Andy Martin renews his September 12th prediction that Benghazi is the “neutron” issue that will defeat President Obama for reelection

On September 12th Republican national security and foreign policy expert Andy Martin predicted “Benghazi-gate” would “doom President Obama’s reelection.” While “Washington Republicans” were undermining Mitt Romney on September 12th, Andy Martin stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the governor and predicted that the “Benghazi-gate” controversy would defeat Obama. In his provocative pre-election analysis, Andy now explains why “Benghazi-gate” is the “neutron” issue in the presidential campaign. Andy also defends Mitt Romney’s nimble decision to let surrogates and third parties carry the banner on Benghazi-gate. Andy says his prediction on September 12th was the “call of a lifetime.”

NEWS FROM:                                                                     

Romney’s Rangers

Andy Martin

Executive Director

www.AndyMartin.com

www.FirstRespondersOnline.us

you can call Andy:

 (603) 518-7310

you can email Andy:

andynewhampshire@aol.com

you can write Andy at:

fax (866) 707-2639

Blogs (partial):

ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com

ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com

Andymartinusa.posterous.com

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to AndyMart20@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Republican Party national security and foreign policy expert Andy Martin says his September 12th prediction that “Benghazi” would defeat President Obama is on schedule

Andy is a strong supporter of Governor Mitt Romney

In his latest detailed analysis, Andy explains why Benghazi has been a “neutron” issue and how Benghazi will bring down the Obama presidency

Andy says “Benghazi” has seeped into the election narrative without becoming a visible issue in the presidential campaign

Andy defends Mitt Romney’s decision to downplay Benghazi in Romney’s debate prep and closing arguments

Andy calls his Benghazi analysis the “call of a lifetime”

(Manchester, NH) (November 5, 2012) Republican Party national security and foreign policy expert Andy Martin was the first Republican to defend Governor Mitt Romney on September 12th and to predict the impact the attack on the U. S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya would have on the presidential election. His views:

I. The background to my September 12th prediction

I first went to Libya in 1971, soon after the Gaddafi regime took power. Over the decades since then, I have kept a close watch over developments in Libya. When the consulate was attacked on September 11, I immediately “connected the dots” and issued my presidential election prediction and public support for Mitt Romney on September 12th.

II. The criticism that the “media” are not paying attention

Partisans for an issue often believe they are receiving insufficient attention for their cause. That appears to be the case with regard to reporting on Benghazi-gate. But while others have criticized the “lack” of coverage I have kept my mouth shut.

I have been monitoring the spread of Benghazi-gate through the ether of the Internet. The spread of Benghazi-gate has been pervasive and ultimately lethal for the Obama campaign. If an issue has genuinely “not been covered,” then people should not know about it. But the people who need to know about Benghazi know all too well about the incident (see Part V below).

Benghazi has been both a highly visible issue and a “neutron bomb” that is exploding President Obama’s reelection without living any visible impact. Fox News has led the charge in exposing Benghazi-gate but other media have followed (see links in part [2] below for a small sampling). Jeanine Pirro has been leading the charge. Disputes with the CIA's version of events have been reported, as well as criticism of the “cover-up.”

A story does not have to be “front-page news” to have a dramatic impact, particularly when an issue has an esoteric appeal to a specific group of voters such as military personnel and veterans and voters focused on foreign policy. That’s why I now label Benghazi a “neutron” issue. I predicted on September 12th that the story would doom Obama’s reelection; that was the “call of a lifetime” for its prescience.

Since September Benghazi has seeped into every area of the presidential campaign. The attack and the aftermath and cover-up are mentioned constantly and, apart from the campaign itself, and the candidates’ own tactics, Benghazi has been a focal point of the last weekend of the election. What more can anyone ask?

III. Romney’s decision not to focus on Benghazi-gate

Governor Romney has come under considerable criticism for not making “Benghazi” an issue in the final debate, and for not raising the issue of Benghazi in his speeches during the closing days of the campaign. Instead, surrogates such as John McCain and Kelly Ayotte and others have continued to attack the Obama administration for its Benghazi cover-up.

Media often want a “fight.” That is why there were endless predictions Romney would fire back at Obama in their final debate after the confusion generated by Candy Crowley at the second debate.

But Romney proved a more nimble and disciplined campaigner than anyone expected. Romney has stuck to his positive views, and his economic arguments. In my opinion, Romney’s closing days of the campaign have been brilliant.

Benghazi would have diluted Romney’s economic message and muddled the stream of positive comments Romney is delivering. As a clear example of shrewd marketing and candidate “positioning,” Romney’s team was totally correct and the media and others were completely wrong. In fact, Romney’s clear and consistent positive message, when juxtaposed with Obama’s negativity and querulousness, is a prime justification for my belief Romney will win on November 6th.

In retrospect, Romney’s team’s counterintuitive strategy of assigning Benghazi-gate to surrogates will prove to have been a brilliant decision. Benghazi-gate will be on November 6th what I predicted on September 12th, the issue that doomed President’s Obama’s reelection campaign.

Indeed, Benghazi has infiltrated the media to such an insidious extent that people ignore the obvious. Saturday’s New York Post “Page Six” had a cartoon that showed President Obama pursued by a Frankenstein “Benghazi.” (I can’t find a hyperlink to the cartoon; if you find one, please send it to me.) All aspects of the controversy have received more than adequate analysis (see links below in part [2]).

But the article that crystallized the pervasiveness of the Benghazi issue for me was an editorial written by Jac Versteeg raising doubts about Obama’s handling of the Benghazi aftermath (see link [3] below). The Palm Beach Post is a liberal newspaper in a very liberal part of a liberal region (South Florida).

Any Democrat should know that when Obama’s judgment is being challenged in the Palm Beach Post, the president “has a serious problem.” Anyone and everyone for whom Benghazi would be a decisive issue in voting is now fully aware of what happened and how Obama evaded responsibility for his feckless behavior in allowing besieged Americans to be denied any relief.

IV. Andy Martin’s lifetime of national security predictions

Dan Balz, who is now the national political correspondent for the Washington Post, was my editor at the Daily Illini at the University of Illinois. At the beginning of 1968 I walked into Dan’s cube and handed him a commentary based on my knowledge of Viet-Nam. I predicted Khe Sanh would be a critical battlefield in 1968, and that the A-Shau Valley would become a renewed focus. Both predictions proved to be correct. Balz did not run my column because he did not trust my expertise. Balz was not the last person to ignore my work.

During the 1979-1980 Iran hostage crisis I was the only American allowed into Iran in 1980. President Carter’s staff ignored my analysis then.

In the run up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, I predicted the invasion would weaken Israel and strengthen Iran. While living in Baghdad I became an early, if not the first, critic of Paul Bremer. I predicted the insurgency when the opposite view in Washington was that the capture of Saddam Hussein ended the conflict. So while my September 12th Benghazi analysis was the “call of a lifetime,” I have made many similar “calls” during a national security and foreign policy career that goes back to the 1960’s. Now you know why my views and analysis are respected around the world. I have a proven track record of getting the call right.

[Andy has over forty years of national security experience with Asia and the Middle East; he is regarded overseas as one of America’s most respected independent foreign policy, military and intelligence analysts. His analysis of the terrorist threat in Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis, and again in Iraq in 2003, were leading-edge predictions of what Americans faced in the future.

Andy first went to Asia in 1967 and since then he has been in Israel, Jordan, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Viet-Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma and Hong Kong. He was in Iran and Afghanistan in 1979-80, and has regularly returned to Southwest Asia since then. Most recently he lived overseas in Iraq in 2003.]

V. The bottom line: Benghazi undermines Obama’s reelection

President Obama thought his “killing Osama” meme would encourage military veterans and retirees to vote for him. Benghazi has turned the military and the veterans’ community against the president. Retired veterans are concentrated in swing states such as Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada and Ohio. The manner in which besieged Americans in Benghazi were callously denied any rescue efforts has disgusted our military personnel and veterans. Veterans’ votes will prove to be the margin of victory for Mitt Romney in several swing states. Count’em. Ironically, and surprisingly for many, Benghazi “grew” into a lethal weapon against Obama, a self-inflicted fatal wound to his reelection. And I predicted that on September 12th.

--------------------------

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639; CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com

ujntsman wasd reelected in November, 2008. A few monrths later he resigned to serve
his president,” Barack Obama. SDo whyh was it so terrible that Palin resigned and Hutsman served evenless of his secondterm? Can I say “double standard” again.

What os this show us? Whetyher thessue s resigfnaitonsor religion,th emedia shamlessly create double standards tgo favr theiiberal medioa pets (fulldisclosure; I am ot aliberalmedia pet).

--------------------------

Please Donate:

You can help support our independent Internet journalism by going to:

http://www.committeeofonemilliontodefeatbarackobama.com/

and making a contribution by mail or on line.

--------------------------

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

[1]

http://www.pr-inside.com/foreign-policy-expert-

andy-martin-mitt-r3374591.htm

https://contrariancommentary.wordpress.com/

2012/09/12/foreign-policy-expert-andy-martin-

mitt-romney-is-right-to-criticize-obama/

[2]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/03/

exclusive-security-officials-on-ground-in-

libya-challenge-cia-account/?test=latestnews

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33816_162-

57536611/could-u.s-military-have-helped-

during-libya-attack/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/benghazi-documents_n_2059220.html

http://beforeitsnews.com/terrorism/2012/11/

judge-jeanine-hammers-obama-clinton-on-benghazi-

on-last-nights-show-mr-president-your-check-just-

bounced-2444554.html

Differing view

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/

post/obamas-legacy-the-blunder-in-benghazi/2012/

11/05/6ab73818-275f-11e2-b2a0-ae18d6159439

_blog.html?hpid=z3

[3]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/opinion/editorial-obama-administration-ignored-warnings-be/nSsYZ/

--------------------------

WHAT OTHERS SAY:

“Andy Martin is revolutionizing journalism… [Andy] brings to online journalism what Rush Limbaugh [brings] to radio or Michael Moore to film: sleek little stories that fit into larger political narratives…”

“The only American journalists that are “standing UP” [to Obama] are, Andy Martin…”

ABOUT ROMNEY’S RANGERS:

Romney’s Rangers is led by Andy Martin, a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Andy’s family immigrated to New Hampshire 100 years ago, where he now makes his home. Chicago Public Radio calls Andy a “boisterous Internet activist.” The Chicago Tribune calls him “Chicago’s own…political activist.” He has forty-four years of background in radio and television. He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and he produced the Internet film "Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on local, regional, national and international events with more than four decades of investigative and analytical experience both in the USA and around the world.

Andy has been a leading corruption fighter in New Hampshire, Illinois and American politics and courts for over forty-five years. [www.AndyMartin.com] He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.EnglishforAmerica.org

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com

andymartinusa.posterous.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

--------------------------

© Copyright by Andy Martin 2012 – All Rights Reserved

--------------------------

Andy Martin: The Cold War is back in vogue

Andy Martin says that Russian spy rings, coded messages, Mata Hari agents, lavish living and “non-official cover” herald a return to the glory days of the Cold War. “Anna Chapman” will be 33 years old by the time she hits the streets; will we trade “our” Russkie prisoners for some of theirs? Will the Reds grab someone to use as trading bait? Are “Law and Order” actors standing by to make the movie, on location in New York? Stay tuned.

Internet powerhouse Andy Martin remembers growing up during the Cold War

ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says the arrest of a “Russian spy ring” in New York does not mean we are heading back into a new Cold War

But Andy reminisces on what a fascinating era the Cold War really was

(NEW YORK)(June 30, 2010) Going from my sophomore to my junior year in college I had a problem. How could I tell my ROTC officers I had no interest in being a pilot? One officer, Major J. D. Faulk, had been a Korean War fighter pilot. He wanted to see me in the cockpit. I was rated “1-P” for potential pilot training.

But I had grown up in a family where he clandestine operations were the rule, not the uniformed services. I had studied the day-to-day progress of the French Indochina War. I was heartbroken when Dien Bien Phu fell. At a time when a lot of my contemporaries were practicing their batting stance for Little League, I was studying the mysterious “CIA.”

When my family moved to London and then Oxford, I learned about the Hungarian Revolution, from those who had escaped.

I met my first Russian spies over forty years ago. In Vientiane, Laos. Although the CIA operated a “secret army” in Laos, the military operations were no secret to the Russkies (as we then called them). Vientiane was possibly the “Casablanca” of the Viet-Nam era. Everyone was there. And even the U. S. ambassador to Laos, William Sullivan, was a spymaster. There was even a very low key American “village” in Vientiane, Kilometer 6, where more than a few spooks kicked back at cocktail hour.

The Cold War indeed was “something else.” The fear of war, the prospect of war, the preparation for war overshadowed everything. And then there was Viet-Nam. Viet-Nam was the realization of all of our fears. And the creation of new ones. It’s hard to believe now, but over 200 Americans were dying a week during the fiercest fighting.

One of the most interesting operations of the Viet-Nam war was the effort to spy on North and South Vietnamese spies who had infiltrated the local media. How to find them? Use a pigeon.

Many of my contemporaries had focused on Europe and the threat from the “east.” They ended up in Germany.

I was fascinated by China and eventually studied Chinese. When I landed in Hong Kong I fell in love with the place. My apartment was a short walk from the Hong Kong Hilton (since demolished), where everyone on the island met at some point during the week. The “Suzie Wong” area of Hong Kong (Wanchai) was still seedy and dangerous. Today it’s another version of “restaurant row.”

The Communist Chinese (or “Chicoms”), of course, were “inscrutable,” while the Russkies were merely bullies, maybe even thugs.

During the Cold War there really were “secrets.” Spy satellites had not yet been invented. And the U-2 had not yet been shot down. People actually had to go in, mooch about and look-see. And get out alive.

I was only a second generation cold warrior. It was our World War II parents who were “present at the creation” of the Cold War. Security concerns were everywhere. My mother worked with someone who was distantly related to the “atom spy” Rosenbergs. There was no “clearance” for anyone however remotely related to the R’bergs. “Keep an eye on her.”

The way it was explained to me, spying and special operations was almost a family business. My father had been in special ops; his father had been a spy. My mother’s grandfather was a double agent. My mother had worked for an intelligence agency. After listening to stories about spies and clandestine operations, who wanted to sit in a cockpit?

Spying and intelligence operations are among the most dangerous national security activities. A solider, sailor or airman always knows when he (she) is in uniform, that uniform and a team will protect him. A CIA “case officer” is usually attached to a diplomatic mission under a title such as “State Department—agricultural research liaison” or something like that. They enjoy diplomatic immunity. Risky business, but not too risky.

And then there are the people who are “out there.” Officially, they are called working under “non-official cover” or “NOC.” In reality, if someone working NOC gets caught, they’re caught. Or worse. One of the reasons the Valerie Plame controversy became such a serious issue in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion was that Plame had worked NOC. Exposing who Plame was also exposed everyone she had ever stopped to have a cup of coffee with. When Plame was “outed,” others were automatically endangered.

And now we come to this week’s “New York Russian spy ring.” Since the nation of Russia is unofficially led by a former KGB spy, Vladimir Putin, and Putin in turn has saturated his government with a platoon of retired “spooks,” what do you expect? Once a spook, always a spook. If anyone believes in spies, Putin does. And, of course, he immediately denied that there were any Russian spies in New York. Who? Me? Spies? Who are they? “Comrade, we have no spies in America.”

The Russian spy ring (we can’t call them a “Soviet” spy ring because the Soviet Union no longer exists) is an example of both classic “burrowing” and NOC. The spies lived openly, although at least one of them apparently had a stolen identify from a deceased Canadian. At least the Russkies were smarter than the Israelis, who recently committed a murder in Dubai and used “secret” agents who were using stolen identities of living people. Not too smart.

The New York spies seem to have been burrowing. You “burrow” when you slowly blend in to the background, when you become part of your surroundings, when there is nothing to do but do nothing. Maybe watch the grass grow. And wait for the day when you are activated. Great Britain’s MI6 used to be the master of burrowing. British spies always blended into the background. 6’ers would also be NOC. MI6 spied on the Nazis, in New York, before World War II.

The bottom line: governments will always spy on each other, sometimes in the open, sometimes clandestinely. Friends spy on friends. We spy on the Israelis, and they spy on us. Sometimes we catch them. Jonathan Pollard has spent 30 years in jail because he was bribed by Israel to spy against the United States. Why would we not expect the Russians to plant a spy or two under NOC? We put spies in our embassies. And of course we put spies out on the street. Alone. NOC.

Spymasters have learned through bitter experience that when you don’t spy, you end up in a jam. The Shah of Iran did not allow the CIA to operate in Iran. Foolishly, in large part we obeyed his demand. When Iran fell, there was no clandestine operation to activate. There was nothing. We had to start from scratch.

The only good thing about the Russian spy ring in New York? The movie can be filmed on location. “Law and Order” actors are standing by. And “Anna Chapman” is a pretty attractive “Natasha.” It’s enough to make you want to be compromised. Martinis anyone?

-------------------------------------
ABOUT ANDY: Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie "Obama: The Hawai'i years." Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois for over forty years. He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com
Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative and overseas experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES: www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSAwww.facebook.com/AndyMartin Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com © Copyright by Andy Martin 2010

Andy Martin says Leon Panetta is the wrong choice to head the CIA

Barack Obama’s obsession with “image” has no place at the CIA says Intelligence expert Martin; making Leon Panetta head of the CIA endangers every American and will embolden Al Qaeda.

Internet powerhouse Andy Martin on the CIA catastrophe

Leon Panetta for CIA Director? Don’t make me laugh, says intelligence expert Andy Martin

Obama’s biggest critic during the campaign, Andy Martin, is now Obama’s fiercest foreign policy and intelligence critic, even before Obama takes office

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ANDY MARTIN SAYS BARACK OBAMA’S POLITICIZATION OF AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE WILL EMBOLDEN AL QAEDA

THE APPOINTMENT OF LEON PANETTA SHOWS THAT BARACK OBAMA INTENDS TO ENDANGER AMERICA, DISMANTLE OUR INTELLIGENCE AND DEFENSES, AND INCREASE THE RISK OF AL QAEDA ATTACKS

ANDY MARTIN BECOMES BARACK OBAMA’S STRONGEST CRITIC ON FOREIGN POLICY, INTELLIGENCE AND DEFENSE ISSUES

(CHICAGO)(January 7, 2009) As regular readers know, I occasionally make appearance on Al-Jazeera English. Shortly after Barack Obama was elected I became his first foreign policy critic. I predicted that we would see Bush III. Indeed. I was partially wrong; we are on the verge of Clinton III.

You can take a look at my first post-election criticism of Obama’s likely foreign policies (note: each program has two parts): http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2008/11/2008111172138867568.html;

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2008/12/200812229740891999.html

Some readers quarrel with my views concerning Israel’s recent attacks on helpless Palestinians; but you can’t quarrel with my overall grasp of how intelligence analysis is essential to informed decision making. I am not reluctant, moreover, to go on Al-Jazeera and speak truth to our less-than-friendly friends in the world. Unlike Leon Panetta, I actually have a record of intelligence analysis that you can check against real world events. You may not always agree with my conclusions, but they are out there to be measured by subsequent developments.

Bill Clinton’s lack of interest in intelligence matters, and his “Wag The Dog” attitude about using intelligence and intelligence-based attacks to distract from his own personal problems, significantly weakened our defenses. The result: 9/11.

Democrats have been degrading our intelligence services for decades. The result, young Americans die in overseas conflicts to compensate for the Democrats’ poor strategy and weak intelligence.

Jimmy Carter devastated the CIA in the 1970’s. It took the 80’s to rebuild. Bill Clinton devastated the CIA in the 90’s. We have been rebuilding since September 11, 2001. Now Barack Obama wants to appoint a political hack, Leon Panetta, to “manage” and degrade the CIA. How many lives will Panetta’s appointment cost us? Many. Very many.

Does someone have to have been a “spook” to supervise our spooks? Not at all. Prior experience as a spy, or a covert operations officer, is not necessary. Our current Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates headed the CIA when I first met him in 1992. Gates never wore a “cloak and dagger” but he understood how intelligence was collected, analyzed, interpreted and evaluated for action.

What was most devastating about the Panetta announcement was that he had been picked in part by Admiral Dennis Blair, who hopes to become Director of National Intelligence (“DNI”). Blair plans to control the CIA by manipulating the man at the top, politician Panetta. You might as well start writing eulogies for the CIA, and start erasing the stars on the walls of CIA headquarters that represent fallen agents.

Blair is yet another former military officer rising to the head of our intelligence apparatus. Military strategy and intelligence analysis should be kept separate. The military mindset is very different than the attitude of an intelligence agency.

The Office of Strategic services (“OSS”). America’s first intelligence agency and precursor to the CIA, was successful precisely because its “officers” were civilians who had come into the military for World War II.

Military minds definitely work differently. General Colin Powell is famous for the “Powell Doctrine:” Go in with a plan, heavy up, and have a plan to get out. Intelligence operations are frequently spontaneous and even haphazard affairs. John McCain was a great military officer, but he turned out to be a lousy commander-in-chief of a political campaign. He had the artillery to use against Obama but badly fumbled his campaign because of his rigid, military, “control freak” approach to campaigning. Barack Obama won with unconventional tactics; he rewrote the book.

Intelligence personnel frequently have to operate standing off alone, outside the perimeter of military and diplomatic security. A “singleton” can be totally exposed because he (or she) is completely unprotected. Officers working with NOC (“Non-official cover”) wear no uniform, hold no U. S. status and burrow into the societies where they operate without any protection from the local embassy and country team.

As a young college student who was in line to become an officer, I chafed at the mindless discipline and useless conformity of the military structure. As a boy I had been regaled with stories of clandestine operators in the family going back generations. My grandfather was an officer with “El Aurens.” With a family background like that, military uniforms never fit.

CIA case officers during the Viet-Nam era were often dorky. But then there was “Air America.” A “CIA army” brought down the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. The common denominator: intelligence and irregular forces could operate where regular armies could not. I wish that we had those men back. Once the military took over, Afghanistan fell apart.

Let me be clear. Intelligence can often be messy, and sometimes bloody. When intelligence procedures are misused or abused, they can boomerang. Which brings me to the Iraq conflict of 2003.

I was a strong critic of that invasion. George Bush was misled and told he could use torture to prosecute the “war on terror.” He was badly misinformed. The people who gave Bush that advice should be tried and imprisoned as war criminals. Torture never works; torture only boomerangs. The CIA was misused and abused by Vice President Dick Cheney and his henchmen, who manipulated Bush with disastrous consequences. Cheney’s corruption of the CIA opened the door to Barack Obama’s current plans to destroy the agency and undermine our intelligence capability.

Make no mistake: George Bush’s disastrous management of the CIA led to the unwieldy structure we have today, with a DNI “supervising” all of our intelligence agencies. We have adopted a bureaucratic “general staff” approach to intelligence, which is why we still don’t have an adequate ability to monitor and attack our enemies.

Regular readers know I am no fan of the Israeli government. But I am familiar with Israeli intelligence and clandestine operations. Israelis run circles around the Arabs, both Palestinian and non-Palestinian, which have Obama-style politicized intelligence services. Although Israel is small, and has a compact intelligence establishment, that approach works by avoiding bureaucracy and conformity where creativity is crucial to success.

And so as I look at Mr. Panetta I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Panetta is going to be “training” as a “manager” of intelligence during a period when even Barack Obama’s own Vice President Joe Biden has warned we face an enhanced vulnerability to attack. What a stupid choice. Just when we need a strong hand to provide capable leadership, Obama is stacking the CIA with a hack at the top and probably more jokers below. Bill Clinton III.

The last thing the CIA needs is a rookie running the agency. Al Qaeda is watching and salivating at the prospect of a political handyman in charge of our foreign intelligence capacity, with Obama’s new mandate to “break with past practices” that have “tarnished the image” of the US. Yes, Barry Obama knows a lot about “image.” Sadly, that’s all he knows about. The Bush administration’s past practices have already been discredited and discarded. Obama doesn’t seem to know that.

He is obsessed with image. His own. He should be obsessed with keeping America safe. He isn’t.

Leon Panetta? Can’t they dump this decent guy in some other political job, that won’t endanger the life and security of every American? Is Barack Obama playing politics with our safety, or does he have some other, more sinister agenda in mind? Stay tuned for future columns.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, say the book is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Book orders: Amazon.com or http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from Amazon.com or signed copies (delayed for signing) from the publisher are available.
---------------------------------------------
URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to oppose President-elect Barack Obama.
http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com.
Please give generously. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American.
“The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama has no bundlers, no fat cats and no illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised almost a billion dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
---------------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting experience in radio and television. He is currently based in New York promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He has almost forty years of experience in the Middle East, and is regarded overseas as America’s most respected independent foreign policy, military and intelligence analyst. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, see www.Amazon.com or www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]