(Analyst's note: As previously reported, the White House is more and more seen to be controlling intelligence. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, says the resignation of Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair “is the result of the Obama administration’s rampant politicization of national security and outright disregard for congressional intelligence oversight.” We have had four DNIs in the last five years. Clearly something is drastically wrong. Even with the mistakes that we all know about - from 9/11 to the attempted bombing at Times Square - (and I'm sure many successes that we don't know about) -- the Intelligence Community (IC) is our first line of national defense.
According to Rep. Bennie Thompson, "We have this humongous data collection under way [...] But the question is what and how we're doing with it after we collect it. And that is our next challenge."
The world really is a very dangerous place, and the IC reports that they are gathering and analysing massive amounts of data. Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission has indicated that connecting the dots is "the core problem" "The greatest challenge in effect ... to the intelligence community is the management of the data that comes in." Mr. Hamilton further indicated ambiguity in a 2005 law that defines the "authority of the Director of National Intelligece (DNI) when he said "I do not believe you're going to get the sharing [of data] that you need without someone forcing it. And that person needs to be the DNI." "The burden is on the President now to clarify who is in charge of the intelligence community, where the final authority lies on the budget, personnel, and other matters."
Rep. Peter King of New York has indicated in public comment that he thinks the U.S. Intelligence policy is being driven more and more from inside the White House by President Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan. Unfortunately Mr. Brennan, as a senior White House adviser, does NOT answer to the United States Congressm but rather the President.
All this is going on while we are at war with an enemy (global Islamic jihadists) whom the gov't refuses to even identify. Why? In so doing, we are placed in even greater danger. We must not continue to ignore the obvious.
Blair is a retired Admiral and his resignation, according to Hoekstra, is “a disturbing sign of the stranglehold the Obama White House has placed on America’s intelligence agencies.”
Some firmly believe the system is now broken, however bad it really is, the IC, Congress and the President simply must get this one right. The American people must insist on it. Our national survival depends on it.)
"The administration has failed to keep congressional intelligence officials in the loop on the investigation into the botched Times Square bombing, as required by law [...]
"[...] senators say U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly refused to provide relevant information on the probe into suspect Faisal Shahzad that would allow the committee to conduct oversight activities without hampering the ongoing investigation. Senate intelligence staffers were told that the Department of Justice had instructed the agencies not to convey information on the Times Square plot without its approval, they said."
"[...] Last month, Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins, the top members of the Senate panel on homeland security, issued the administration its first congressional subpoenas over the shootings at Fort Hood. The senators accused the FBI and the Pentagon of ignoring repeated requests for information on the November shooting, in which an Army psychologist allegedly killed 13 people."
