Posted on 08/28/2009 7:44:30 AM PDT by La Lydia
In the game of political football that is today national security, spare a thought for CIA Director Leon Panetta. Quarterbacking is hard enough without getting sacked by your own team. President Barack Obama fought hard for the former California congressman during his uncertain February confirmation fight. That's about the last thing the president has done for his spy chief. Quite the opposite: If the latest flap over CIA interrogations shows anything, it's that Mr. Panetta has officially become the president's designated fall guy.
The title has been months in the making. Mr. Obama is contending with an angry left that's riled by his decisions to retain some Bush-era counterterrorism policies. He's facing Congressional liberals still baying for Bush blood. He's hired Attorney General Eric Holder, who is giving the term "ideological purity" new meaning. Mr. Obama's way to appease these bodies? Hang the CIA and Mr. Panetta out to dry.
That strategy first showed its face in April, when the president released Justice Department memos with details of the enhanced interrogation program...The president threw the left some red meat, refusing even Mr. Panetta's pleas to redact certain sensitive details...
Then came House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's full-frontal assault, claiming the agency had lied to her about waterboarding. This would have been an excellent time for some "vigorous" protection of the CIA, since agency documents flatly contradict the speaker...
This week the White House visited on the CIA director what ranking Senate Intelligence Committee member Kit Bond declared a "hat trick" of unpleasant moves. With his prior attempts to mollify his base on national security having failed and those troops even more bitter about the flagging fortunes of the "public option" in ObamaCarethe president wheeled out Mr. Panetta for one more round...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
“Panetta under the bus.”
Ya think? He was a designated target, all along.
“That strategy first showed its face in April, when the president released Justice Department memos with details of the enhanced interrogation program...The president threw the left some red meat, refusing even Mr. Panetta’s pleas to redact certain sensitive details...”
Jeopardize national security to score political points. Irresponsible bastards.
Who is going to be insane enough to become the new Director?
Even though the underside of that proverbia bus is crowded beyond capacity, eventually the jOker is going to throw someone there that’s got the goods on this whole putrid administration. And that someone is going to do a lot of irreparable damage on their way down.
Morton Halpern? Just a wild guess.
Panetta is the white guy in this mess, and, as such, a natural target. Also, he is a Liberal, not a marxist, so that counts against him too in Obamaland.
I wish Obama had this same passionate hatred of terrorists as he does for our military and CIA.
C’mon Panetta. Do what’s right for our country and expose Obama.
No wonder I cannot turn my tube on and not find some advertisement for depression pills.
Obama wanted someone weak to run the CIA. With Panetta he found his man.
[Who is going to be insane enough to become the new Director?]
Obviously an insane liberal.
Watch for a new "Intelligence Czar" to be named.
and America
My concern is how many operatives will get their covers blown and their lives lost??
I'm talking about real covert operators, not phony Valerie Plame types.
We are surrounded by traitors, lead by Obama, that don’t give a damn about national security as long as they score political points and gain power over us all.
Poor Leon, he isn’t far left enough for the vicious Marxists
I think you nailed it with that comment. I used to lump all Libs together. Obama’s crowd are so far left of Libs it is easier to see the distinction.
You can be a Lib, be Pro-American, and just have a very different political view from Repubs/Conservatives. But this current crowd occupying the WH are just plain dangerous to our country and constitution.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.