The Norwegian Association of Psychologists (Norsk psykologforening – NPF) has issued a statement on the Gaza fighting. I am unable to read. If I get a translation, I will post it. This is waht I was told in an email:
NPF is strongly protesting against the israelis bloccade and aggressions, and against the destruction of the veterans rehabilitation centre in Gaza. The NPF is a contributor to this rehab centre. The associations spokeswoman for human rights issues, Nora Sveaas, is now being interviewed by Norgewian media, so this press release has already been picked up by the main media in Norway.
January 6th, 2009
There is good news in Obama’s choices for several key positions in the Justice Department, especially for the key position 0f head of the Office of Legal Counsel. The OLC — infamously associated with torture apologists John Yoo and James Bybee – interprets the law for the gocvernment. Obama’s appointee, Dawn Johnsen, is likely to overturn the infamous torture memos and the authorization of warantless wiretapping. She will also likely reign in the Unitary Executive theory that says the President can do virtually anything in a time of war.
The McClachy headline tells all, we hope: Obama’s Justice nominees signal end of Bush terror tactics. From the article:
In filling four senior Justice Department positions Monday, President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he intends to roll back Bush administration counterterrorism policies authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, warrantless spying and indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects.
The most startling shift was Obama’s pick of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen to take charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, the unit that’s churned out the legal opinions that provided a foundation for expanding President George W. Bush’s national security powers.
Johnsen, who spent five years in the Office of Legal Counsel during the Clinton administration and served as its acting chief, has publicly assailed “Bush’s corruption of our American ideals.” Upon the release last spring of a secret Office of Legal Counsel memo that backed tactics approaching torture for interrogations of terrorism suspects, she excoriated the unit’s lawyers for encouraging “horrific acts” and for advising Bush “that in fighting the war on terror, he is not bound by the laws Congress has enacted.”
“One of the refreshing things about Dawn Johnsen’s appointment is that she’s almost a 180-degree shift from John Yoo and David Addington and (Vice President) Dick Cheney,” said Harvard University law professor Laurence Tribe, referring to the main legal architects of the administration’s approval of harsh interrogation tactics.
Walter Dellinger, a Duke University law professor, said that Johnsen’s appointment “sends a very strong message that the administration intends to make sure that its power is exercised in conformity with constitutional rights and respect for civil liberties.”
January 6th, 2009
Senior Senators on the Intelligence Committee, incoming Chair Dianne Feinstein and outgoing chair John D. Rockefeller, are criticizing the selection of Leon Panetta as CIA chief. It appears that they, like many in the CIA, don’t want any changes in the system. After all, these Senators closed their eyes to horrible abuses for years, and never dared stand up to Richard Cheney.
At TPM, Josh quotes a career intelligence professional on why these distinguished Senators object and why the Panetta choice is a good one:
I have 29 years of experience in the intel business both in government and as a consultant / contractor to the government. I recently retired after those 29 years as a Navy Captain (Intel). I have served with many in the “national intel community” and served on the WMD commission in 2004-05. This is my cred, now for my comment.
I think there is a lot more here than is being said. I believe that Feinstein did not want someone like Panetta who has a large and independent power base and network. If you get a career guy they are a lot easier to isolate and move around. Panetta has been around for a long time and has his own network. I actually think that it is a good choice. He knows how intelligence needs to be presented to the President – that is the critical issue here.
I do not discount the notion that many in the CIA feel slighted by the creation of the DNI and not being the “premier” agency anymore, at least when one looks at the totem pole. But if you look at the PDB more than 80% of the product still originates from the DI. It is the gold standard of intelligence agencies, both here and abroad. As a old colleague once said to me: there are a lot of jewels in the crown of the United States government but there are only a few large critical ones: CIA DI, NASA, NIH, State; that is where the intellectual might of the government is.
The issue is not intell guy or non-intell guy. The big issue for Blair and Panetta is strategic or tactical orientation. We are fighting two wars and the warfighter always screams they don’t have enough intel or enough of anything for that matter. The dice are so loaded for support to the warfighter that critical strategic intelligence for the President and other senior leaders goes wanting due to time constraints on collection assets.
We need a significant re-orientation away from tactical support by CIA and other National agencies and back to their primary mission – direct intelligence support to the President. The last 15 years have seen an explosion of tactical intelligence capability with the advent of UAVs (which DoD fought against for so long due to the fighter pilot mentality). National systems need to be re-oriented to national priorities and away from tactical or operational desires of the warfighter.
I think the Panetta selection is another indication of the change coming. I was concerned that the selection of Jones as National Security Advisor and Blair as DNI underscored the great concern that I have about the militarization of intelligence. The selection of Panetta, with a much wider and deeper power base than either of them, makes me hopeful in this regard. Panetta is a skilled operator, he knows how to get things done. He knows how to get a budget approved and to make the wheels of government work. He will be a force – both in the Administration and on the Hill — much larger than any career guy could be. This is good. It gives the CIA the opportunity to re-create itself within the current structure.
January 6th, 2009