Spy Gamesmanship

We are.  In trouble. No doubt about it. The same intelligence apparatus that concluded Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the same cabal that warned Iran was feverishly developing nuclear weapons, now says Iran stopped that program in 2003.

There is only one conclusion to draw: Iran is probably just days away from testing its own fully developed nuke.

By now, any sensible person would have concluded that the U.S. clandestine services should be known as “The Gang That Couldn’t Spy Straight.”
Oh sure, we are told that this time the analysts learned from their mistakes that led to the “Slam Dunk” about Iraq’s WMDs.  That turned out to be “Slam Bunk,” but we didn’t find that out until we had gone to a war that has cost thousands of lives. Why should we have faith this time?

In fact, one can only wonder what kind of sinister game the administration is playing by releasing these results.  What kind of sidestep are the president, vice president and the other neocons taking on their march to the Persian battlegrounds?

This all begs another question:  What is it about war that these guys love so much?  Don’t suggest that the only way diplomacy can work is if it’s backed by the threat of military action.  Thanks to the Iraq miscalculation, the armed forces are weakened to the point that the United States, contrary to the Teddy Roosevelt tradition, can now only speak loudly and carry a small stick. It’s hard to saber-rattle when all you’re holding is a small butter knife.
Nevertheless, American representatives  are still fanning out to try and get other nations to follow their lead in taking action against Iran.  What lead?  The United States has been frittering that away for years.  Now we are struggling to not be overrun.  Besides, how can the other players on the world stage know what’s real and what’s not from this administration?  It’s the same problem we have here at home.

When we discuss sensitive national security, we are told there is much we can’t see.  One can only hope that’s the case, because based on what we do know, it sure looks like we lurch from one disaster to another.