Gates....He's Back!.....Commentary by Larry Johnson

[KoKo]

GATES...HE'S BACK......Larry Johnson

Three witnesses testified that Mr. Gates slanted intelligence analysis as a senior agency official in the 1980's, while two others defended him. . . .Mr. Gates's detractors assert that the slanting of intelligence was largely confined to issues involving the Soviet Union, Soviet expansionism and C.I.A. covert operations. . . .

The most dramatic testimony came from Melvin A. Goodman, a former division chief in Soviet affairs. He accused Mr. Gates of imposing his political judgments on intelligence analyses without any evidence to back his views, of suppressing his analysts' conclusions, of corrupting the agency's stringent analytical process and of misusing personnel -- "judge shopping the courthouse," Mr. Goodman called it -- until the desired analysis was produced.

But the more reflective testimony of another witness, Harold Ford, although less explosive than Mr. Goodman's, could carry more weight with the committee. Mr. Ford, a 30-year veteran of the agency who has extensively written and lectured on ethics in public policy, described his personal agony before deciding that out of loyalty to the agency, he could not support the nominee. Adding to the difficulty of his choice, Mr. Ford is a C.I.A. contract employee who would report to Mr. Gates, if he is confirmed.

One of the analysts who spoke in favor of Gates was Lawrence Gershwin. Gershwin, the national intelligence officer for strategic programs, subsequently played a critical role in drafting and promoting the flawed October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq.

Mel's experience with Gates is consistent with mine. I remember talking to the South African analyst back in 1988, who told me about the time Bob Gates tried to change the lede on an intelligence piece, which argued that Nelson Mandela was NOT a communist. Gates wanted the lede to say that Mandela was a communist. The analyst kicked back hard and ultimately prevailed, but this behavior was consistent with his reputation as a political animal willing to curry favor with the political masters downtown and sacrifice sound analysis.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-c-johnson/bob-gates-hes-back_b_33660.html

[populistdriven]

1. Better Gates than Lieberman

[KoKo]

3. I guess..........n/t

[Rick Myers]

2. Another Iran-Contra stooge... Daddy's takin' over... n/t