"ALLARD: An open letter to the Director of National Intelligence" Washtimes

"Jim, you were selected as DNI because of your reputation as the kind of leader people instinctively trust. More than anyone else, you also understand that the president is responsible for the nation’s intelligence system, his decisions and preferences inevitably determining the quality of intelligence he receives. If the chief executive deliberately averts his eyes from the real world, then the fault rests neither with you nor the intelligence community. Presidents are accountable for the advice they take as well as what they choose to ignore, including ISIS. But if he won’t listen, then why should you stay?

My friendly suggestion is that you and the nation’s other top generals step away from this president, letting history decide his fate. A generation ago, your predecessors failed to confront their president over his leadership of the Vietnam War, thus sharing full responsibility with LBJ for every subsequent tragedy in that long debacle. The vital lesson from their example: Far better to resign with honor rather than to let down the American people who pay your salary."  Allard

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I don't believe I know Allard. 

pl

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/2/allard-open-letter-director-national-intelligence/#ixzz3F81psvLO Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

 

Comments

[ex 11B]

A more recent example would be President Cheney ignoring the advice of some of his Generals about Iraq which leads directly to the current debacle.

So this omission spells out exactly what type of creature this gentleman is.

Partisan Hack.

I believe we have had quite enough of that, thank you very much.

[turcopolier]

ex 11B

Petraeus, Rodrigues and McChrystal all knew each other at WP. If you mean they conspired to get rid of McKiernan, you would be right. pl

[Robert44]

The same can be said for Obama. He is a Deep State stooge and has been since his election.

If he ever had 1% of the ideals he campaigned on in 2008, once he realized that he was not going to make his own decisions anyway, he should have resigned.

But once these people feel empowered in anyway they can't seem to let it go. Its an ego thing.

[crf]

I get his point, but he sort of spoils the effect by ranting about how Obama somehow subverted the electoral college. But maybe this kind of bad rhetorical habit washes right over the people who enjoy reading the Washington Times regularly.

[tv]

It looks like he meant"electorate" in the context of the sentence.
Obama didn't hoodwink the electorate any more than they wanted to be hoodwinked.

[robt willmann]

Ken Allard pops up three times on the C-Span television network. On July 11, 2012, he is a witness with some others before the U.S. House Subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security, chaired by the Trojan Horse, U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, during which they talk about "national security leaks". The introduction of Allard is at 19 minutes and 50 seconds, and he does a little statement at 32 min. 15 sec. I did not check to see if he spoke any other times--

http://www.c-span.org/video/?307010-1/national-security-leaks

He appears in two other programs, in 2003 and 1991--

http://www.c-span.org/person/?kenallard

[Haralambos]

Here is a bit more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/contributors/ken-allard.html

I will let those more expert than I, that is ALL, judge the man by his CV, publications, and public statements and appearances. In addition, I have no idea on the reliability of the daily beast.

[Haralambos]

All, here is aq link to one of Allard's pieces: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/21/robert-bales-and-the-cost-of-fighting-wars-with-other-people-s-kids.html . It reminds me of Col. and Prof. Bacevich's book _Breach of Trust,_ an indictment of those who send Americans out to war and believe a public display of "patriotism" like a lapel pin or a Super Bowl extravaganza and tribute are all they owe. Notice that Bacevich rarely mentions his own family sacrifice.

[Chris Bolan]

Allard is issuing a disastrous call for mass resignations that would wreck civil-military relations for decades to come and effectively mute the military's voice in policy debates. Both parties already doubt the political neutrality of senior military officers and this would validate their worst suspicions.

[lew]

I certainly do not associate the name 'James Clapper' with 'honor'.

The fact that Clapper is still employed is a monument to the impotence of Congress.

[exomike]

Milspec - MKI TV Col. / "Military Analyst". Self aggrandizing in this case.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Kenneth_Allard