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For those who want to castrate US Intelligence
Jay Davies has a great op-ed in today's Washington Post Davis was a weapons inspector in Iraq following he first Gulf War, is a member of the DoD's Threat Reduction Advisory Committee, and has done lots of other stuff, which you can find at the end of the article.
Davis essentially discusses what would happen after the detonation of a nuclear device on US soil, and what the government should do about it. Now, I'm naturally wary of government. All who regularly read this blog know that. However, I do realize that the US needs to beef up its ability to track and deter terrorists from achieving a nuclear device- and tracking down perpetrators if/when one is detonated in the US.
Those who want to castrate the US Intelligence Community's ability to perform these functions need to read this article. Hopefully, it will open their eyes.
Here are Davis' recommendations:
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"First, we should update our 20th-century program to confront 21st-century enemies. Much of our field and laboratory equipment dates to the Cold War. So do most of our personnel. We need to develop and manufacture advanced, automated radiation analysis equipment that can be deployed to the field and is backed up by improved laboratory measurement. We need enhanced computer simulation and modeling capabilities. And we need to establish a federal initiative to reinvigorate the field of nuclear chemistry.
Second, international collaboration is essential. Nuclear material can have a unique signature depending on its source reactor or fuel facility. A shared and appropriately accessible international database of nuclear samples can help to more quickly match debris from an explosion with its original source.
Third, we must consider what it will take for the world to believe our analysis. The U.S. intelligence community's failures in assessing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq could well result in international skepticism regarding any nuclear forensics investigation we might perform. A group of recognized experts not associated with our federal investigation should be established to provide independent validation of the forensics analysis.
Finally, we need to manage expectations and prepare for the inevitable political pressure to respond quickly after an attack. Through realistic drills, our leaders can become aware of the strengths and limitations of the nation's nuclear forensics capability. Even with these changes, forensics analysis will take time, and results will not be immediately conclusive. Our leaders must recognize that, at times, decisions may need to be deferred or made amid uncertainty."
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-Matt Hittle
Posted at 03:10PM Mar 25, 2008 by College Republicans in War on Terror | Comments[3]
The only way anyone would get a nuclear bomb into America is if the C.I.A. sold it to them in the first place.
Our Military Intelligence is the biggest joke on the planet - the laughingstock of all the nations of the world.
All you have to do is look at the events of 9/11 (that is if you don't believe 9/11 was staged by the CIA) to see how effective our National Defense Intelligence is in protecting civilian from domestic threats.
But it wasn't always that way - it's just something that really happened since 2000 when George W. Bush stole into office.
But I digress.
Just recently our bungling Intelligence Departments announced that "WOOPSIE! We sorta accidentally shipped some top secret sensitive nuclear missle parts to Taiwan!! Sorry 'bout that!!!!"
And while France and Italy and Canada and just about everyone else already KNEW FOR A FACT there were no WMD's in Iraq - America's Intelligence simply manufactured fake evidence and documents to frame Iraq - just like they framed Afghanistan(*) and the fictional CIA front group "Al Queda" for 9/11 perhaps for lack of a better guess - perhaps for more sinister reasons.
And everyone who isn't in party platform denial knows the reason we are losing the "Invasion" of Iraq and the comical "War on Terror" is because our Military Intelligence is a JOKE!!! After years of evaluation and intelligence gathering - the best strategy they could come up with was "a SURGE" of more cannon fodder.
How absolutely inept and deplorably useless!!!!
Our Military Intelligence tells our soldiers to fire missles at innocent civilian apartment buildings instead of real enemy hard targets and sends our American troops into fiercely hostile areas without knowing in advance if they are hot zones or cold zones.
Our Military Intelligence can't even find Osama Bin Laden, that is if we really even want to.
Trust me Matt - when I tell you that the LAST thing you have to worry about is a massive Terrorist Strike upon American soil. It's all just FEAR MONGERING intended to make you beg your Government to remove your rights and liberties in order to replace them with their 'protected and security'.
Remember that whole asinine "THREAT ALERT LEVEL" crap (RED ALERT, YELLOW ALERT, etc.) that has strangely been discontinued and gone the way of the dinosaurs? It was a laughing-stock joke to begin with and I feel sorry for anyone who mistakenly believed in it as a valuable guide to when they should be afraid and when they could feel safe. Truly sad.
Matt - I LOVE this country with the passion of a patriot. But I don't love what it has become since 2000 and continues to become under an inept, ignorant, bungling President (not to mention total losers like Condi Rice and Donald Rumsfeld) and an Intelligence Industry that has been mostly privatized and must MANUFACTURE threats and rumors of threats and keep everyone afraid and paranoid in order to make a profit and be a successful BUSINESS with no interest in it's obligation to the People, the Citizenry of the United States.
In conclusion, U.S. INTELLIGENCE is APPALLING. If U.S. Intel says 'duck' - I will always 'jump'. If they tell us to 'turn right' - I will always 'turn left'. They are a joke.
(*) That's not to say the Taliban doesn't deserve to be wiped off the face of the Earth for crimes we can PROVE they have committed. I'm all for the War in Afghanistan. The Taliban - like any fundamentalist religious cult (Christian or Muslim or Hindu, etc.) should not be allowed to exist.
Posted by Douglas Bryenldson on March 25, 2008 at 06:04 PM CDT #
The terror threat level hasn't discontinued. The rest of your comment is pretty out there.
Posted by Matt Hittle on March 25, 2008 at 06:48 PM CDT #
Oh, and it was the DoD that accidentally shipped the four electrical fuses for ballistic missiles to Taiwan, not "Intelligence Departments."
Posted by Matt Hittle on March 25, 2008 at 07:12 PM CDT #