by: Susan Lindauer
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
In the U.S. battle with Libya, Americans are witnessing the consequence of gutting U.S. Intelligence during the Iraqi War, when President Bush drove out CIA officers and Assets who criticized his War policy. In my case, I got slapped with the Patriot Act and thrown in prison on a Texas Military Base, while Republican leaders reinvented the entire story of my work on 9/11 and Iraqi Pre-War Intelligence. It was not pretty.
The consequences for intelligence gathering and policymaking are not pretty, either. Last week President Obama demonstrated the most stunning ignorance by declaring that Libya—of all countries— has some link to terrorism. Obama was trying to justify NATO's War against Gadhaffi's government. However his argument exposed whopping gaps in the intelligence base that his Administration has been drawing from.
This time it's not Obama's fault. When Assets got forced out by Bush and Cheney, a lot of deep knowledge got shoved out the door with us.
The good news is that those intelligence gaps can be filled quickly, and we can throw the brakes on this Libyan War at once—just like our French allies are doing at this very moment. Really it's a no-brainer.
Gadhaffi Has No Ties to Terrorism
Forget last week's histrionics. Gadhaffi burst forth in hyperbole rallying hundreds of thousands of Libyan supporters in Green Square, threatening to take his fight with NATO into Europe. But there's no saber behind that rattling. After three months of NATO bombings that have struck Libyan homes, Tripoli's famed Nassar University, the National Museum, businesses, hotels and restaurants, it was Gadhaffi's way of demanding how Europe would like it if the tables were reversed.
Gadhaffi's got no ties to terrorism. Way back in 1995, Gadhaffi became the first leader in the world to report Osama bin Laden to Interpol. Egypt posted the first arrest warrant for Bin Laden in 1996. But Libya was the very first to warn about Bin Laden's agenda. I know for a fact that Osama and Gadhaffi hated each other because Gadhaffi supports...
Watch RT`s exclusive interview with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in Tripoli (July 1, 2011) - With the war in Libya at the focal point of international relations, RT's gained access to Colonel Gaddafi's son in NATO-targeted Tripoli. Saif al-Islam thinks his country's wanted for its riches, but says the people won't let Libya fall under foreign control.
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