Condi Rice is an incompetent hack and unfit to be Sect'y of State

petre · Nov 16, 2004

<DL><DD>Here’s the real problem with Rice's defense: that the PDB (August 6, 2001, President's Daily Briefing Memo) was not issued in a vacuum. Warnings of some 'spectacular' terrorist attack had been building since May of 2001. Those warnings reached a crescendo in late July. It was against that background that the PDB was issued. </DD></DL>

<DL><DD>Rice would have everyone believe that the PDB was an isolated document; that, taken alone, it indicated nothing. But reasonably intelligent people can see that the sum total of what was going on that summer pointed to the need for more vigorous action. Yet, the administration did nothing. </DD></DL>

<DL><DD>If Condi Rice and the rest of the administration are incapable of seeing such obvious patterns as those preceding 9/11, they are incapable of defending this country. If they did see those patterns yet chose to ignore them in favor of taking month-long vacations, they are guilty of criminal negligence. </DD></DL>

petre · Nov 16, 2004

under her watch as National Security Advisor:

The prophetic August 26, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing ("PDB") got shuffled to the bottom of Bush's "Things to Do" list. That's the historic briefing which, in press conferences and interviews after 9/11, she'd call "too vague" to foresee any imminent terrorist danger. Actually, that PDB had directly predicted the high probability that the al Qaeda would soon highjack airliners and attack the U.S.

Ms. Rice hasn't uncovered who, within her own White House, was reckless enough to have leaked a valued CIA undercover agent's name and personal data. (See Valerie Plame.)

We shouldn't expect her Iraq Stabilization Group to project an exit-strategy timeline anytime soon for BushCo's defense contractors.

charleslanger · Nov 16, 2004

Do you know what an enormously high IQ she has??? You and i don't belong in the same room with her-- make that the same building with her! You and I will never learn one tenth of what she's forgotten!

lander · Nov 16, 2004

Be that as it may be, had she done her job 3000 Americans may not have died in the 9/11 attacks.

I am firmly opposed to rewarding incompetence, but clearly 1 poster in this thread and 59,000,000 other lemmings are not.

docmercer--banned · Nov 16, 2004

Charleslanger:

what the hell does IQ have to do with anything? Hell, Ted Kaczynski was a 62 Graduate of Harvard!!!

Bottom line: Rice nevers bad mouths THE FUHRER and is Loyal to the cause!!

SENDITIN · Nov 16, 2004

Bottom line: Rice nevers bad mouths THE FUHRER and is Loyal to the cause

Doc,

Your retarded Bush/Hitler comments are getting tiresome. Keep it up and I'm sure you guys will do even better in four years.

cussin'it · Nov 16, 2004

Fukk, at this rate there won't be anything left in 4 years.

She's the most dangerous woman on the planet. A warhawk with her name on an oil tanker.
Clearly with her at the helm, oil becomes even more of a crusade.
Sure she may be very learned, but consider that her doctorial dissertation was on the geopolitics of the old Soviet Union. She is NOT an expert in Middle Eastern politics.

"Just because the fukkers got a library card, doesn't make em Yoda"

docmercer--banned · Nov 16, 2004

Sendinit:

Wake up ... Bush sold his re-election on Fear ... now he is having Goss "flush out" the CIA for those not loyal to Bush ... WTF???

This is what I love about this administration ... ya dont buy their crap you are considered a Traitor or Anti-American .. yet, the same folks slinging that line out were bashing Clinton daily for 8 straight years

If you are comfortable with a leader that has spent over 300 billion (and counting) to go off and start a private war in Iraq ... a leader that has shredded constitutional rights by running the most secretive administration in this countries history ... a leader who has surrounded himself with Neo-Cons that believe in "Democratizing" the rest of the world and using Pre-Emptive Nuke strikes (which Cheney does) if deemed necessary ... a leader who paints himself as a follower of the Bible yet holds Ramadan festivals in the White House that were picked up by American taxpayers 3 days after the election .. a leader who claims to follow the teachings of the bible and yet is going against Biblical teachings by forcing Israel to give up land

Hey, if you are comfortable, God bless ya cause I sure aint with Cheney calling the shots and Bush nodding his head ..

gns61 · Nov 16, 2004

Wow, that was quite a letter doc,
I think you have lived in liberal Austin too long.
I live in Texas too, but I live in a red county,
of which most of Texas is. You talk about Clinton bashing
for 8 years, yes, you are right plenty of ammo.
By the way, what was that stain on that blue dress?
You talk about Bush spending all that money on Iraq,
but congress is respondible for spending the money,
some of which, vote for it, then vote against, and then
vote for it again. Nice thing about being in congress, you
get more than one chance.
Then you get into the Bible. I wnat you to explain something to me.
How can a man claim to be an alter boy, and attend every black
church between Harlem and Watts, and then try to conviince the people
that he has religous values. Explain his stance on aborion, He is pro choice,
but he believes life begins at conception, so is it ok to abort the baby at
two months, and also ok to kill the baby at two years. If it is a life at conception, it would be a life as a two month old fetus, and as a two year
old child. Havent seen that explained.
I also would like to see him explain same sex marriage.
so when you question THE PRESIDENTS religous values, look at your
man
Remember doc your views are of the minority, thank god

sportsbet · Nov 16, 2004

Thank GOD someone with the intelligence and forthright of Condoleeza Rice is in the position she is in to help this administration make the United States of America and the world a safer place. She is a no nonsense straight forward woman with a lot of good sense not to listen to the minority party's whining.

doc's gotten into the medicine cabinet again. :nono5:

sb

petre · Nov 16, 2004

we say NO to

cussin'it · Nov 16, 2004

sportsbet said:
Thank GOD someone with the intelligence and forthright of Condoleeza Rice is in the position she is in to help this administration make the United States of America and the world a safer place. She is a no nonsense straight forward woman with a lot of good sense not to listen to the minority party's whining.

doc's gotten into the medicine cabinet again. :nono5:

sb

you gotta be fukkin kidding with this slop? what a goddam joke

eek. · Nov 16, 2004

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Washington's bureaucratic battles

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Paul Reynolds
World affairs correspondent, BBC News website
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

The resignation of Colin Powell and the selection of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state means that in President Bush's second term, the State Department should be firmly under White House influence.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

Condoleezza Rice is a particularly close ally of the president

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Condoleezza Rice is so closely allied to Mr Bush's interests that it is difficult to see how she would diverge, even if she comes under the influence of the State Department which tends to take a longer term view of world affairs.

Her promotion from her role as national security adviser is the latest swing of the pendulum in the delicate balance of power in Washington between the White House staff and the State Department.

Tension between the State Department and the National Security Council is part of the American way in foreign policy. Sometimes, in the White House view, the location of the State Department in the "Foggy Bottom" area of Washington also refers to the view of the world as seen by its rivals.

Divergence

"The State Department and the White House tend to go in different ways," says John Dumbrell, professor of politics at Leicester University. "The problem is that the State Department is a separate bureaucracy, with closer contacts with Congress, and the White House staff serve the political needs of the president.

"The State Department has lost power over the past 30 years as influence has moved to the White House."

History

The source of this tension was a decision taken by President Truman in 1947 to set up the National Security Council. Truman brought several key members of his cabinet together under his chairmanship to discuss and decide foreign policy. His predecessor, President Roosevelt, took decisions by himself. A small staff served the council's interests.

In 1953, President Eisenhower made the head of that staff into a national security adviser. At first, this was a bureaucratic-type appointment, but in due course the post developed into a second senior voice in foreign affairs.

Role

The national security adviser takes into account the range of opinion across government and presents his or her summary and recommendation to the president.

The State Department is an important voice, but only one voice. The Defense Department will have a view - so will the CIA and other departments. Differences are supposed to be hammered out in the National Security Council.

It doesn't always happen.

"In Washington," said Philip Davies, professor of American studies at de Montfort University, "personal relations often replace party loyalties and determine who has the final say. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>

</TD><TD class=sibtbg>

The State Department and the White House tend to go in different ways

Professor John Dumbrell

Notable secretaries of state

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"But there has been a long-term suspicion of the State Department since Senator Joseph McCarthy came up with his lists of mythical traitors there in the 1950s. Hardliners feel that secretaries of state tend to 'go native' more than the national security advisers."

Infamous examples

The most notorious falling out between national security adviser and secretary of state came under President Nixon, when the powerful figure of Henry Kissinger was the adviser. It was really Kissinger who transformed the role into the powerful influence it is today.

He and President Nixon simply took the key decisions between themselves - over Nixon's visit to China in 1972 and the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, for example - and the poor old secretary of state, a lawyer named William Rodgers, was ignored.

Kissinger then solved the problem of clashes between the White House and the State Department by taking both jobs himself when Rodgers resigned.

It has become a sport in Washington to detect differences of view between the holders of the two posts.

There were clashes in the Carter administration between the mild and moderate Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and the more passionate National Security Adviser Zbigniew Bzrezinski.

Vance eventually resigned in 1980 over the failed raid to try to free the hostages at the American embassy in Tehran.

Winners and losers

It is not always the national security adviser who wins. Under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, National Security Advisers Robert McFarlane and John Poindexter were implicated in the plot to sell weapons to Iran and use the money to support the Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua.

Secretary of State George Schultz was not directly involved, capitalised on their failings and went on to play a distinguished role in helping to bring the Cold War to a peaceful end. The system is unlikely to be significantly changed. Presidents seem to like having more than one source of foreign policy advice. It gives them more power themselves to pick and choose. And they have the final say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4016367.stm

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

eek. · Nov 16, 2004

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Top CIA staff quit US spy agency

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>

New CIA director Porter Goss is proving controversial

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Two top CIA officials have resigned amid reported disagreements with the new management of the US spying agency.

Deputy Director for operations Stephen Kappes and his assistant Michael Sulick were part of the CIA unit dealing with covert operations around the world.

The new CIA head Porter Goss said their departure would not affect the global fight against terrorism.

Mr Goss was appointed by President Bush in September to reform the agency after a series of intelligence failures.

The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was especially severely criticised for failures relating to the 11 September attacks in the US and also inaccurate reports on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Agency in turmoil

Mr Kappes and Mr Sulick - both CIA veterans with multiple overseas assignments - informed their colleagues that they were leaving the agency at a morning briefing on Monday.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>

</TD><TD class=sibtbg>PAST CIA DIRECTORS
George Tenet, 1997-2004
John Deutch, 1995-1996
James Woolsey, 1993-1995
Robert Gates, 1991-1993
William Webster, 1987-1991
William Casey, 1981-1987
Stansfield Turner, 1977-1981
George Bush Sr, 1976-1977

Profile: Porter Goss

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Mr Goss later praised the two officers of the CIA's Directorate of Operations.

"The legacy that both officers leave behind them is one of dedication to the covert mission of this agency," Mr Goss said in a statement.

Serving CIA staff are banned from talking with the media, but former agency's officials have pointed out to intense internal friction with Mr Goss' arrival.

There is no doubt that Mr Goss is a man of strong views, the BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera says.

Before he was nominated to run the CIA, Mr Goss made clear that he thought the agency had failed in its "core mission", our correspondent says.

Some CIA officers have already left, others seem likely to leave in the coming days and weeks, but what kind of agency emerges from the fallout - and whether it will be stronger and more effective - is something no-one yet knows, our correspondent says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4015081.stm

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

eek. · Nov 16, 2004

This is really interesting, its a corporate clearout with only yes men/women being appointed in key areas.

With no restraining influence from any major department, Bush now has the accelerator pushed hard onto the deck.

This can result in the truck successfully crashing through everything as it hurtles down the highway, or it could go straight off a cliff into the abyss.

He's going for broke again, just like he's done with the deficit.

hehe. :>Grin>
This guy puts 100% of his bankroll on a hunch.

petre · Nov 17, 2004

docmercer--banned · Nov 17, 2004

Porter Goss ....

kills me .. what did we constantly hear from the Bushies? KERRY IS WEAK ON DEFENSE ... KERRY IS WEAK ON DEFENSE ...

Funny how this hand picked puppet for Bush wanted to slice human intelligence by 20% in the late 1990's and that is not considered WEAK ON DEFENSE???

Let the games begin with this adminstration that is made up of brain dead individuals that can repeat constantly: "Yes, Mr Bush, you indeed remind me of Churchill and FDR wrapped up in one! "

Boys ... dont be proud .. crowd into the lifeboats that are filling up quickly and let bblight and company stay behind ...

petre · Nov 17, 2004

petre · Nov 17, 2004

"Whenever this administration is in trouble they send out Condi Rice because the press, which is mostly white and male, gives her a far easier treatment than they would a white male. Meanwhile, our troops are dying and being grievously wounded in a war that could have been avoided, or at least unsought. Ms. Rice's (and other's) statements about the aluminum tubes are the same kind of lie as the Gulf of Tonkin lie from Lyndon Johnson's people. 55,000 GI's died for that lie."