jeffreymark

THE ART OF SELLING ONE'S SOUL

When a person sticks their hand out as politicians inherently do, one must reciprocate. This often comes in the form of porkulous spending, or vote getting, and other various under the radar means. But lately, I swear, if I did not know any better, I might think the recent supposed private confession of CIA director Leon Panetta may stand as one of the most blatant sellouts I've seen in politics. At least it appears that way on the surface. Appearances, however, form perceptions and perceptions become reality in many minds. Here is the letter from Democrat congressmen that caused the latest brouhaha: (click on image)

News Max offers this assessment from Republican House Intelligence Committee member Peter Hoekstra:

The senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee calls Democratic accusations that the CIA lied to Congress "bizarre."
Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra criticized committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes of Texas, saying, "There's no leadership here."
Reyes and other committee Democrats sent Hoekstra a letter saying that CIA Director Leon Panetta had acknowledged that senior CIA officials have misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001. But a GOP spokesman has suggested that the letter was timed to deflect a controversy involving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's knowledge of CIA interrogation techniques.
Hoekstra told CBS' "The Early Show" on Thursday that it appears that Reyes is "working on the political equation."

Panetta defended CIA personnel earlier in the year when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brazenly accused the CIA of intentionally misleading members of Congress on matters of interrogation techniques.  Now one wonders if our intelligence capabilities have been seriously compromised over a political blessing from Dem. cronyism. If Panetta is indeed a man of principle he will defend his agency from corrupt political swaggering. Just another day at the Dem. office in light of apologies delivered on foreign soil, arms reduction talks, increasing intervention into the private sector, tax increases over bogus climate change evidence, and the reduction of volunteerism in light of threats to remove philanthropic tax deductions. Nevertheless, we seem possessed by more pressing matters such as funerals for low life emotional dwarfs like Michael Jackson. What a nation. Ain't we proud.  

PELOSI'S DEMISE

Several days ago I ran into a legion of blogger polls asking readers for their opinion on the status of Nancy Pelosi. Given the liberal media's fantasy state of mind and the unethical blind loyalty of Dems. I felt reasonably sure the Speaker would escape adversity. Now I'm not so sure. With CIA director Leon Panetta entering the fray Pelosi may stand on shaky ground at best. Mr. Conservative, Dr. Donald May, offers his two bits on the subject and concludes:

At best, Representative Nancy Pelosi is dim-witted and had no idea what had been told to her and her staff in CIA briefings.  At worst, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is dishonest in matters of national security and serves as an involuntary useful idiot in the service of our enemies.

May's conclusion is revelatory. It seems apropos to every Dem. kerfuffle that comes down the pike. Either those who refuse to take responsibility for the present state of the union are unethical or they simply lack the gray matter to run a country. Surely the American people possess enough wisdom to comprehend the matter. Do we really want someone running our country who responds to challenges with I don't know or evil conservatives deceived me? Truthfully, I see our current state of political affairs as a microcosm of our collective, contemporary American character. We simply cannot grow up. My adolescent children hauntingly resemble politicians, particularly liberals. They know nothing, blame everyone else for their problems, slobber over dimwitted Hollywood types, and cry to daddy when they get themselves in a predicament. Today's dangerous world needs grownups who know the Taliban are more than just bad guys invading Play Station 3's all across America.

 In addition, Gary Bauer reveals a new compelling interrogation technique with this insightful comment to Dr. May's post:

“USA Today poll favorability ratings: CIA gets 63% favorable, Nancy Pelosi gets 35% favorable. My observation: Being forced to watch a Pelosi press conference is torture.”

CIA ENCOURAGED IRANIAN DEFECTIONS

The LA Times reports that in 2005 the CIA encouraged Iran's best and brightest to defect:

The CIA launched a secret program in 2005 designed to degrade Iran's nuclear weapons program by persuading key officials to defect, an effort that has prompted a "handful" of significant departures, current and former U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the operation say.

The previously undisclosed program, which CIA officials dubbed "the Brain Drain," is part of a major intelligence push against Iran ordered by the White House two years ago.

The article continues to explain that the CIA particularly encouraged the defections for intelligence collection purposes, apparently an age old practice. In March of 07 Rick Moran blogged about a big fish defection from Iran who supposedly provided devastating intelligence. Moran states he does not know who encouraged the defection, but now we may have a pretty good idea.