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September 27, 2006

Estimating Our National Intelligence

Topics: War on Terror

"The jihadists' greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution, an ultra-conservative interpretation of sharia-based governance spanning the Muslim world is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims. Exposing the religious and political straitjacket that is implied by the jihadists' propaganda would help to divide them from the audiences they seek to persuade."

Funny, I've been thinking the same thing about the New York Times and the Associated Press lately. Exposing the political straitjacket that is implied by their propaganda will help divide them from the audience they seek to persuade. (BostonHerald.com)

Jules Crittenden has a must-read piece today on the NIE report, in which he says that there is nothing particularly "bleak" about the estimate of our nations' top intelligence analysts (ed: I would add, "except for the obvious lack of it"), that is, "not unless you are one of those people who would prefer to remain under the covers rather than face the business at hand." He reminds us that this war has been forced on us by people who want to destroy our way of life, as he systematically proceeds to separate fact from fiction, and helps bring clarity to a situation created by a media that has distorted, omitted or buried key elements of the report:

The events of the last few days have created some misunderstandings regarding U.S. intelligence in the War on Terrorism, its appropriate uses and interpretation, and the role of politicians and the press in that process.

It started over the weekend when the New York Times, based on fragmentary information leaked to them by unnamed sources, reported that U.S. intelligence agencies have agreed that the Iraq war is fueling global jihad.The Associated Press amplified that the next day in a story that devoted its first 10 inches or so to Democrats bashing the Bush administration and calling for a pullout in Iraq, while burying the suggestions of Republicans and administration officials that there might be other things in the report worth noting.

Coverage of the issue has not improved much since, despite the release of the National Intelligence Estimate's "key judgments."The document is worth close scrutiny. But before we get to that, here are a couple of you might want to bear in mind:

1.In time of war, the nation's classified intelligence analysis of the enemy's capabilities is none of our, the public's, business. It is not the New York Times' business. It is the business of those who are prosecuting this war. They use it to determine strategy and tactics for defeating that enemy.

2. It is, however, the business of a select few in Congress. For the purpose of oversight. Not for the purpose of scoring cheap political points.

Thanks to the New York Times and its politically-tainted abuse of our nation's classified intelligence, the NIE's key judgments are no longer classified, and are very much the subject of political opportunism. Subsequent news reports continue to be distorted, omitting or burying key elements while seizing on sensational aspects such as the description of the Iraq war as a "cause celebre" among terrorists. Those news reports would have you believe that President Bush lied when he said the United States is winning the War on Terrorism. They have characterized the NIE's assessment as "bleak."

So let's go directly to the NIE key judgments, and see what they are:

Be sure to read all of, "Estimating Our National Intelligence."

Posted by Richard at September 27, 2006 2:32 PM

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• Estimating Our National Intelligence - Sep 27, 2006