Denial: A River In North Africa, Near Libya

Last week, the Director of National Intelligence, General James Clapper, said that forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi “will prevail” eventually.

Clapper was testifying in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

His assessment regarding the situation in Libya was in response to a question asked by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Clapper’s answer wasn’t the one Graham wanted to hear.

“The situation in Libya remains tenuous and the Director’s comments today on Gaddafi’ staying power are not helpful to our national security interests,” said Graham.  “His comments will make the situation more difficult for those opposing Qaddafi. It also undercuts our national efforts to bring about the desired result of Libya moving from dictator to democracy.”

According to Graham, this isn’t the first “questionable” comment from the Director of National Intelligence, the Committee was also upset when Clapper responded to a question regarding who he thought posed the greatest threat to America.  Before responding, Clapper specifically asked the questioner, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), if he was asking about nation states.

Machin said, “Yes, which nation states pose the greatest threat to America?”

Note the specific term Nation State.

Clapper then asked if the Senator was asking about mortal threats to the United States.

Machin confirmed that he was indeed asking the General’s opinion regarding which nation states posed mortal threats to the United States.

Note the specific term mortal threat.

Clapper responded, “Certainly, the Russians still have a very formidable nuclear arsenal...which does pose, you know, potentially a mortal threat to us. I don't think they have the intent to do that. Certainly China is growing in its military capabilities. It has a full array of what are conventional or strategic forces that they are building. So they, too, pose potentially from a capabilities standpoint a threat to us. As a mortal threat." [emphasis mine]

The committee was taken aback by Clapper’s unexpectedly incorrect answer.

See Clapper – who has access in real time to literally unlimited intelligence, both military and civilian, whose only job it is to be the nation’s top expert in current and emerging threats, who spends likely eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, studying those threats, who is a retired US Military General and expert in enemy warfighting capability – accidentally gave his actual honest opinion instead of the pre-approved rubber stamp answer, which as I’m sure you all know is: Iran and North Korea.

Which then begs the question, what was the point of the Committee hearing in the first place? Since it’s rather obvious that all the Senators already had all the answers to all the questions.

You know, this entire process would be a lot easier, and cost the taxpayer a lot less money, if the Senators would just give the generals a pre-printed cheat sheet. 

Hey “teaching to the test” is such a spiffy idea for educating our children, the same thing ought to be good enough for Senate testimony – We could call it No General Left Behind…

But I digress.

Clapper’s point, that China and Russia are the only entities who possess the wherewithal to actually destroy the United States (and a significant portion of the rest of the human race, not to mention most of the flora and fauna on the planet for that matter) was completely lost on the Committee, likely deliberately so. Note that Clapper was quick to qualify his statement by clearly saying that neither Russia nor China were likely to use their capability, but it exists nonetheless. 

Look here, if you buy the whole “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” bit then it should obviously follow that if you have a child and a loaded gun in the house, the biggest potential threat in your house is not some random crazy kicking in your door, but rather the single biggest threat to you and yours is the child. And no, I’m not calling either Russia or China children, so don’t go there. But you should also remember that doesn’t mean that the folks who might control those weapons in the future will always exercise such mature judgment.  And speaking of childish behavior, Graham was further outraged when Clapper confirmed that Russia and China regard our nuclear arsenal as a threat – as does much of the world. Graham apparently does not understand how such viewpoints and concerns, ours and theirs, might have direct influence on foreign policy, or on defense strategies (you know, the things the Senate Armed Services Committee is responsible for. And there I go again, digressing), or how they might shape the national budget, or provide a mutual starting point for diplomacy, or … well, yeah, never mind.

Iran and North Korea can snipe around our heels – and hell, maybe, maybe, lob a nuke or two – but neither country can come anywhere near posing a mortal danger to the United States, which, as you’ll recall, was the actual question asked of General Clapper and which he was careful to clarify as the actual question before answering (And honestly, what do you think would happen if North Korea did lob one of their paltry few nukes at North America or their neighbor to the south?  I mean really? Beginning the exact moment that missile impacted, North Korea would henceforth be referred to only in the past tense, like the lost city of Atlantis – destroyed down to the last blade of grass in a cataclysm of fire falling from the angry heavens and rising from the furious seas. Because, seriously here folks, otherwise what the hell is our nuclear arsenal for? But, again, I digress).

The committee members were variously flummoxed, aghast, offended, confused, appalled and outraged by Clapper’s comment and clearly incapable of seeing beyond their own agenda and opportunity to score political points.

Again, Clapper was quick to clarify his assessment, he said that he does not believe Russia and China are the greatest threats to the United States overall, "My greatest concern, though, does not lie with a nation state posing a threat to us as much as it is in the area of terrorism.”

Ah, terrorism! Finally. The correct answer at last.

But it was too late.

Predictably, Graham is now calling for General Clapper’s resignation.

Now don’t get me wrong here, General James Clapper has put his foot in his mouth more than once. For example: In 2003, as Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Clapper famously, or rather infamously, attempted to explain away the mysteriously missing Iraqi WMDs.  He said that those weapons were “unquestionably” shipped out of Iraqi right before the invasion, an assessment that left the rest of us in the intelligence community scratching our heads. No evidence to support that statement has ever been found and Clapper’s “unquestionable” statement has been questioned ever since.

I know, I know – Ah ha!

Right?

Wrong.

Those mythical Iraqi phantom weapons of mass delusion and the manufactured intelligence that led us into war looking for them are exactly the point here.

For the Senate Armed Services Committee to publically castigate Clapper for his answers in the particular manner that they did is symptomatic of the exact leadership failures that led directly to both 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq.  Graham’s grandstanding is directly analogous to Donald Rumsfeld’s public ridicule and dismissal of General Eric Shinseki because Shinseki didn’t give Rumsfeld the oral gratification that arrogant little prick demanded.

Graham’s message is quite clear:  We are not, in any way whatsoever, interested in hearing anything that contradicts our preconceived notions.  You will regurgitate the party line and only the party line or we will have your head.  National security policy will be determined by partisan politics and party agendas not the world as it exists.  As politicians with not one percent of your military and intelligence experience, we have determined that Iran and North Korea are the primary threats, now you give us an assessment that supports that and keep the rest of your opinions to yourself.

This state of nonsensical denial is responsible for much of the situation our nation finds itself in today, from Wall Street to Detroit to Iraqi.

And it’s leading us right down the same goddamned path into Libya.

Those of us in the military and the intelligence community are oh so very familiar with this imperious Rumsfeldian dismissive worldview. We can see the naked emperor’s big white wrinkled ass from miles away.  We recognize the cloying putrid stink from the very first wiff, it smells just like dead soldiers rotting in the hot middle eastern sun, it smells like yellow cake uranium, it smells like Iraqis cheering us for their freedom, it smells like IEDs and burning Humvees, it smells like Mission Accomplished! It smells like we’ll be home for Christmas, it smells like billions for fat defense contracts and pennies for VA funding. 

Oh yes, we recognize this rotten-toothed stench all too well, it smells just like Lindsey Graham’s fetid spittle-flecked breath.

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1973, giving a coalition of Western and Arab nations the authority to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and calling for a cease fire.

In the West and the Middle East, people cheered this development. Yay! Fire up the aircraft carriers and the fighter jets, boys, we’re off to war again. Hurrah!

In Tripoli, Libyan Foreign Minister, Mussa Kussa, said his country was obligated to accept the UN resolution and that Libya would observe the air exclusion zone and cease fire. Sure.

In Bengahzi, the rebels, what few are left, celebrated through the night. But they kept their weapons close, oh yes they did.

And for good reason.

Today of course, of course, the fighting continues as Muammar Qaddafi’s forces finish off the last few pockets of revolutionaries and the no-fly zone means exactly jack-shit because by the time UN forces show up it’ll be all over except for the shouting – well, shouting and tortured screaming and retribution and like that, I mean.  Off hand, I don’t remember what the Arabic is for Iraqi Kurdish Revolution but I suspect we’ll eventually call the Libyan uprising something similar. See, as it turns out ruthlessly vengeful crazy Muammar has no intention whatsoever of going off quietly into that good night – and he’s not above killing every goddamned body who tries to make him leave (you know, just like he killed every goddamned body who opposed the revolution that swept him into power 40 years ago).

Yes, yes, this is my surprised face.

Turns out those Libyan revolutionaries, those students, those civilians, are no match for Muammar Qaddafi’s forces armed as they are with tanks and armored vehicles and automatic weapons and communications and intelligence and formal military training and lots of experience dealing with enemies and rebels and urban warfare and absolutely no compulsions about using any of it on civilians either.  See, if Muammar falls, then anybody wearing a Libyan army uniform is going to get pulled out of their APC and hung in the town square.  Libya isn’t Egypt, Libyans fucking hate their army. So, those soldiers damned well know what’s good for them, i.e. win, or go to the wall.  And they’ve got all the weapons, a no-fly zone won’t change that.

And so, today, it’s all over but the shouting.

You know, just like General Clapper predicted last week. 

Oh sure, the UN will now stumble in and bumble about waving its little pipe-cleaner arms and making nasal sounding bleating noises.

And they’ll admonish Qaddafi not to take revenge on the rebels. But he will, and we’ll pretend not to notice – because, see, by UN Charter and international law, resolution 1973 doesn’t actually give anybody the authority to actually oust Qaddafi.  Read that again, neither we, nor any other signatory to the UN Charter may invade a sovereign nation in order to effect regime change (Yes, yes, I see you there in the back. Yes, I know all about the United State’s pre-emptive invasion of Iraq to effect regime change there – I was there. You’ll need to take that issue up with the UN, but you might want to watch Colin Powell’s testimony before the Security Council a couple of times first.  Also, if you’re seriously proposing doing another Iraq, in Libya, I’m going to smack you right upside the head with the Shovel of Doom. Seriously. Sit down. Now). 

And so (unless we do, indeed pull a George Bush and proclaim Libya a threat to the rest of the world), Muammar Qaddafi will remain, Castro like, Saddam like, in Tripoli.

The US, French, and British jets will roar ineffectively overhead.  They’ll drop a few bombs and kill a few Libyan soldiers.  The UAVs will soar like predator hawks across the land, unleashing their missiles and vaporizing a wedding or a funeral or school field trip by accident.  Oops, sorry.  Qaddafi will go back to funding terrorism and bombing Berlin discos and blowing up airliners in revenge for this insult.

Eventually Americans will get tired of paying for it all and start to wonder why the national debt isn’t getting any smaller even though they’ve cut funding for Planned Parenthood and NPR.  At that point, American Attention Deficit Disorder will kick in and shift the national focus to some other place requiring some radar guided democracy and we’ll wander off on some other grand crusade and then Qaddafi will take his revenge unfettered by pesky interlopers.

Ask any Kurd who rose up against Saddam following the first Gulf War.

They’ll tell you.

Of course, it’s unlikely to be the answer Senator Lindsey Graham wants to hear.

One has to wonder if Graham will then demand the Kurds’ resignation too.