It’s Official
Well, as official as anything can be coming from James Clapper, according to Marcy we didn’t report on the content of the intercepts until after the attack.
That’s a really great system we have, given that the raison d’être for the National Security Agency was to avoid the situation we encountered in December of 1941 when a Japanese diplomatic cable was intercepted and decoded that revealed the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the report sat in a State Department in-basket from Friday afternoon, when it was delivered, until Monday morning when it was finally read.
If Syria is so important, why is Syrian intel such a low priority?
Speaking of intel, we still have no real understanding as to why the Assad regime would have decided to make the attack on the Damascus suburb. They knew the UN inspectors were due to arrive, and would want to inspect the area. The attack took place at the wrong time to achieve maximum efficacy, at night, instead of midday. Where is the motive?
Further, we have the administration including Israeli intel without identifying it as such. The Israelis have a history of creative writing in their intel, and they want the US to blow things up in Syria.
2 comments
But… the Israelis are our friends! Just ask the crew of the USS Liberty!
Uhm, yeah, leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth too…
I suspect that the Israeli intel is the capstone to the ‘proof’ that Assad was responsible for the attack, which is why they won’t declassify it and tell the people what they have.
After what happened to the IDF in their last attempt to invade Lebanon, I don’t have much confidence the ability of Israel to know what its neighbors are doing. The Mossad hasn’t covered itself with glory in any of its recent outings. They used to be very effective but standards have fallen.