office of legal council...,
2008-11-07 18:53:38
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maybe merlin pulled it out of his hat...,
2008-11-10 13:05:38
richard danzig reading list:
A hagiographic on his management style at Navy.
The "International Human Rights Group" where he served as Vice Chair. I think it's a funny name for a missionary Christain organization. Helping international missionaries convert world cup fans... Your mileage, I suppose, may vary.
Maybe you remember this:
The previous secretary of the Navy, Richard Danzig, was very involved in the Speicher case and changed Speicher's status from "killed in action, body not recovered" to "missing in action"
Which is who Bush was talking about when he said this:
In 1991, the U.N. Security Council, through Resolutions 686 and 687, demanded that Iraq return all prisoners ... One American pilot is among them.
Nice little piece of ancillary propaganda for whipping up hysterics about Iraq, that one. Originally:
On January 18, 1991 ... Initial reports by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney stated that Speicher had been killed. One military source said reports indicated the aircraft had "exploded to bits" in the sky, apparently having suffered a direct SAM hit.
Etc.
That was one of the last things he did before passing through the revolving door to serve on the board of defense contractor National Semiconductor Corporation. I hope he got some stock options.
But I guess a big reason he's one of Obama's top advisors on national security is that he's got this policy on Iraq, and how, like, we should be more like Winnie the Pooh and stop doing stupid things that, like, damage our capacity for weighing clearly the pros and cons about who we should kill next. Also, he's interviewed some terrorists, and they want to be Luke Skywalker and shit. Richard Danzig wants to be National Security Advisor.
clarification: I was just having a look. This guy may be significantly better than - to put it as politely as I possibly can - all these fucking Brookings Institution douchebags.
James Steinberg believes "preventive force has a legitimate role to play in tackling some of the most dangerous security problems facing the United States and the wider international community".
Susan Rice wants to wipe Sudan off the map with some humanitarian cruise missiles or something - once again raising the question in my mind of what exactly is going on at the Brookings Institution that their liberals never want to start firebombing the Congo. She also wants more preventative war: "If the U.S. fails to gain UN support, we should act without it as it did in 1999 in Kosovo". Her grammar sucks also.
Dennis Ross is incapable of not lying. Anytime he opens his mouth the lingual equivalent of a Salvador Dalí painting jumps out of his throat.
From the swill of the rumor mongering that leaves Danzig and Greg Craig. I really don't understand what Danzig actually brings to the table. I guess the argument is that he's a competent manager and best buddies with Obama, but it's not like, looking at the Navy after Clinton, that you could say that it was a leaner meaner more efficient sinkhole for tax payer dollars and foreign debt, could you? Greg Craig, for my money. He's at least had a relatively fascinating legal career to ponder, and having at least one foreign policy wonk at the table endorsed by COHA would help me sleep at night.