On Friday, Scott Johnson posted an article at Power Line about the recent Congressional testimony of James R. Clapper. Mr. Clapper replaced Dennis Blair as the Director of National Intelligence.
The article reports on some of the process that put Mr. Clapper in his position:
"(Representative Pete) Hoekstra was the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and a serious man. Politico reported that Hoekstra had related the existence of "bipartisan opposition" to Clapper's nomination, and complained that Clapper failed to brief Congress on "an extraordinarily sensitive program."
"Politico's report also suggested that several more prominent candidates for the position declined it. They apparently prefer not to play second banana to the CIA in the bureaucratic turf wars that the position entails. The CIA was happy with Clapper. Politico pointed out that CIA Director Leon Panetta, who clashed with Blair, praised Claper's nomination, calling Clapper "a highly qualified intelligence professional" who "[t]he men and women of the CIA look forward to working closely with ... to strengthen America's national security.""
Well, the events of last week called into question the abilitiess of both Mr. Clapper and Mr. Panetta.
These two events were reported in the article at Power Line:
"Yesterday Panetta announced that Hosni Mubarak would likely be leaving office later in the day. By the end of the day, Mubarak was still there. Our Egyptian intelligence is obviously not all that it might be. What compelled Panetta to open his trap and prove it?
"And yesterday Clapper told a House Intelligence Committee hearing that the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood -- which seeks to render Egypt an Islamic state ruled by sharia law -- is "a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam.""
Wow. The boy scouts have taken over the Muslim Brotherhood. I don't think so.
The article reports:
"The current Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Muhammad Badi', gave a sermon in September 2010 stating that Muslims today "need to understand that the improvement and change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death, just as the enemies pursue life." In short, the Muslim Brotherhood remains committed to supporting militant activities in order to advance its political aims. From looking at the biographies of its most prominent graduates, one can immediately understand the organization's long-term commitment to jihadism."
I hope America finds its Winston Churchill soon. Our government does not seem to see the growing threat.
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