Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (62140)	12/17/2002 1:22:39 AM
From: Sig	Respond to of 281500

The CIA is performing the most important function in the war on terror. It has the connections, the know how, to deal with other countries authorities and covert operations in chasing down criminals, interpreting and locating threats and enemy activities worldwide.. We had a choice, sit in underground shelters along with Howard J Ruff- eating stale cookies and counting gold pieces while terrorists plan their next act of "taking out " the Superbowl or another Embassy, US ship, or a University campus-. or chase those fellows down. Cellars dont appeal to me, with spiders, dampness and all. Locating Iraq's WMD operations is a job best suited to the CIA's capability, some of which appear to still exist. The War is still to up to Saddam, if he is willing to destroy those, and let the Inspectors in to stay there may ne no need for conflict. However, the odds of him doing that are fairly slim. Perhaps the same as a child molester going 'staright' after serving jail time. Does a leopard change his spots- an old leopard? If the CIA does a good job, it will reduce the work of the Homeland Security by several orders of magnitude, and save billions in the process. Sig

To: LindyBill who wrote (62140)	12/17/2002 4:52:19 AM
From: tekboy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

actually, I know and like Tenet. When I was a peon on the NSC staff back in the mid-90s, he was a senior staffer a couple of levels up (on a par with my boss), and I dealt with him in that capacity. Smart and professional, and also a good guy, down to earth, no pretensions. Somebody you liked working with and hanging out with, both. So I've always been gratified to watch him do well over the years. I don't doubt there were, and are, CIA failures in this struggle, but personally I think they have been less disastrous than the failures of other bureaucracies, and are made to look worse than they should by people who are coming at the subject with 20/20 hindsight. Thus I have never been one to think Tenet should be sacrificed on the altar of 9/11, and see him as one of the sane people around Bush, part of the solution to things, not part of the problem. tb@fwiw.com