TEARLINE
Noted author Matthew Aid writes:
The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed article this morning which reveals that for eleven days the U.S. intelligence community told President Obama that the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya was not a terrorist attack, but rather a spontaneous event prompted by anger over the release of a YouTube video concerning the Prophet Mohammed which most Muslims found offensive. The article also reveals that it was not until September 22, 2012, even days after the attack, that the intelligence community changed its assessment and concluded that the Benghazi attack was a carefully planned terrorist operation.
…As the Wall Street Journal article makes all too clear, the Benghazi incident was not one of the U.S. intelligence community’s brightest moments. Faulty field reporting led to incorrect analysis and reporting. There was reluctance by intelligence officials to correct their faulty reporting despite the accumulation of overwelming evidence to the contrary. And finally there was the inevitable bureaucratic infighting amongst and between the various intelligence agencies over who was right and who was to blame for the mishaps.
Do not be surprised if the White House, Congress and the U.S. intelligence community launch competing investigations to determine what went wrong before, during, and after the Benghazi terrorist attack.
ON THE FIGHT
What will the Army do after it gets out of Afghanistan? A little of everything, said senior leaders — with equal emphasis on both "little" and "everything." That’s the consensus following a briefing by Army leadership at the annual Association of the United States Army conference and exposition.
A U.S. military war tribunal is weighing a question that might seem better suited for a history class than a courtroom: How long has the United States been at war?
Mali received two notable mentions in last night’s foreign policy presidential debate. Republican nominee Mitt Romney twice noted the rise of Al-Qaeda and extremists, although neither candidate chose to unpack the reason behind the recent unrest, or any possible links to Libya.
Yes, the military still uses horses — and donkeys, as well. (See the U.S. Marine Corps’ ‘Animal Packing Course’).
ON SECRECY – OR LACK THEREOF
The Central Intelligence Agency has a human resource problem.
An informant recruited by the New York Police Department to collect information on suspected Islamic militants has quit and denounced his police handlers, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the case. The informant, a 19-year-old American citizen of Bangladeshi descent, was recruited by the NYPD recently as part of an expansive intelligence-gathering program the department launched after the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001.
EVENTS AND TRAVELS
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer will travel to Kampala, Uganda, Nairobi, Kenya, and Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa.
CONTRACT WATCH
Raytheon has expanded its wireless cybersecurity capabilities with the acquisition of technology development company Teligy.
Robert Caruso is a veteran of the United States Navy, and has worked for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Business Transformation Agency and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
