq had mobile biological laboratories, a > key charge in the justification for war. German intelligence officials who > debriefed Curveball warned the CIA that he was unstable and there was no > validation for his claims. Tyler Drumheller, the chief of the CIA's European > Division, knew that Curveball was a liar, and he urged Mr. McLaughlin to drop > all references to the mobile labs from Mr. Powell's speech. Mr. McLaughlin > ignored him too. > > Five weeks after the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Powell and Mr. McLaughlin shared a > table at the White House > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics/government/executive-branch/white- > house-PLCUL000110.topic> Correspondents' Dinner, where Mr. McLaughlin, an > amateur magician, performed a few magic tricks with coins and bills. Everyone > at the table laughed except for Mr. Powell. According to Bob Drogin of the Los > Angeles Times > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/arts-culture/mass-media/newspapers/los-ange > les-times-ORCRP00305312828.topic> , who wrote an authoritative book on > Curveball, Mr. Powell requested another trick: "Let's see you find the WMD in > Iraq." Mr. McLaughlin looked surprised, and his broad grin faded. "We will," > he replied. "They're there, and we'll find them." > > In addition to being one of the ideological drivers for the CIA's policies of > torture and abuse, secret prisons and extraordinary renditions, Mr. McLaughlin > demonstrated early in his career that he was willing to do what was necessary > to advance his career. In the 1980s, when CIA director William Casey and his > deputy Robert Gates > <http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/defense/armed-forces/r > obert-gates-PEPLT007333.topic> were "cooking the books" on intelligence > dealing with the Soviet Union, Mr. McLaughlin offered no dissent. When the CIA > did an internal investigation of one of the worst examples of politicization > of intelligence, the case for Soviet complicity in the attempt on the life of > Pope John Paul II in 1981, Mr. McLaughlin made sure there were no references > to politicization in the final report and made every effort to hide Mr. Gates' > role in preparing the intelligence assessment. (When Mr. Gates' nomination as > CIA director was in trouble during the confirmation process in 1991, it was > Mr. McLaughlin who stepped forward to defend his former boss from charges of > politicization.) > > President Obama has made many mistakes in his handling of the CIA that could > be attributed to his inexperience and his reliance on intelligence officials > who are themselves part of the culture of cover-up. He has named weak figures > to be director of national intelligence and CIA director and has named no one > to replace the CIA's inspector general, who announced his retirement nearly 11 > months ago. His administration has threatened the British government with the > cut-off of sensitive intelligence if a British court revealed details of CIA > renditions in Europe and has resorted to a state security defense to prevent > revelations of renditions policies in U.S. courts as well. > > Mr. Obama has also been unwilling to release photographs that document torture > and abuse by intelligence officers, and he has permitted the day-to-day > operations of the CIA to remain in the hands of those operational officers, > Steve Kappes and Mike Sulick, responsible for the program of renditions, > detentions and interrogations. > > The president's early mistakes demonstrated that he simply didn't get it; the > appointment of Mr. McLaughlin indicates that the president doesn't want to get > it. > > Melvin A. Goodman of Bethesda was a CIA analyst from 1966-1990. His e-mail is > goody...@comcast.net. > ------ End of Forwarded Message
