Tuesday, November 25, 2008

CIA Later

John Brennan has withdrawn himself from consideration for CIA Chief.

Good. While I think some lefty reaction to his rumored appointment was overblown—not to mention premature—I am pleased Brennan is out of the running because there were valid questions about his background that even if addressed would be a cloud over him throughout his tenure.

Any reason Richard Clarke isn't getting any Obama love? Seem like he'd be a good guy for the job...

6 comments:

Rickey said...

Clarke? Not so much. Sure, he was mistreated, but no way in hell is he qualified for the position.

Mr Furious said...

Oh, I don't know about that. He might not be a CIA insider—but that's probably a good thing.

He held a Cabinet-level position under Clinton, oversaw intel operations and has been right about everything from bin Laden to Iraq. Hell, he probably foresaw the folly of the SUV market and credit default swaps.

Good profile on Clarke here.

Toast said...

I think Clarke would be great for the gig, but I think Obama will go out of his way to avoid picking anyone who was a vocal Bush critic for any important position.

Mr Furious said...

Fuck that. It's about time someone who was actually RIGHT gets rewarded for it...since being wrong has no penalty whatsoever.

Mike said...

I'd love to see Obama eliminate the CIA altogether.

I know that won't happen but it'd be change I could believe in.

Wouldn't mind seeing Homeland Security go too. Wanna cut down spending? Those two bloated corpses would be a nice place to start. Then move to defense.

DED said...

Good piece on Clarke. I added it to Wikipedia.

Clarke's credibility has been attacked so much that maybe Obama thinks he's too risky to appoint. Or maybe Clarke means it when he says 30 years is enough.