tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post110042093105198431..comments2024-03-23T07:49:50.940-05:00Comments on The Middle Ground: House Cleaning at the CIA: About Damn TimeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post-1100669397679022722004-11-16T23:29:00.000-06:002004-11-16T23:29:00.000-06:00On reflection, I think William F. Buckley did 1,00...On reflection, I think William F. Buckley did 1,000 times more damage to American Communism than J.E. Hoover ever did.Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Fileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847781147692094361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post-1100632815866074932004-11-16T13:20:00.000-06:002004-11-16T13:20:00.000-06:00I beg to differ on how effective J. Edgar Hoover w...I beg to differ on how effective J. Edgar Hoover was at keeping Communists out of America. If he put so much as 1/10th the effort he used on political rivals, toward Soviet assets and the groups they formed in the U.S. instead, the '60s and '70s would have been a very different time, and we may have even won the Vietnam war.<br /><br />All that time McCarthy had the goods on the enemy and was being vilified by the Soviet moles to protect the KGB's operations, and what did Hoover do? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... for the most part. COINTELPRO was sloppy because by then everybody knew it was too little, too late. The '50s was the time to nip the problem in the bud, and it remained notoriously un-nipped. COINTELPRO 'cure' was ineffective since no prevention had been done.Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Fileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847781147692094361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post-1100543826662579162004-11-15T12:37:00.000-06:002004-11-15T12:37:00.000-06:00tone...it is a bizarre paradox, isn't it? But sma...tone...it is a bizarre paradox, isn't it? But smart people will sit back and watch the precedings and all of the whiners as they go by. <br /><br />Ciggy, I agree, the FBI has been doing it's own thing separate from the Justice department for too long. JE Hoover might have been good at keeping the communists out but, in the end, he might have done the service and injustice by giving them their own sense of power.<br /><br />I find it very interesting how the CIA, FBI, IRS and the Judicial system have seemingly become powers unto themselves. They all need to be reeled in a bit. The judicial system can only be reeled in one way, at it isn't necessarily appointing more conservative judges to the post. As a matter of fact, i don't mind liberal judges. What I do mind is when they try to make constitutional law from the bench. Congress actually has the power to put a kaibosh on these efforts and they have either been just as liberal as the courts or unwilling to do so for fear of rocking the boat they've made.<br /><br />The judicial system or the supreme court may make certain rulings, but in the end, an act of congress can over turn it. I think that congress should do this once every decade or so to remind the court of it's place. Sometime soon would be good by me.Kathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05208095650375780838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post-1100543261995979602004-11-15T12:27:00.000-06:002004-11-15T12:27:00.000-06:00Yes, this house cleaning is way overdue.
You hi...Yes, this house cleaning is way overdue. <br /><br />You hit the nail on the head in your paragraph about "humint."<br /><br />However, I think you have to go back to the Church Commission to find the roots of the problem. The CIA went a bit too far with some of their activities in the late 50's early '60s. Frank Church wanted to reign them in, but went way overboard. The result of the new restrictions was that the CIA started to rely on technology more and more.<br /><br />Also, from what I recall, there was a Clinton Admin era rule that the CIA could not recruit foreigners with "shady backgrounds." This resulted in a purge of valuable sources. <br /><br />So my understanding (and maybe I'm wrong) is these are the reasons they moved from humint to technology as their means of gathering information.Tom the Redhunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01989584196825992054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post-1100541076849155532004-11-15T11:51:00.000-06:002004-11-15T11:51:00.000-06:00I think it would be unfortunate for the FBI to be ...I think it would be unfortunate for the FBI to be spared the same necessary house-cleaning the CIA is currently getting. Without it, it's about like wiping mud off of only one shoe and expecting not to dirty your carpet.Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Fileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847781147692094361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7152221.post-1100448860015920612004-11-14T10:14:00.000-06:002004-11-14T10:14:00.000-06:00Amen, sister. I posted on this as well, though mu...Amen, sister. I posted on this as well, though much less elowuently or in detail.<br /><br />The MSM is clueless yet again - attempting to garner sympathy for the buros at the CIA in order to paint Bush as a meddling incompetent. After two years of media complaints about CIA problems, now that Bush has sent Goss to shake up the organization and get the place back into shape - they complain!!!<br /><br />Never happy, those J-school babies, are they?Jason Rubensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028465657976012846noreply@blogger.com