Why Counter-Terrorism Is In Shambles

Early last week several questions were submitted to former CIA analyst Ray McGovern about the sad state of counter-terrorism in the United States, and he has answered frankly and in-depth. In addition, McGovern solicited former FBI attorney/special agent Coleen Rowley to review his answers and provide her own comments. Ray's biggest tip to the intelligence community was to "HOLD ACCOUNTABLE THOSE RESPONSIBLE. More 'reform' is the last thing we need. Sorry, but we DO have to look back. The most effective step would be to release the CIA Inspector General report on intelligence community performance prior to 9/11. That investigation was run by, and its report was prepared by an honest man, it turns out. It was immediately suppressed by then-Acting DCI John McLaughlin — another Tenet clone — and McLaughin's successors as director, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, and now Leon Panetta."

Comments

Re:So essentially...

[tjstork]

What exactly is your point? It's the "righties" who trot out the tired old "they hate us for their freedoms." Stating that's bin Laden's reasoning doesn't imply agreement with his beliefs.

Yeah, but it is true. I mean Osama Bin Laden, has said? Have you actually read what the terrorists have said? Maybe its because of our paranoid right wing ways, but, when Osama Bin Laden says something, when anyone says something about us, around the world, that's bad, we tend to read it. We right wingers will go out to the terrorist sites and read what they say about us. We have our own institutions that track this stuff, and the truth is, well, they actually really do hate us.

They hate the west because of our decadence, because of our uppity women, because of our wealth, our way of life. We're the romans, these guys are the barbarian radicals. They hate because our way of life is not only an assault on their traditions, it is an assault that appears more effective of a way of life than theirs is. To their mind, all of our advance therefor must be the work of satan, because our wealth is merely an evil temptation to abandon their traditional beliefs. We can't be reasoned with, except as a tactic. We are evil, the work of satan, with terrible morals, and we can only be destroyed, don't you get it?

Like, think, abortion clinic bomber logic, but, one that sees not only abortions as evil, but making french fries, and then you kinda have your head around where the islamic mind is at these days.

Re:So essentially...

[vertinox]

Because terrorists that hide behind civilians and refuse to obey the laws of war aren't entitled to the same treatment as soldiers who fight under a flag and officers?

Wrong. Nazi officers were tried and executed for war crimes of killing non-uniformed French and Soviet partisans and civilians for reprisal killings.

Of course it was more or less Germans just rounding up anyone who they thought my be a non-uniformed resistance fighter and shot them on the spot, but it was a still a sticking point.