D+ on the details. He does not understand the situation.
The establishment has gone into a defensive crouch.
John Brennan is a skilled bureaucratic survivor and politican of no great intellect. I knew him when he was a second lieutenant equivalent in CIA and he was not impressive except as an a-- k----r.
I insist that this is a structural problem beyond the reach or indeed the comprehension of the senior bureaucrats (in and out of uniform).
We need people who can see and feel beyond themselves.
Today I heard someone say for the first time that we need to make the Yemeni government's writ run throughout the country. That is the crack of doom. pl
Where mediocrity is the norm, it soon becomes the ideal.
Posted by: Annie | 08 January 2010 at 02:27 PM
Sir, somewhat off topic:
Tyler,
On a previous thread, you mentioned standing nightwatch on the wire while agents Adam and Eve were rediscovering the knowledge of good and bad.
In your view did they earn their daily bread by producing anything useful?
Posted by: Thomas | 08 January 2010 at 02:31 PM
walrus
Norman S had the nasty habit of throwing people out of the Army for being overweight. at that time, he was hugely overweight.
MY infrequently diagnosed case of NPD was probed today by a man who wrote to tell me that I was a "fatprick alpha male wannabe."
Creative. pl
Posted by: Patrick Lang | 08 January 2010 at 03:13 PM
"Norman S had the nasty habit of throwing people out of the Army for being overweight..." The Navy was doing the same thing at the time. Damned waste of talent, but if the objective was to prevent thousands from being eligible for retirement then it was quite effective.
Posted by: Fred Strack | 08 January 2010 at 04:42 PM
WRC says: There are many skaters in Washington now and in recent times. What do I mean skater? They skate ahead of the breaking ice. Organizations and institutions and policies and issues are weaker not stronger for their having leadership positions.
He keenly observes one of the major reasons our government is completely dysfunctional. Fortunately, my observations suggest there are many superbly competent, problem solving-oriented, team building professionals in government service who can positively affect the course of our government and Nation.
Unfortunately, these people labor under more than a few layers of narcissists. And a growing number of them realize they will never be able to "make it better" by working in the government as it is constructed today.
SP
Posted by: ServingPatriot | 09 January 2010 at 09:06 AM
Connecting the dots in a number of posts on this website, is the lack of accountability. Bush inaugurated an era of zero responsibility, and Obama has taken that to new levels (there is no longer even accountability to the rules of accounting and the market).
Absent accountability, there is absolutely no incentive not to repeat mistakes ad infinitum, and likely many incentives to, in fact, repeat them and leave others to pay the price. However, I guess looking forward means the past no longer exists. (There is a quote about those who do not know history)
Posted by: ISL | 09 January 2010 at 04:38 PM
> Nobody's Christmas vacation was disrupted,
One notes that the pictures of NCTC HQ on Google Earth show a mostly empty parking lot on Sundays.
Posted by: Allen Thomson | 10 January 2010 at 11:11 AM
Thomas,
Sorry about the delay, I just read this thread.
And the answer to that is a NO. NO a thousand times over. Just a lot of last minute call ups to go provide "security" because the CIA was going to snatch someone or because a "battalion plus" of Al-Qaeda and Taliban was moving into a village according to this dude who the CIA swears was legit.
Posted by: Tyler | 12 January 2010 at 09:01 AM
Tyler,
I figured you have been busy.
Thank you for the response.
Posted by: Thomas | 12 January 2010 at 03:55 PM