Not Just the Intelligence System Failed, The Obama Administration Set The Tone For Failure

Intelligence and law enforcement organizations are much like large corporations in some respects. The non-management ranks and lower level managers take their clues as to what is acceptable behavior, what level of personal risk taking will be allowed and even rewarded, what not to say and what not do do, from the words, written notices, stated policies and actions of the top executives and the CEO. Even when the lower levels in a corporation may know that the top is mistaken or doesn't have all of the information, most lower levels will only talk among themselves but not risk their jobs, security, benefits or careers, by disagreeing with the top executives and pointing out errors. This is how most large corporations work and this is absolutely how the government works where careers and financial security are prime motivators for seeking employment.


When Obama and his inner circle, particularly Eric Holder in the case of terrorism, give repeated signals in speeches, press interviews and policies about politically correct behavior and a soft attitude toward suspected terrorists and apologies to Muslims around the world, then this message is picked up by the intelligence and law enforcement communities and a tone of personal caution sets in. When actions are taken by the top - such as closing GITMO, prosecuting CIA operatives for vigorous interrogations, prosecuting military people for punching a captured terrorist involved in murders, and civilian trials for the worst of the Islamic Terrorists - then the rank and file in the various intelligence organizations become very cautious and even timid in coming to what might be perceived as a hasty, unsubstantiated or racist conclusion. Acting on "suspicions", possibly intruding on suspects with "unreasonable searches" or possibly violating other civil rights of suspected terrorists, who aren't even U.S. citizens, is viewed as a risky business in this atmosphere.

So, it's not just the sharing and sorting of data that is the problem in heading off Islamic terrorist attacks, it is the total environment created by Obama, Holder and others that lead to intelligence failures such as the Islamic terrorist Kasan committing murders at Fort Hood and the Islamic terrorist Abdulmutallab getting on a plane and attempting to murder hundreds of American civilians. The ultimate example of "right think" and excuses is when we have total incompetents like Napolitano and Gibbs first claiming "the system worked" in the Abdulmutallab case, when it could not have been a worse failure.