Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Fiscal Cliff to Fund Fannie Mae Extravagance?




Click here for related story  [Washington Post/Suzy Khimm]

The Post's e-version of Suzy Khimm's hard copy paper story on the Inspector General's Report omits noteworthy information [seems the Post didn't like the content as it makes the Administration look bad as we approach the Fiscal Cliff].  

"Median cash compensation [in 2011] for 333 vice presidents was $388,000 and for 1,650 directors $205,000 [an INCREASE of 5.4% for VPs and 3.9% for directors over 2010]. Total 2011 compensation for 2,000 senior staff was $455 MILLION.  The top 87 executives received compensation was $92 MILLION."

Huge compensation for creating huge losses
Many of these folks are the same ones who helped tank the housing industry; others have joined the plunder from Goldman Sachs and AIG -- recipients of other bailouts. 
By 2010, the bailout of Fannie Mae had cost TAXPAYERS more than $135 BILLION.  By 2012, the combined bailout cost for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack exceeded $200 Billion.

Why are there 333 Vice Presidents?
Why are there 1,650 Directors?
Why are these bureaucrats paid exorbitant salaries?
Why are we, the taxpayers, continuing to fund these high-priced DNC employment mechanisms.

Keep in mind that Fannie and Freddie are now "Government Sponsored Enterprises" -- which are the equivalent of government agencies since the government had to take them over via the TARP bailout plan.  One would think, then, that the bureaucrats should be paid on the Civil Service scale -- vs the "take as much cash as you can jam in your pockets" scale.  Instead, these faceless bureaucrats earn more than our Senators and Congresspeople, and in some cases, more than the President of the US.

Negotiating the housing market maze.
Consider also that, since 2009, these bureaucrats have created so many obstacles in the path of the housing recovery that virtually no progress has been made to resolve the foreclosure crisis -- or to ease the restrictions in the housing market. 

Their "cure" for the foreclosure crisis was to create so many obstacles for homeowners that they were forced out of their homes; for purchasers, the obstacles made it almost impossible to buy foreclosed houses -- even with cash. 

And finally, the new rules imposed have strangled the normal housing market, forcing well qualified purchasers with excellent credit and substantial down payments to wait months for mortgages to process.

In August, Treasury adjusted the bailout terms to require that Fannie wind down its investment portfolio more quickly, with profits redirected to the government -- preventing them from rebuilding capital or enabling them to return to non-government status.  This follows an earlier strategy in which Fannie made regular dividend payments to Treasury to repay the bailout.  Chairman Baucus [House Financial Services Comittee] noted that this change will ensure that the government would never recover its bailout funds, and embed Fannie and Freddie as government financial money pits. 

As we approach the Fiscal Cliff, which promises to substantially Raise our Taxes, keep in mind that the Administration will have you continue to fund these exorbitant salaries for these worthless slugs -- who will continue to live large while your lifestyle is degraded; to them, you are only the 'little people".

Something to chat with your Congressperson about during this Fiscal Cliff "crisis.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Benghazi - CIA Failure or failed scheme?



The Media urges the GOP to attack Rice  

We us the story of the Tar Baby to illustrate the awkward aspects of this cover story.
Uncle Remus tells the story of the Tar Baby, where Br'er Fox sets up a Tar Baby to trap Br'er Rabbit.
Mr Axelrod plays Br'er Fox, and the GOP plays the very gullible Br'er Rabbit, egged on by Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox-- the Media.  And poor Br'er Rabbit meets his demise, stuck on the Tar Baby -- making a fine meal for Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox.

Axelrod, grandson of Chicago Communist  leaders who advised Stalin
Here's an Uncle Remus tale:
Mr Axelrod was desperate to distract the Republicans and the Media from the Benghazi inquiries -- which would likely lead to Mr Obama's Impeachment for High Crimes and Misdemeanors.  Evidence mounted that Ambassador Stevens was to be kidnapped by President Morsi's al Qaeda assault force [as a favor to Obama in return for Obama's putting Morsi in office].

[Awkward moment in the on-site video in Benghazi capturing the assault force seen/heard on video shouting to the primary assailants (in Arabic)
"Don't shoot: Morsi sent us"]

Oops.

The Blind Sheik


The story goes that Ambassador Stevens was to be kidnapped by an al Qaeda hit team; Mr Obama would then look Presidential as he negotiated the release of Ambassador Stevens in return for the release of the Blind Sheik -- held in custody for his role in the 9/11/01 attack on the Twin Towers in New York.  [Adding credence to that story were the subsequent efforts by Mr Obama to have the Blind Sheik released.]





So, it appears Mr Axelrod may have set the Tar Baby trap -- and the GOP leapt into it.

Thus, the Obama Administration and the Media have once again succeeded in distracting the American public from Benghazi by creating -- and feeding the nonstop debate and focus on Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice.  They've floated a trial balloon, intimating she will replace Hillary Clinton in the New Year -- inciting Media speculation and forcing Senators and Congresspersons to weigh in. 

Will Rice actually be nominated?
And, why, by gosh and golly; Mr Obama was so outraged -- OUTRAGED! that Republicans would question his vague intimation that Ms Rice might/could/would/should MAY BE [never stated] a candidate to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. 

No sooner baited than the GOP grabbed this Tar Baby, and they are stuck fast to the story -- leaving Benghazi questions in the dust. 

The Republicans are soooo easily manipulated; our Communist advisor to Mr Obama must be rolling on the floor laughing at how easy even this maneuver was/is/will continue to be.  Why, he even suckered a normally objective Kathleen Parker to weigh in with a Race Card -- implying [again] that the GOP was a bunch of dyed-in-the-wool RACISTs!


Even Kathleen was suckered!



[Good Grief! How many times has the Race Card been played during the Obama Administration.

And, Great Balls of Fulminating Fire,
Kathleen Parker, how could you, of the very few objective journalists we have left, get played like that!]





But, we digress [and apologize for our outburst]

The Rice-cooking debate has focused on

a) Is she is qualified?
     -- Well, a hell of a lot more-so than Hillary was/is; being a First Lady and White Water scam artist
         doesn't quite cut it]

b) Was Rice lying through her teeth when she addressed the UN and spoke on five different
    TV shows declaring that the CIA had briefed her that Benghazi was a "spontaneous mob protest"?
     -- Well, of course she was! 

     (1)  That lie was discounted even before Mr Obama's Rose Garden brief

     (2)  She repeated the lie for almost two weeks -- long after the actual facts and videos
            were publicized

     (3)  General Petraeus, as Director of CIA, advised that the "Rice's CIA Brief'" did not originate from his CIA.  So, if it did not come from the CIA, who gave Rice the bogus "CIA Brief" .

     (4)  Is her reputation as a hateful, spiteful, evil witch prone to cursing and making obscene gestures grounds to discount her as a diplomatic representative of the US?

           -- It certainly didn't keep Mr Obama from appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State
           -- It certainly hasn't damaged the reputation of Mr Obama's First Lady with the Liberals.


Bottom Line:     
a)  Rice was just the Messenger, carrying Mr Obama's message --
     right or wrong, as an Ambassador should. 
b) Thousands of ambassadors before Rice have lied through their
     teeth to deliver their Dear Leader's message. 
c)  Would she make a better Secretary of State than, say
     John Bolton would have? 
     -- We recall that the Democrat's pilloried Mr Bolton on the basis
     that he spoke harshly to an incompetent, blundering State
     Department clerk who had failed to deliver critical documents.   

[Mr Bolton had a long and distinguished career with the State Department and USAID].

d)   We doubt Rice will be nominated for SecState; but, she has served her purpose in making
      the GOP look like bellowing, bigoted buffoons -- and once again, the Democrats were able
      to wave the Race Card!

e)   Senator Kerry will now encounter no resistance when he is nominated as Secretary of State.
      [If he is nominated for SecDef, he will not survive the public outcry from the US Military.]



Now.  Lest we too be distracted from Benghazi -- a few facts to remember:



Flash Override = Officer in Distress!
When the Consulate came under attack, FLASH-OVER-RIDE precedence communications went out and were picked up by all military commanders in the region, much the same as a police call calling out "officer needs assistance!" That message would have flashed on every military and diplomatic monitor in the US official communications system -- to include Marine One -- the President's local air taxi. 

Obama defenders point to the string of emails as a timeline of events, noting that he was visiting Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda during the attack and was unaware of the event.  But, since his helicopter is connected to the White House Comms system, and his Military Aide carries his communication devices [as well as the "football"], Mr Obama would have been engaged in the event from the first Flash Over-Ride communication. 

Updates:

GEN Ham and ADM Gaouette
1) General Ham, Commander of the African Command, immediately ordered his Deputy for Operations into action, notified the Pentagon, and was relieved almost instantly of his command.  He disappeared from sight for more than two months -- and is back in command with no further information on his replacement [who would have been "demoted" to move from FORSCOM [a senior 4-Star billet] to AfriCom [a junior 4-Star billet filled with a frocked 2-Star].  Ham is now giving highly visible press interviews -- with no mention of Benghazi.  Was he threatened, or promised a plum assignment to keep mum.

2) Admiral Gaouette, Commander of Carrier Strike Group Three [CSG3] ordered his fighter and helicopter assets to respond -- notifying the Pentagon, and was immediately relieved of his command. 
[Axelrod Spin: "Admiral Gaouette was relieved because he was a 'coup plotter'!"
Perhaps he planned to drive his carrier force down Pennsylvania Avenue?]
Subsequent official explanation:  "He was relieved for inappropriate behavior" [not further identified]. We still do not know his whereabouts, and the Navy isn't talking.

We trust that both General Ham and Admiral Gaouette will be summoned to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee and the Intelligence Committee.

SEALs KIA
3) Ex-SEALs, hired by Ambassador Stevens as contractors to investigate the unauthorized exfiltration of the captured Qadafi weapons, were quartered at the nearby CIA Safe House; hearing the sounds of the attack, they prepared to respond, and were repeatedly ordered to "Stand Down" by the CIA Base Chief.  Ex-SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty ignored the orders and headed for the compound to render assistance, and were killed after saving the Consulate staff and engaging the enemy. 


The White House denies that these men were ordered to stand down; although unofficial comments by those on the ground advise that those orders were given.

4)  The "enemy" assault force was revealed to be al-Qaeda/Muslim Brotherhood, dispatched by Egyptian President Morsi -- installed with the assistance of President Obama and the King of Saudi Arabia following the Arab Spring uprising.  The Muslim Brotherhood successfully hijacked the Egyptian popular election, and took control of Egypt.

5)  The Libyan military protection force, guarding the Consulate was under the ultimate command of a Muslim Brotherhood officer, who ordered the force to "Stand Down" just prior to the assault.  A video of the assault appeared on the internet in which the assault force announced very audibly "Don't shoot us; Morsi sent us."  The video was inexplicably removed from the internet.

6)  Secretary of Defense defended his "Stand-Down" orders to regional military forces available to respond lest they come in "harms way" since there was insufficient intelligence on the assault force.  Mr Panetta is apparently unaware of the mission of the US Military which calls for it to put itself "in harms way" in conducting the defense of the US and its citizens.  That's why they are issued weapons, and that is what they are trained for.  Currently, all references to Panetta's "in harm's way" statement have disappeared.

7)  Secretary of Defense Panetta advised that it would have taken 16 or more hours to have flown in relief forces from Fort Bragg, NC.  A true statement. 

6th Fleet positioned off Libya

8)  But, why send in military response forces from the US Mainland when Europe is populated with US military forces, and there were/are several hundred US Navy ships in attack mode with the Fifth and Sixth Fleets, chock full of
1) aircraft carriers,
2) missile cruisers, and
3) Special Operations Forward Staging Bases such as the USS Ponce.







 a)  The response time for this massive array of US military ranged from 15 minutes to one hour; the assault continued for about nine hours.

  
24th MEU was on station
  b)  US Marines available for immediate response from the two Fleets numbered in the thousands, including the 24th MEU [Marine Expeditionary Unit] with more than 2,000 Marines --
all ready and prepared to enter combat.

   c)  The Quick Response Force [the 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team], based in Italy, is specifically equipped and was available to launch.

   d)  Also available was EUCOM's Combat Task Force [TF] 67
        -- a quick response Naval combat force which includes
        (1)  Carrier Strike Force [TF 60]
        (2)  TF 61 [the Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group] with three amphibious ships,
              helicopters and embarked landing craft
        (3)  TF 62 Landing Force [Marine Expeditionary Unit] composed of 1,900 Marines, armor,
              artillery, and transport helicopters; its mission is to conduct operations ashore and/or
              evacuate civilians from troubled area [e.g., attacks on embassies], known as NEOs.
        (4)  TF 64 an invisible Special Operations multi-national unit;
               supposedly assigned to Afghanistan

   e)  Admiral Gauouette's Carrier Strike Force was complemented by Carrier Strike Forces 8 and 12; the three Strike Forces represented a massive amount of naval air power, plus attack and rescue helicopters, plus amphibious assault forces, plus two AC-130s assigned to Libya for Force Protection.

  f)  Reliable sources report that high resolution video coverage of the entire assault was broadcast from an aerial reconnaissance drone positioned over the Consulate; and the assault was reportedly viewed by the President and Secretary Panetta [and Valerie Jarrett] in the White House Sit Room.

 
AC-130 Gunship ordered to stand down
g) Now-confirmed reporting puts one AC-130 Spectre Gunship over the Consulate, leading Tyrone Woods to "paint" the targets in the al Qaeda assault force so the Spectre could fire accurately.  When the Spectre did not engage the targets, the assailants back-tracked the painting to Woods, lobbying a mortar round into his position on the Safe House roof, and killing him.  The Spectre was apparently ordered to "do not engage targets" from Mr Panetta -- at the direction of Mr Obama.

The following morning, Mr Obama conducted his Rose Garden brief to inform the Media and the US public that "a spontaneous mob" had protested an offensive video and attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi, killing the Ambassador.  The Administration repeated this story for two weeks, to include having Ambassador Rice brief that story to the United Nations and make the rounds of the News programs to continue the bogus story.

Why did the assault occur?

Two answers - which coincide:

1) The assault was a scheme reportedly cooked up by Administration strategists to make Mr Obama look Presidential shortly before the election.  The offending video was translated into Arabic and then heavily marketed in the Middle East -- but barely noticed.  President Morsi, emplaced by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, with the full support of Mr Obama, supplied the assault force to kidnap Ambassador Stevens; the goal was to trade Ambassador Stevens for the return of the Blind Sheik -- apparently in response to requests from the Saudi king -- whom Mr Obama greatly admires.  Even after the Benghazi assault went sour because two ex-SEALs refused to stand down and took on the assault force, Mr Obama attempted to facilitate the release of the Blind Sheik.


Will al Qaeda use these to shoot down airliners
2) The alternate, but supplementary explanation addresses the weapons from Qadafi's warehouses, including 20.000 shoulder fired Surface to Air Missiles, that were/are being shipped to the Muslim Brotherhood, ostensibly to Syrian rebels, but more likely to arm the Muslim Brotherhood against Middle East nations -- and possibly eventually against US forces.

Ambassador Stevens' contractors [the former SEALs] tracked the shipments; Stevens flew to Italy to report his findings to the State Department and to the President.  That report could also explain why the Administration would select him for kidnapping since his investigations and reports on the missing arms would cease while he was being held captive.

Ambassador Stevens was the 
"Man Who Knew Too Much".



Sunday, December 2, 2012

CIA vs DIA



Ending CIA's control over international espionage
Click here for related article [Washington Post]


The Washington Post has provided a look at DIA's "New" Clandestine Service, "recently created" by Lieutenant General Mike Flynn.

DIA Director: LTG Mike Flynn                    [DOD Image]

We are delighted with Mike's creativity as he follows in the pattern of claiming credit for the initiative and work of others.

General Flynn has claimed credit for creating the DOD Clandestine Service; but it did  need to be revitalized, even if he wants to claim credit for "creating" it.  It was originally created in 1984, while he was still a Captain - and ineligible to participate in it.




Now, we are thrilled to death to see DIA displace CIA -- again -- in conducting Military Intelligence espionage!  But, there are those of us who recall building this organization way back in 1984, obtaining DOD and Congressional authorizations, and full funding by 1985, and coordinating its full functions within DIA to deploy clandestine operatives world-wide. 


History of DIA's Clandestine Service:

After creating an authorization document [Plan Green] to conduct Clandestine operations in Latin America [created under the US Southern Command] - and approved by the CJCS, SecDef and Congress, we worked closely with key officials within the Pentagon [Assistant Secretary of the Army Bill Clark [son of General Mark Clark], Chairman of the JCS General John Vessey] and Senators Barry Goldwater [R] and Helms [R], we gained authorization to operate globally.

Starting in September 1984, we were up and running in early 1985 with full funding, an authorizing DOD operational regulation, and personnel assets acquired from the best and the brightest Armed Services Case Officers -- trained, and experienced through decades of Service operations.

CIA didn't see this one coming      [CIA Map]
Our targets were those countries which were regarded as potential threats to the US; our focus was on the Third World, since we anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union and calculated that the US Military would be engaged in battles/wars with Third World entities as "potential adversaries" -- to include insurgencies, narcotics cartels, and terrorist organizations.

Unlike the CIA's Directorate of Operations [DO] -- burdened with former cops [DEA, ATF, highway patrol, street cops, military cops] and focused almost solely on penetrating the KGB, our military officers were fluent in the languages of the countries to which they were assigned, many had graduate degrees in regional Foreign Area Studies [history, economics, political science, etc.], and many had even attended civilian or military schools in the countries to which they were assigned. 

Among our other successes was the penetration of Drug Cartels, gun running operations, and nascent terrorist operations.  As an added bonus, our Case Officers all came with background and experience in the Combat and Combat Support Arms -- unlike CIA Case Officers whose military experience consisted of a few weeks of basic military weapons handling at "The Farm"  [not even the equivalent of Marine Boot Camp] -- usually portrayed by the Media/Hollywood as special operations and Kung Fu training [but, really? not so much].

DCI Tenet's Legacy                   [ABC]
The program was curtailed under President Clinton whose sycophant generals and incompetent DCI [George Tenet] decided that the US military need not spend such sums to create these military spies -- particularly since they competed for CIA's glory. So, all the work we did to build this organization atrophied; and, only a few months into George Bush's new term as President, he was greeted by the greatest intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor.

But, let's take a look at DIA's "new" Clandestine Service [DCS] which, according to the Post, "...reflects the Administration's affinity for 'espionage' and 'covert action' over conventional force." 

[Somehow, we're a bit uncomfortable with Mr Obama's involvement with/access to the details of espionage and covert operations -- given his eagerness to award to the Media both Methods and Sources (as he did after the Osama bin Laden action.  Will he share operational details with his pal, President Morsi, or the king of Saudi Arabia?].  He is, after all, the President; but we recall he has friends and advisors who are declared Communists, anarchists, and others linked to al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood - and ISIS.

What DCS is not authorized to do:

1) Covert Operations:  Drone strikes, political sabotage, or arming militants.
    [Currently, these are carried out by contractors or special operations elements -- under the
      supervision of CIA officers]
2) Lethal strikes or " ... other operations outside the public view."
3) Executive Action:  Assassination of foreign leaders.

[No change in the charter there; Clandestine Services, as defined, perform espionage while appearing to be engaged in other matters.  Covert operations [supposedly invisible and untraceable] are not to be confused with Clandestine operations.]

DCS Training:

All technical options are open
Case officers will continue to learn tradecraft at the CIA Farm as they have since the Military and CIA came to terms many years ago following the closure of Fort Holabird in Baltimore.  The Military provides significant staffing for matters military [e.g., learning to fire a weapon, jump out of a perfectly good airplane, etc.] and the CIA's old timers provide training on disguises, counter-surveillance, dead-drops, communications, and convincing potential agents to commit treason and spy against their own country.

Special Operations folks will train the Case Officers of CIA and DIA on self-defense processes as well as in defensive driving [not unlike what you've seen in James Bond movies -- or "The Unit".


CIA Liaison:

In many instances, DIA Case Officers will work directly with CIA Station Chiefs [COS] around the world.  Operations against Military targets will be DIA's purview, while those targeting government or non-military targets will be assigned to CIA officers.

Cooperation:

Returning to yesteryear, it appears that CIA and DIA will share resources, facilities, logistics, cover creations, and analytical support.  We did all this in the 1980s and early 1990s, before George Tenet pulled CIA and DIA apart.  The Democrats' revisionist history is that Donald Rumsfeld was at fault; that story won't fly since Tenet had annulled the CIA - DIA marriage under the Clinton regime and continued to destroy the alliance while he worked for Bush. We were appalled when W failed to replace Tenet upon his Inauguration.

Terminated Tenet - With Prejudice  [nndb]
Rumsfeld was abrasive and arrogant, but it was under his direction that Star Watcher was recreated under the new designator Strategic Support Branch.  This followed Rumsfeld's determination that the CIA, under George Tenet, had reached its nadir operationally and intellectually.  The intelligence failure leading to 9/11, Tenet's assessment that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction [leading to the initiation of the Iraq war], the attack on the USS Cole, the CIA assessment that Iran was developing  nuclear weapons in 2005  -- after it had announced in 2003 that Iran had halted the program; all these failures indicated that the CIA was an agency devoid of intellectual acuity.

Suggesting to Mr Tenet that he find other employment in 2004, Rumsfeld persuaded President Bush to end CIA's reign of terror [and operational incompetence] by creating the Director of National Intelligence [DNI] -- ending the dual hatting of the CIA Director as the Director of Central Intelligence where CIA controlled the operations of all other intelligence agencies. 

Under the DNI, the CIA then became just one of many US intelligence agencies [you'd be amazed at just how many there are].

In his urgency to shift military intelligence operations back to the Pentagon, Rumsfeld erred in attempting to add all facets of intelligence, from espionage, to Special Operations, to Executive Action, all under one organization.

However, eventually it all sorted out with the espionage operations under the direction of Army Reserve Colonel George Waldoup achieving significant success while the Special Operations were relegated to Army General Bryan Brown of SOCOM - melding the experience and skills of Delta Force, Seal Team Six,  and the Gray Fox unit which conducted technical surveillance of targets.

Rumsfeld ended DOD HUMINT subservience to the CIA by announcing that it would coordinate its operations with the CIA, but would no longer require its consent -- a long-time bone of contention between DOD and CIA.  That history included many instances in which CIA took control over operations which the Military had initiated and developed, leaving the Military no participation in either the operation or the information gathered.  That caused a bit of bad blood, particularly when the intelligence collected was critical to Military combat operations.

Political Hack: Damage complete
Unfortunately, today's world of espionage was undercut by Mr Obama's appointment of still another political hack, Leon Panetta to direct the CIA; his incompetence became fairly evident with multiple CIA failures.  Mr Obama shifted Panetta to the Pentagon after appointing General Petraeus to run the CIA. 

At the Pentagon, Panetta was relatively harmless; but Petraeus had his work cut out for him in undoing Panetta's damage.  The CIA politicos worked relentlessly to undercut Petraeus, and succeeded in undermining his credibility by leaking information about his affair to the FBI -- and the Media [following their pattern of destroying Porter Goss - W's appointee].

Bottom Line:  We're not sure who the new CIA Director will be, although we've speculated and made our recommendations.  But, with the reemergence of the DIA Clandestine Service as the equal of CIA, the DNI [Jim Clapper] can now exercise his true role in managing the entire Intelligence Community -- no longer dealing with the CIA as an independent agency.

We wish the DIA Director, Mike Flynn, all the luck in the world.  We trust the new CIA director will be capable, and we hope the new Secretary of Defense won't dismantle Mike Flynn's new organization.