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Former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell has written a New York Times op-ed entitled “I Ran the CIA. Now I’m endorsing Hillary Clinton.” Morell’s story begins with the flat assertion that “Mrs. Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president – keeping our nation safe…Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.”
Morell arrived at his judgement regarding the upcoming election based on his four years of interaction with Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. He admired her preparation, diligence and her willingness to “change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.” Morell “also saw the secretary’s commitment to our nation’s security: her belief that America is an exceptional nation that must lead in the world for the country to remain secure and prosperous; her understanding that diplomacy can be effective only if the country is perceived as willing and able to use force if necessary; and – her capacity to make the most difficult decision of all – whether to put young American women and men in harm’s way.”
“I Ran the CIA” Morell goes on to cite how Hillary was a “proponent of a more aggressive approach [in Syria], one that might have prevented the Islamic State from gaining a foothold…” and he credits her with not politicizing national security when she rejected moving the raid to kill bin Laden back one day so it would not conflict with the White House Correspondents Dinner. Throughout his piece Morell implies that Hillary’s “keeping us safe” policies will somehow actually benefit the country, but he does not explain why and never once mentions what actual American national interests might be served through global “leadership” backed up by force majeure.
And then there is Trump. Morell runs through the litany of the GOP candidate’s observed personality and character failings while also citing his lack of experience but he delivers what he thinks to be his most crushing blow when he introduces Vladimir Putin into the discussion. Putin, it seems, a wily ex-career intelligence officer, is “trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trump’s vulnerabilities… In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.”
How can one be both unwitting and a recruited agent? Some might roll their eyes at that bit of hyperbole, but Morell goes on to explain why a claim that would be rather difficult to validate matters. He is unflinching and just a tad sanctimonious in affirming that his own intelligence training means that “[I] call it as I see it.” He derides Trump’s naivete in affirming that “Mr. Putin is a great leader…ignoring that he has killed and jailed journalists and political opponents, has invaded two of his neighbors and is driving his economy to ruin. Mr. Trump has also taken policy positions consistent with Russian, not American, interests — endorsing Russian espionage against the United States, supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea and giving a green light to a possible Russian invasion of the Baltic States.”
Comments in The Times suggest that many readers are actually buying Morell’s argument, such as it is. They are perhaps ignorant of a number of facts about the author and where he stands ideologically and politically speaking, but first of all Morell’s bluster deserves a bit of a fact check. That the U.S. is “an exceptional nation” obliging it to lead the world, using force without hesitation whenever necessary, might well be questioned by many, particularly in light of the ineffective – or one might say disastrous? – policies instituted over the past fifteen years, policies which, I might add, both Morell and Clinton were parties to.
Contrary to Morell’s assertion, a hawkish Hillary Clinton has never hesitated to put young Americans or anyone else in “harm’s way.” His advocacy of Hillary’s promotion of using military force to overthrow Bashar al-Assad in Syria can be easily challenged by even cursory reflection on the dreadful results produced by similar efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. A Syria with no government or a regime made up of a mixture of enemies of al-Assad would have become an open door for the development and expansion of ISIS, which is currently being most effectively opposed by the Syrian Army. And the Russians.
And yes, the Russians. For Morell and apparently Clinton they are the eternal enemy, but Trump’s often stated willingness to work with Putin and the nuclear armed state he heads is somehow seen as a Russian interest, not an American one. That Russia allegedly “invaded” two neighbors and forcibly annexed Crimea is a comic book version of what actually took place and which continues to roil the region. And there is no evidence whatsoever that Moscow either broke into the Democratic Party files or that it intends to invade the Baltic states. So much for the presumed insider knowledge coming from the man who “ran the CIA.”
As for the clincher about Trump being a Moscow run Manchurian candidate, I would suggest that Morell might have been a top analyst at the Agency but he never acquired or ran an actual spy in his life so his comments about The Donald having been recruited by Putin should be taken for what they are worth, which is precisely nothing. Indeed, as I have noted, calling someone an “unwitting agent” is itself meaningless as it implies being somehow recruited to engage in espionage but without realizing it and without being actually called upon to do anything. I would doubt that many real CIA Operations Officers would agree with Morell’s glib assessment or use such an expression. Trump for all his failings is presumably patriotic and no fool. He just might understand that dealing with a powerful foreign leader who is not completely to one’s liking just might be better than nuclear war. Perhaps Morell and Clinton should consider that option.
Michael Morell is, in fact, a product of Washington groupthink and a major beneficiary of Establishment politics, the very tradition that Hillary Clinton represents. Many readers have no doubt seen his serious, somewhat intense gaze as a television expert on terrorism. His career trajectory depends on there being major threats to the United States and this requires him to be constantly searching for enemies. Morell has covered for Hillary in the past, most notably over Benghazi where he altered the talking points of his Congressional testimony to make CIA’s assessment closer to Clinton’s version of events. That he has attached himself to the Hillary Clinton campaign should surprise no one.
When not fronting as a handsomely paid national security consultant for the CBS television network, Morell is employed by Beacon Global Strategies as a Senior Counselor, a company co-founded by Andrew Shapiro and Philippe Reines, members of the Clinton inner circle. As he has no experience in financial markets, he presumably spends his time warning well-heeled clients to watch out for random terrorists and Russians seeking to acquire “unwitting agents.” The clients might also want to consider that unless Morell is being illegally fed classified information by former colleagues his access to valuable insider information ended three years ago when he retired from CIA.
The national security industry that Morell is part of runs on fear. His current lifestyle and substantial emoluments depend on people being afraid of terrorism and foreigners in general, compelling them to turn to a designated expert like him to ask serious questions that he will answer in a serious way, sometimes suggesting that Islamic militants could potentially bring about some kind of global apocalypse if one does not seek knowledgeable counsel from firms like Beacon Global Strategies. And the Russians and Iranians are inevitably behind it all.
Morell, also a CIA torture apologist and a George Tenet protégé, was deeply involved in many of the intelligence failures that preceded and followed 9/11. He also has a book out that he wants to sell, positing somewhat ridiculously that he and his former employer had been fighting The Great War of Our Time against Islamic terrorists, something comparable to the World Wars of the past century, hence the title. Morell tends to see the world in Manichean terms. If he were at all introspective he might question the bad guys versus good guys narrative that he possibly peddles for commercial reasons but that is a road he does not choose to go down. His credentials as a warrior are somewhat suspect in any event as he never did any military service and his combat in the world of intelligence consisted largely of sitting behind a desk in Washington and providing briefings to George W. Bush and Barack Obama in which he presumably told them what they wanted to hear, though I am sure he would deny that.
It is certainly unseemly that the self-serving Morell has felt it appropriate to invoke his former government position to provide authenticity for a series of comments that in reality are little more than his own opinion. And, unfortunately, self-advancement by virtue of a government-private sector revolving door is not unique. He is but one of a host of pundits who are successful in selling the military-industrial-lobbyist-congressional-intelligence community’s largely fabricated narrative regarding the war on terror and diversified foreign threats. Throw in the neoconservatives as the in-your-face agents provocateurs who provide instant intellectual and media credibility for developments and you have large groups of engaged individuals with good access who are on the receiving end of the seemingly unending cash pipeline that began with 9/11. And the good thing about a well maintained pipeline is that it keeps on flowing. Is Michael J. Morell anticipating a high position in the Hillary Clinton Administration? You betcha.
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Diversity is a strength! (nonwhites into white places only)
Open borders, mass immigration and “Diversity” is imposed on All and Only white populations everywhere.
Is that the real white, eh, ‘privilege’?
If this were imposed on only Africa peoples everywhere, how long until someone screamed ‘Genocide!’
After seeing Michael Morell testifying on Benghazi and then again on one of the Sunday Talking Heads shows, the word that best describes Morell is “obsequious.” He’s another Sydney Blumenthal.
Great column by Phil Giraldi!
Wormtongue!!!
He looks like a young Rumsfeld.
So, the Matrix Suits are now for Hillary.
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/2/2f/Agents_brown_smith_jones_jackson_johnson_thompson.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111219135124
This is my opinion about Assad; the media is against him therefore he is the good guy. I remember that Bosnia Serbia conflict The media was anti Serbia and pro Bosnia. Turns out that the Serbs were in the right and the Bosnian/Albanians were just one of a long line of Muslim invaders into Christian Europe.
I form my opinions on mass media propaganda Whatever they tell me to think I think the opposite.
Since the civil rights movement the media has been wrong.
One last thought, despite America’s running all over the world looking for wars to stir up, with the exception of turning over a European country, Bosnia to Muslims, America has not won a war since 1945, 71 years.
In the modern cultural climate where the CIA is usually depicted as villains, fools, and closet Nazis “I ran the CIA,and I back Hillary” is probably going to cost her votes. I guess Morell has somehow avoided watching any movies or TV shows made since the ’50’s that featured the CIA. The people who think Jack Ryan or Felix Leiter were cool are voting Trump.
A major problem of the past several, treasonous administrations (you can tell they’re treasonous when leaking classified information is *typical* at the top level, an excuse Hillary is using) is that they’ve replaced good people with jerks. So you get former military commanders, etc. who like Hillary because her cadre has put them in place.
Trump will have a lot of work to do, cleaning out the Augean stables.
He looks like Stephen King. What a horror.
Re: Michael Morell …..how pathetic is this! Actually Hillary is a surrogate. Getting her in is just a way for the Democrats to remain in power. Her health is awful and if elected Tim Kaine will take over within a year or two. To the Democrat Party this is irrelevant. The whole point is to get your man or waddling pantsuit in as president then proceed from there.
More piling on:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/09/us/politics/national-security-gop-donald-trump.html
If so many oppose Trump on foreign policy grounds, he is probably doing something right, since we have only created catastrophes since 2000. I think most voters would like to get off the “Superpower” tiger and become a normal, ordinary and even unexceptional country again where everyday concerns are simply food, shelter and clothing (plus employment, education, healthcare).
This is a great article. Morell and the Clinton crowd are acting as totalitarians. One wonders how far they’ll go if they secure untrammeled power. I would say that they are a serious threat to end it all. They are following the well trod path of prior dictatorships, that, once they get away with illegal wars, they keep going until a crack-up. Unfortunately, this time it will be a planetary crack-up and this has to be made clear, but unfortunately, the mainstream press acts according to a ministry of truth-like propaganda template. This is profoundly depressing.
Good God, this prick looks exactly like Dept. Head Rawlings from The Onion. The Powers That Be are just trolling now…
http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/the-man-we-know-only-as-the-homunculus-has-defecte-17543
The sad thing is most people in this country are dumb and blind. They gobbled up that “news piece” like it was their last meal…… And it might as well be…..
Gee, call me old fashioned and idealistic, but the Presidential oath, as prescribed by the Constitution itself, describes job #1 of the President as, to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and … to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
What’s the point of being “safe” in a police state run by a war criminal? I’ll take my chances with the Trump.
Well, Seddique Mateen, the father of Orlando nightclub mass murderer Omar Mateen thinks Hillary Clinton is best for the US and he attended a Clinton rally to say so, sitting among those behind her while she spoke.
http://www.wptv.com/news/state/orlando-shooters-father-attends-hillary-clinton-rally-in-kissimmee
His sign (seen at 1:45 into the Channel 5 video) said:
Hillary Clinton Good For National Security
Ex-CIA Chief Morell “Hillary told the truth about Benghazi”
He can endorse whoever he wants. His arguments are nonsensical but they are meant for those that believed them beforehand. Note that, by his own argumentation (the weight of personal experience), he really has nothing to say about Trump.
In any case, it is difficult to see how Clinton can do any worse than Obama… although I’m sure she will try.
her belief that America is an exceptional nation that must lead in the world for the country to remain secure and prosperous
There is nothing that offends non americans more than this arrogant and dangerous Exceptionalist shit. It’s the mark of all miserable Empires from the Greeks Romans , Brits, Nazis – they too all thought they were the shining example of humanity and that the sun shone out of their posteriors.
“I Ran The CIA” he says, and acts as though he was right in the thick of it with the agents. It’s like Roger Goodell saying “I Ran The NFL” and acting as though that implied the experience of playing professional football.
Michael Morell was appointed director of CIA by Obama on the recommendation of Israel-Firster John Brenan, his counter-terrorist adviser at that time. AIPAC selected deputy-director CIA Morell as the best replacement for Gen. David Petraeus caught having sex with his sexy biographer.
Brennan was staff director for former CIA director George Tenet (born as David Cohen). Morell had helped Tenet in the cover-up of Israel’s involvement in the 9/11.
https://rehmat1.com/2012/11/11/gen-petraeus-sacked-over-his-mistress/
This.
The CIA has had a pretty murky and poor public image since the 70s. They’ve been the bad guys in a bunch of paranoia-conspiracy movies. Oliver Stone JFK made them (in a convoluted way) the point men in every single possible JFK conspiracy theory.
So the CIA coming out in favor Hillary is like George Soros coming out and endorsing her. Oh really, a massively powerful and secretive entity that uses its influence to control world events and commit atrocities around the globe and here in the U.S. is in favor of a candidate whose actions can always be traced to the will of power brokers and money men above her?
Ringing endorsement there, chums.
Meanwhile, the formerly-white-hatted FBI has exposed itself via Comey’s July 5th announcement as nothing more than the Tsar’s secret police. And they had a really good public persona in movies and TV shows, always appearing as heroic, although occasionally they are depicted in a macho-pissing-contest-conflict with local LEOs (South Park memorably made fun of this Hollywood trope).
And this was after COINTELPRO, their long time coverup of the Mafia’s existence, their corruption in the Whitey Bulger case, their failures to nab obvious terrorists on 9/11, and San Bernadino, and Boston, and Orlando, and Chattanooga…..
Let’s just say that, in this election, a populist election against the establishment, a government agency with massive power and a poor reputation does NOT have the moral credibility or force to sway voters into voting for Hillary if said agency endorses her.
What’s next? The IRS endorsing Hillary? Oh please, let the Left and Cucks be that dumb.
To be on point:
“Contrary to Morell’s assertion, a hawkish Hillary Clinton has never hesitated to put young Americans or anyone else in “harm’s way.” … Morell is employed by Beacon Global Strategies as a Senior Counselor, a company co-founded by Andrew Shapiro and Philippe Reines, members of the Clinton inner circle. … he never did any military service and his combat in the world of intelligence consisted largely of sitting behind a desk in Washington…. [he has been] successful in selling the military-industrial-lobbyist-congressional-intelligence community’s largely fabricated narrative regarding the war on terror and diversified foreign threats.”
Morell is a regular opportunist and profiteer. Judging from his personal “achievements” re defense of motherland, on a scale of patriot-traitor, Morell is rather very near the “traitor” pole.
“Ex-CIA #2 Morell contradicts Flynn’s account of the intelligence report, writing that “it was simply wrong in its facts when it indicated that the West was supporting extremists in Syria.” Morell wants you to take his word for it: “The administration went to great lengths to ensure that any aid provided by the United States to the opposition would not fall into the hands of extremists, including the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.” Really? What about the Golan Heights?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/us-isis-syria-iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/politics/amnesty-international-isis-weapons-u-s-/
http://ijr.com/2014/09/175685-remember-moderate-rebels-syria-obama-armed-isis-got-weapons/
And more: “On the talking points, Morell said he dropped information about CIA security warnings — which were factual and accurate — because he thought it would be unprofessional to embarrass then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s State Department.
his raised eyebrows, considering those warnings had alerted others that security conditions were rapidly deteriorating in eastern Libya. The warnings were not acted on, and four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in the 2012 attack.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, “To me it seems like you are more interested in protecting the State Department….” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/04/03/ex-cia-official-morell-offers-unorthodox-reasons-for-omitting-key-details-from.html
Sure. It is apparent that Mr. Morell is extremely sensitive towards his paycheck.
Morell admires Hillary’s “preparation, diligence and her willingness to ‘change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.’”
Too bad he didn’t mention what happened in Iraq before Hillary led the charge to remove Gaddafi in Libya.
If Trump is an unwitting Russian agent than Morell is a witting agent of the Jewish lobby, the state of Israel and the globalist apparatus. Being a trained intelligence agent Morell is skilled in deception and spreading disinformation and that’s what his NYT op-ed attacking Trump amounts to.
I fail to see how Putin is public enemy number one or that seeking friendly relations with Russia harms U.S. national security. Of course, nobody ever accused Washingtonians and apparatchiks like Morell of having common sense.
Well we defeated the Grenandans in the 1980s and the Panamanians in 1989-90.
Sir:
In a world that all too often seems to have gone bat-guano crazy, it’s a pleasure to read your columns and hear the voice of sanity.
Comments in the NYT are an echo chamber. Who do you think subscribes to that rag? Nobody even knows who Morell is. He is just another DC traitor who thinks only fascists like them are qualified to be president.
Ray Donovan this season is a wrapup of all this including the Whitey Bulger as semi-homo slant as played by John Voight who is Ray Donovan’s father. Lots of FBI degeneracy (Hank Azaria) in the latest episodes.
Brilliant! “Designated expert”, I like it 🙂
I did not run the CIA, but I served as a CIA operations officer for almost 30 years, virtually all of it overseas. I was a senior field manager and ran actual operations against very real terrorists and very real Russians (who I grew to respect, if not admire). Unlike Morrell, I was not a desk-bound analyst, a newspaper reader and flatterer of the high and mighty. “Great War of Our Time” my ass. I actually did the work of the Agency in some shitty places. It enrages me to read the crap people like Morrell are spewing. This disgusting weasel is entirely typical of the sort of creatures who infest the 7th floor of CIA headquarters, State Department and all of the other so-called “national security” organs. Morrell is a slime ball, something he shares with all others of his ilk. These morons are the ones responsible for the incredible mess we are in now. The Zionists among them are literally traitors while the others are treason enablers. They stroll from one disaster to another, always ready to throw some poor slob in the field under the bus if it becomes necessary to cover their own tracks. Not until late in the game did I realize that I was a sucker, that the guys like Morrell didn’t give a damn about these “threats to our national security”. They are always on the make and the name of the game is money and power. I well remember the rush to the exists after 9/11 when so many of these “patriots” rushed to the exits so they could set up “consultant” companies and rip off the government to the tune of tens of millions, inducing their buddies to retire and hiring them back as contractors for Uncle Sam – at ten times their government salary. Read the list of the 50 so-called “national security experts” who oppose Trump. Phonies, all of them, except the Israeli spies among them. God help us if Trump loses.
o/t
Just heard a journalist for Politico tell the C Span Washington Journal audience, with a straight face, that “No one expects Ryan to lose today; he has a huge cash advantage, with nearly $10 million in cash on hand in his campaign, compared with less than $200 thousand for his primary challenger.”
Flashback to those glory days in Iraq when Muslims, although otherwise incapable of living by democratic principles, queued in the sand to cast a vote for the person of their choice to lead their state, and returned from the ballot box proudly displaying their purple fingers.
I wondered if they voted for the guy who had 50 X amount of money “in cash on hand,” or the one who had only X “in cash on hand,” since that seems to be the defining metric of what democracy is all about.
Inasmuch as conditions in Iraq have only deteriorated since that purple-finger election, I wondered whose money it was and if that donor demanded a refund; and I wondered how long it took for the purple dye to wash off.
Right, forgot all about those marvelous victories I remember the media was totally against the Grenada thing because Regean ordered it.
Great comment, Southern Stage.
Showing the ENTIRE “seventh floor” the DOOR , seems way overdue.
Saddam Hussein was defeated in Iraq, Taliban is out in the Afghan. The North Koreans and Chinese were kept out of South Korea, too. It’s getting kind of silly how so many commenters write that the US hasn’t won a war since ’45. Enough already. It’s true that the US hasn’t conquered the world completely, but she’s won a few wars.
That’s good. And The Departed, IIRC, had as its plot the fact that FBI were tipping off Jack Nicholson’s character—but this point was buried, especially since they make the main mole in the film Matt Damon’s Massachusetts State Police character.
But for the most part the G-Men have, since the beginning, used Hollywood P.R. very well. J. Edgar Hoover had Hollywood movies lionizing the young, unproven agency in the ’30s, even while they were the Keystone Cops, with bank robbers running amok throughout the Midwest and escaping custody (Dillenger) and the Mafia controlling every major metropolis without the FBI lifting a finger (if it hadn’t been for Thomas Dewey and Elliot, it’s doubtful any connected hoods would have been nailed during this era—Dewey was a federal prosecutor who shamed law enforcement into going after Dutch Schultz, and and Elliot, notably, was not FBI, but a member of the Bureau of Prohibition).
Morell’s a scumbag. He’s putting his career ahead of America’s security. That’s why he’s endorsing the warmonger (and favorite of the elite and the media) over Trump, the non-interventionist (and object of the elite’s hatred).
Yeah I’m loving this “we’re 50 warmongering CIA scumbags, and we endorse cankles and condemn Trump” thing.
OMG nooo! We’ve lost the war-losing, piss-away-taxpayer-money-and-soldiers’-lives vote!
Trump has all the right enemies. Unfortunately, they are legion.
The anti-American cancer has sunk all the way in to the marrow.
Trump’s a referendum on American survival.
Didn’t Hussein hem and haw over that one for like two months? I don’t suppose one day in either direction really made much difference.
And yet, dick cheese is endorsing the Democrat candidate, who will be the third term of Hussein, the guy who doubled the nat’l debt, bombed or wrecked several countries far from our borders (and thus, from our security horizons), continued Bush’s Patriot Act agenda, presided over unprecedented expansion of the surveillance state, spying on law-abiding American citizens, etc., etc., etc.
That’s a lie, but then, look who we’re talking about.
Staying out of Russia’s back yard is in our national interests. What’s to stop Russia from mucking about in Mexico or Canada in retaliation?
Dick “I ran the CIA” Cheese wants to vote for Hillary “everyone’s hacked my half-assed amateur-hour ‘private’ server and read all the classified info I dangled there” Clinton. Hilarious.
“Unwitting agent” is an oxymoron. Morell is using it because he’s not particularly bright, or because he doesn’t mind behaving in like fashion in an effort to persuade low-information readers, take your pick (probably the former, as it’s an unforced error). You can have unwitting informants, and the like, but not agents (the word, “agency” is a clue here). An agent can be a dupe (Martha in The Americans), but on some level, he is always aware of his status as an agent; that’s baked into the cake.
Morell’s op-ed is just self serving tripe and pro-Clinton bilge. Hopefully, most Americans who aren’t brain damaged will see it as such.
Common sense and experience with real war?
Dear Mr Giraldi,
Thanks for a fine article.
What have we all come to,
when every single person in a position of power within our government,
and nearly every nominee we can vote for….
teaches us that PEACE IS EVIL and WAR IS GOOD.
You mean that the US lacks this? Ask Victoria Nuland what she thinks.
This is precisely what I mean–overwhelming majority of US population, including “elites” and including said Nuland, has no grasp of warfare. You know, explosions, fires, death of closest relatives, hunger, rape, pillage, fear, you know–the usual stuff. The closest it came was a tragedy of 911–that was a little glimpse into what real war looks like. Russia and Russians hate war, US elites love it, since they see it only on TV and computers.
“Being a trained intelligence agent…” Here is Wikipedia testimonial that Mr. Morell was an inadequate spymaster. He “managed the staff that produced the Presidential Daily Briefings for President George W. Bush. Morell was Bush’s briefer during the September 11, 2001, attacks…” What and how did Morell “manage” at the White House, which had resulted in 9/11? https://www.rt.com/usa/321984-bush-ignored-911-terror-warnings/
But this weasel has been enthusiastically for torture, despite the warnings of real experts: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2004/05/11/770/cover-up-of-abu-ghraib-torture-puts-troops-at-risk/
“Morell criticized NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying: “Americans may well die at the hands of terrorists because of Edward Snowden’s action.” What about his Mistress Clinton that deed indeed divulge the CIA informants net? https://consortiumnews.com/2016/06/05/did-clintons-emails-expose-cia-agents/
A very good comment – I believe this guy – Southern Sage – he sounds genuine.
Hey Art,
Could not agree more.
But even it turns out he is not genuine….his comment STILL scores a bulls eye !.
Not quite true. A drone offends far more.
But sure, superlative exceptionalism is a common cause of comedy and scorn. The usual comment is as follows… “it’s unlikely people will get out of their way to call you ugly, unless you are bragging constantly about being the most beautiful person that ever lived”
Michael Morell, like Clinton “advisor” Sidney Blumenthal and Bill Clinton himself, is a member of the Rockefeller/CFR.
Many of the “talking heads” are also CFR members: Margaret Warner, Andrea Mitchell, George Stephanopolous, Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, etc. Time-Warner is a CFR corporate sponsor. Time-Warner chairman Jeffrey Bewkes and CNN president Jonathan Klein are both members.
See lists of corporate sponsors, directors, and members at cfr dot org.
Morell is a good goy
Forget to mention Ziofascists
Brilliantly said, sir!
I almost quit reading at the end of the second paragraph where this ass hat referred to HRCs capacity to “make the most important decision of all – whether to put young American women and men in harms way.” Anyone who believes, despite the efforts of these clowns in DC, that the overwhelming majority of those who will go in harms way are anything but expendable Caucasian males, is sucking the KOOLAID from a BIG GULP cup.
So many of these creeps sucking up to power, either believe these fairy tales, or think that the rest of us are all so stupid that we believe them. None of these moochers are capable of speaking a paragraph without tipping the listener to the fact that they believe the hive think in DC enlists the most capable minds in the country to carry out its skullduggery. When I worked as a mud Marine my fellows and I reserved the most contempt for these characters……ass kissers they were called. No more to be said.
Michael Morell is a typical product of Washington, District of Corruption. It goes without saying that he’s an interventionist, an Israel-Firster, a toady to power.
He’s making sure he stands in solid with The Pantsuited One.
Colonel Patrick Lang about Morell:
“The man has no experience in the field and was never trained for it. He is a “silly savage” typical of the “perfumed princes” of the court as Hackworth called them.”
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2016/08/httpwwwunzcomarticlei-ran-the-cia-man-piles-on-trump.html#comments
Morell is another prominent sycophant and nincompoop willing to prop the failing Madame Clinton.
THESE ARE THE FACTS, FOR REALSIES
Ferret-faced cretin who ran government agency devoted to deception and disinformation claims sole proprietorship of truth. Laughter and derision ensue.
Come on guys. Is Jeffrey Wright a great actor or not?
Removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was a ‘Israeli Project’ since 1990s when he joined the ‘Axis of Resistance (Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas)’. Syrian regime never posed a threat to the Zionist entity as it never attacked Israel to recover its Golan Heights territory.
Zionist Jewish Barbara Walters who cursed Mel Gibson on her show in 2006 over his movie ‘The Passion of Christ’ had met Bashar al-Assad and his wife twice in Damascus.
In an interview with ABC’s Islamophobe Greek George Stephanopoulos in 2011, she said: “He studied medicine in England and found himself being thrust into the role of being Syria’s leader after the deaths of his dictator father and older brother.”
Barbra Walters said that Bashar had denied ordering army to shoot the protesters. “They’re not my forces. They’re military forces which are controlled by the government“.
George Stephanopoulos made the stupid comment: “We heard similar things from Qaddafi“. Well, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said in September that Qaddafi was very popular among Libyan people and that “he suspects there was a plot against Qaddafi“.
“This man (Assad) is not like Qaddafi. First of all, Qaddafi, his whole demeanor was that of a wild man. Tis man is highly educated, very calm as you can see, and as far he is concerned, – Well, Qaddafi did say, he had the support of his people – but there is a whole difference in the way he handles himself,” Walters replied.
https://rehmat1.com/2011/12/09/barbara-walters-assad-is-intelligent-and-charming/
Yeah, there were more Grenedans on the ground, but it was the “peaceful” Cuban “construction workers” who did most of the fighting. All in all, we had the opposing forces outnumbered something like 3 or 4 to 1.
Fun fact: Roughly 7000 US troops particpated in the party, and the Army alone awarded more than 8000’medals, including awards to those who fought it in the Pentagon.
The US have become openly involved in helping the “moderate” terrorists in Aleppo:
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950518001118
“…the warships of the western states, specially the US, deployed in the Mediterranean Sea…are providing the terrorists with information and intel about the resistance forces’ moves round the clock and they (the militants) continue their operations with the help of the very same information..”
So much for the US “fighting ISIS.” The ziocons want the Golan Heights by any means.
He’s really got a philtrum one can trust.
The general rule of force concentration states that a defending force has a 3 to 1 advantage over an attacker. A 4 to 1 advantage when attacking is actually the preferable number. Of course, most generals will take an even larger advantage if they can get it.
“unwitting agent” sounds similar to “I had sex, but didn’t realise it”
He’s not ‘serious’ looking; he looks crazier than a f***king bedbug.
Whitey Bulger, the baisis for Nicholson’s character, really was protected by a crooked FBI agent from South Bostonwho had grown up as a good buddy of one of Bulger’s henchmen, maybe his brother, i don’t quite remember.
Taliban is out in the Afghan.
you must live under a rock somewhere!
The Taliban’s warm-weather offensive has shown the insurgents to be bolder and better organized, holding more territory now than at any time since 2001, when their regime was overthrown by the U.S.-led invasion, according to recent U.N. estimates.
Lynne O’Donnell, The Associated Press 9:33 a.m. EDT June 16, 2016
God help us if Trump loses.
Sir., I agree with you.
Although I don’t really like either one, I choose Trump any day over Helllier Clinton!
“The Russian threat” is the desperate effort of neocons to divert attention at all costs from their dismal record of blood, death, and failure. Without a bigger lie on the horizon they and the empire are finished.
Is this why Trump is asking why we can’t just use nukes?
Do you have a reply to this line?
They nailed it and it is pretty damning, along with his lack of judgment/self control. Who in there right mind would attack a war hero’s mother, claiming since she’s a Muslim woman, she probably isn’t allowed to speak. Even if he though it, he should have the judgment and self control to not open his mouth, but he doesn’t.
Morrel was the same CIA Director who allowed Benghazi to occur, and who recently have an interview with PBS where he called to “kill Russians and Iranians”.
Sounds like a great neocon.
9/23/1975 Tom Charles Huston Church Committee Testimony
Tom Charles Huston testified before the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, commonly known as the Church Committee, on the 43-page plan he presented to the President Nixon and others on ways to collect information about anti-war and “radical” groups, including burglary, electronic surveillance, and opening of mail. The plan was never implemented, but the committee learned that many of these practices were in effect long before the plan was submitted. Historical context was provided by former Church Committee majority counsel Frederick Schwarz, Elliot Maxwell, who worked on the staff of committee member Richard Schweiker (R-PA), and Senate Associate Historian Katherine Scott.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?408953-1/tom-charles-huston-testimony-church-committee
Yes,who the hell would buy a newspaper that lies to you repeatedly and is an agent of a foreign nation,Israel.
The duped,and the Zionists themselves.
Former acting CIA Director Michael Morell said in an interview Monday that U.S. policy in Syria should be to make Iran and Russia “pay a price” by arming local groups and instructing them to kill Iranian and Russian personnel in the country.
Morell was appearing on the Charlie Rose show on PBS …..
https://theintercept.com/2016/08/09/ex-cia-chief-who-endorsed-clinton-calls-for-killing-iranians-and-russians-in-syria/
Aug 10, 2016 Ex-CIA boss calls to kill Russians and Iranians in Syria!
The CIA lexicon of Vladimir Putin being “a thug and a bully” has long become a part of the average American’s vernacular – but what does this make you? Which party is the terrorist here? Morell’s justification is that Shia militias killed American soldiers in Iraq – however, the point of difference is that no party had invited America to Iraq. The only allies of the US are the Salafi- jihadists of the Arab world. Russia and Iran, on the other hand, were invited by the legitimate Assad government of Syria.
https://youtu.be/k4H4j3iTBws
On this we agree. Go Trump Train!!!! (no sarcasm)
September 1, 2015 THE CIA AND THE MEDIA: 50 FACTS THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW
Since the end of World War Two the Central Intelligence Agency has been a major force in US and foreign news media, exerting considerable influence over what the public sees, hears and reads on a regular basis. CIA publicists and journalists alike will assert they have few, if any, relationships, yet the seldom acknowledged history of their intimate collaboration indicates a far different story–indeed, one that media historians are reluctant to examine.
https://www.intellihub.com/the-cia-and-the-media-50-facts-the-world-needs-to-know-2/
Right on spot. It is always me, me, me and the neocons exploit that with expert.
Morell is a lunatic. It is great that the attention to Morell also brought the sleazy Panetta to the limelight: https://www.rt.com/usa/355291-morrell-kill-russians-clinton/
These nincompoops at the state trough have no concern for the US but only for their paychecks. Neither Panetta nor Morell have any courage; they are just the willing big-mouth puppets for the financiers at Fed. Reserve.
Somebody should ask Morell about the USSLiberty “accident.”
I’m still on the turnip truck, I have not yet fallen off so I still have complete mistrust and contempt for anything or anyone remotely connected to the CIA!
we tried to kill them and they shot back!
damn them.
better yet, kill them.
What’s the point of having the most powerful military in the world if you don’t use it to kill people after you’ve softened them up by starving them to death?
“Saddam Hussein was defeated in Iraq”
If the goal in Iraq was just to get rid of Saddam, yea, we won. If our goal was to have a stable, friendly, democratic, secular state in Iraq we will never win and in fact we made things less stable, less friendly and less secular (but they did have elections 🙂 ).
Hard to imagine that the war profiteers and financiers would allow the train to follow an independent rout that could be to any degree detrimental for them.
It would be interesting to hear Morell’s answer to a question about USSLiberty “accident.” There was a gag order imposed on the USSLiberty survivors. Would this incompetent weasel dare to slander the US servicemen that died because of Israel’s political game in the Middle East.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: “Is more money printed? Does the money find its way into consumer prices? Do we experience simultaneously massive inflation and massive unemployment?
Don’t expect the presstitutes, the politicians, or Wall Street to confront any of these questions.
When the crisis occurs, it will be blamed on Russia or China.”
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/08/10/how-long-can-economic-reality-be-ignored-paul-craig-roberts/
Here is an exemplar of another classic opportunist spreading anti-Russian propaganda to ensure his paycheck: “The former US ambassador Michael McFaul is resorted to hardline anti-Russian rhetoric, apparently hoping it may work as a reminder of his existence and help him get back into a future US Administration… McFaul accused Russia of “annexation” of Crimea and of undermining the Ukrainian economy… He added that Russia wished to scare NATO’s newly-adopted members in Eastern and Central Europe by dangerous flights over the Baltic Sea…”
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/06/06/former-us-ambassador-michael-mcfaul-pimps-for-new-job/
Do you really believe the Taliban is still in power in Afghanistan? They’ve been hiding under rocks for years now, coming out every once in a while to kill unarmed civilians. They may return to power if the US ever withdraws, but they were thoroughly defeated by 2002.
The military victory is what I’m talking about. The silly “stable, friendly, democratic…” BS, was just that. Something to pretty up the invasion and make it look more noble. Only the most naive ever believed the purpose of the war was to establish a Western style democracy.
Well, the man, Morell, is Jewish.
evidence?
wiki says Morrell attended what appears to be a Roman Catholic school near Akron, OH, where he was born/grew up.
incidentally, Stuart Levey is also from Akron, OH; he’s 4 yrs younger than Morrell.
I’m pretty sure he is Irish Catholic…
How does someone honesty get this dumb to antagonize people in ways North Korea would be proud of?
Of course stable, friendly, etc. was utter nonsense and militarily we whooped ’em. If “We came, we say, he died” is the definition of victory then I agree, we won the wars in Libya, Iraq and (eventually) Afghanistan. It sounds like you agree that the war was a tragic farce. Given that, the semantic issue of whether we ‘won’ or not is not very important for me.
Back then in 2013 they were steadfast in supporting continued killing so that Israel feels safe and Hizbullah doesn’t gain in prestige
”
But the Obama administration should resist the temptation to intervene more forcefully in Syria’s civil war. A victory by either side would be equally undesirable for the United States.
At this point, a prolonged stalemate is the only outcome that would not be damaging to American interests.
Indeed, it would be disastrous if President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were to emerge victorious after fully suppressing the rebellion and restoring its control over the entire country. Iranian money, weapons and operatives and Hezbollah troops have become key factors in the fighting, and Mr. Assad’s triumph would dramatically affirm the power and prestige of Shiite Iran and Hezbollah, its Lebanon-based proxy — posing a direct threat both to the Sunni Arab states and to Israel.
But a rebel victory would also be extremely dangerous for the United States and for many of its allies in Europe and the Middle East. That’s because extremist groups, some identified with Al Qaeda, have become the most effective fighting force in Syria. If those rebel groups manage to win, they would almost certainly try to form a government hostile to the United States. Moreover, Israel could not expect tranquillity on its northern border if the jihadis were to triumph in Syria.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/opinion/sunday/in-syria-america-loses-if-either-side-wins.html
If my memory serves me, comments were free until not much ago.
Now they are… moderated. As if that were not enough (we know it is enough), readers’ attention is drawn to the section with NYT’s “picks”.
Readers comments are nothing else than extentions to the pieces they comment.
“Not quite true. A drone offends far more.”
Completely true. A drone is the continuation of dangerous exceptionalism shit by other means.
Don’t you mean (((Irish))) (((Catholic)))? 😛
Fantastic piece, by the way. It’s frightening how quickly some of my liberal friends have turned into hawks. It really is all about who’s in power: “no more war” until it’s our first female president and then all that goes out the window and we have to be willing to put our men and women “in harm’s way” (no question of those effete liberals getting in harm’s way themselves, of course).
“Putin, it seems, a wily ex-career intelligence officer, is “trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. ”
As an ex-career intelligence officer, was Morell “trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them”? Those of the American electorate, for example?
“I think most voters would like to get off the “Superpower” tiger and become a normal, ordinary and even unexceptional country again where everyday concerns are simply food, shelter and clothing (plus employment, education, healthcare).”
Well said. I heartily agree. I don’t know about most voters, but that is what this voter wants. I would like the U.S. to be a normal, non-messianic country, where the government spends at least a little of its’ time looking after the interests and well-being of the citizenry. Right now, we are an empire, and on the road to ruin.
You are correct, Rich. However you would be much more correct if you used the term Pyrrhic victory.
Listen to what Morell said to Charlie Rose about killing Iranians, Russians and going after Assad as well near beginning of following youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04r0R1pM1o4
Morell obviously heard about Hillary Clinton emails pushing Israel Lobby agenda vs Syria:
http://america-hijacked.com/2016/03/22/clinton-email-shows-us-sought-syria-regime-change-for-israels-sake/
Morell apparently pandering to the neocons advising Clinton mentioned in comments at bottom of following URL:
http://america-hijacked.com/2016/04/12/would-a-clinton-win-mean-more-neocon-inspired-wars/
Anybody notice that he looks like George McFly’s evil twin?
I’m a big buff of eapionage and intelligence history, and I can’t recall one CIA or NSA director who went on to make it big in greater politics. Most of these directors and senior intelligence officials derive their power from their position, not personal ability necessarily. When that’s gone, they always become rather irrelevant.
“Anybody notice that he looks like George McFly’s evil twin?”
I noticed that too.
Phil, a succinct analysis. My only complaint is that it has not been given equal op-ed weight in the Times, nor that Morell’s self-serving links to war profiteers and paid partisan association to the Clinton campaign itself were not disclosed in the “newspaper of record.” I guess that is some of the news that didn’t fit.
The head of the CIA confirming Trump as Russian spy. As I recall, even the execrable McCarthy didn’t sink, at long last, to that shameful level of cartoon conspiracy theorizing.
Well, except for George HW Bush who became president. CIA Director 1976-77.
Agree with major point but quibble with the analogy.
As I recall, there really were Communists involved in many of the institutions where McCarthy claimed they were.
The use of the McCarthy epithet to vilify a person, especially when the reference frequently concludes with, “Have you at last sir no decency . . .” is, imho, problematic: it misses the key point of the problem that McCarthy was addressing, therefore defuses whatever conflict is at hand.
After all, didn’t Wm F Buckley, or his bro-in-law and intellectual fellow traveler defend McCarthy?
Who was that execrable person that made a Canadian “lawyer” Richard McLaren into a pay-boy and the laughingstock for professionals?
“…a report from an “Independent Person,” the Canadian professor Richard H. McLaren, who has accused the entire Russian Federation, not just individual athletes, of complicity in the use of performance-enhancing drugs. McLaren was quickly summoned to speak with WADA shortly after the NYT published interview with Rodchenkov [a felon]. The goal was clear: to concoct a “scientific report” by mid-July that would provide the IOC with grounds to ban the Russian team from the Rio Olympics. At a press conference on July 18 McLaren himself acknowledged that with a timeline of only 57 days he was unable “to identify any athlete that might have benefited from such manipulation to conceal positive doping tests.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-30/olympics-tool-new-cold-war
Here is the evidence, circumstantial but pretty compelling in my view: his mother’s maiden name is Irene Harangozo. Harangozo is a very unusual name, and if you do some research, it becomes clear that it is a Hungarian Jewish name. Seems very likely to me that his mother is Jewish. If so, he too is a Jew.
Much More on Morell
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/08/12/mike-morells-kill-russians-advice/
Mike Morell’s Kill-Russians Advice
By Ray McGovern
“…her willingness to “change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.” SURE: $$$$$$$$
Screw you Morell, I don’t care what you think about anything. Am I supposed to be impressed b/c you are some lifer DC bureaucrat? There was a day when such people were competent and trustworthy. NO MORE. People like Morell, who have been in charge of our foreign and military and intelligence policies, have shown themselves to be inept, clueless, incompetent, overrated, phony, detached, arrogant, and overall friggin’ useless. We have no more use or patience for snobby, elitist, overcredentialed-but-uneducated, Ivy Leaguer, big government, bureaucratic, wuss desk jockies such as Morell and his like.
Worth to repost:
Colonel Patrick Lang (a true expert and true patriot) on about Morell:
“The man has no experience in the field and was never trained for it. He is a “silly savage” typical of the “perfumed princes” of the court as Hackworth called them.”
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2016/08/httpwwwunzcomarticlei-ran-the-cia-man-piles-on-trump.html#comments
Morell = perfumed princess. Perfect.
More on Morell, the perfumed princess:
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/355789-ex-cia-directors-kill-russians/
John Kiriakou:
“What Mike Morell is proposing is quite simply illegal. You just can’t wantonly kill people because you don’t like their politics. One of the important things that Mike Morell has forgotten or has chosen to ignore is that [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, whether we like him or not, is the internationally recognized leader of a sovereign country. And the Russian military has been invited into that country by its sovereign leader. So it’s not up to us to decide we don’t like that, and so we are going to start killing people because of it.
… I worked closely with Mike Morell for several years in CIA headquarters. Mike Morell was a golden boy for many years. … Once he got into the senior intelligence service, he took on a broader role, but that role never involved operations. This is a problem inside the agency. It’s emblematic of what has happened with what I like to think is a neoconservative takeover of CIA policy. You have somebody who has never served overseas except in the very final years of his career in a very cushy position. But certainly never operationally. He’s never recruited a foreign national to spy for the United States; he’s never been involved in difficult or dangerous operations, yet he’s advocating putting American lives on the line to kill foreign nationals against whom we have no declaration of war.”
who paid you for this?