You know you are scoring body blows against the rightwing crazies when they send Jed Babbin after you. Of course, if Jed Babbin was hunting with Dick Cheney he would shoot himself in the foot.
Jed’s latest oeuvre, CIA’s Castra Praetoria, is just nutty. I have sent the following letter to the editors of this trash. Enjoy.
To the Editors of the American Spectator:
I read Jed Babbin’s fantasy in your latest online issue, “Loose Canons, CIA’s Castra Praetoria” with mixed emotions. I am flattered that he thinks that I am so powerful and so influential that he needs to misrepresent my thoughts and actions. I will frame one of the passages from his article that comments on what I have written with respect to Mary McCarthy. According to Babbin:
“Johnson has been indiscreet before about what he learns from inside the CIA. His bias is manifest, and his reliability is — at best — questionable. But what he says in this case makes sense.”
Now, that is a news headline–JED BABBIN BELIEVES LARRY JOHNSON MAKES SENSE.
secret prisons
If Jed had simply given me a call I could have disabused him of the notion that I found out deep dark secrets from colleagues inside the CIA about what Mary McCarthy was doing (or not doing). After being told by several reporters that Mary had been working in the Inspector Generals office, I did something that the American Spectator writers ought to try–I sat down and did some reflective, analytical thinking. Using something called logic, I was able to point out that Mary’s lack of service on the clandestine side of the CIA meant that she was really not in a position to know much about secret prisons unless the issue was being investigated.
I am very concerned, however, by the American Spectator’s complete ignorance about the history of the last thirty years. You allow Jed Babbin to make what is probably one of the stupidest claims in the 21st Century. Babbin states:
The only victories the CIA has achieved since the Cuban Missile Crisis have been in the arena in which it is legally forbidden to operate: in the domestic politics of the United States. The Joe Wilson Niger trip was set up to produce publicity adverse to the Bush administration and its case for war in Iraq. Wilson was sent to Niger without a security agreement, which is normally required of everyone working in intelligence.
I am a fan of hyperbole as much as the next guy, but have you folks lost your mind? Let us recall for starters the victory achieved over Soviet backed insurgents in Central America and Africa during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. CIA played a critical role in those victories. Let’s not forget the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. A book by Milt Bearden and James Risen, The Main Enemy, lays that story out in some detail. You might want to pick up a copy. Reading is a great way to learn things.
Apparently Babbin (and your editors) also were asleep at the switch when CIA officers Gary Schroen and Gary Berntsen led the clandestine U.S. war against Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban in the aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 attacks. We won that operation (even though George Bush shifted intelligence and military resources from the hunt for Bin Laden to prep for war in Iraq). The CIA has had several important victories besides the one acknowleged by Jed.
With respect to Babbin’s claim that Joe Wilson’s trip to Niger was set up to “produce publicity adverse to the Bush Administration”, that is sheer utter nonsense. While I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Valerie Wilson (the former Valerie Plame), I have never known her to be a clairvoyant. Jed asks us to believe that Valerie Wilson, a GS-13 intelligence officer (who was in a non-official cover capacity at the time) convinced Dick Cheney to ask his briefers for additional information about an intelligence report claiming Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Niger. Using her magical powers, she anticipated in February of 2002 that George W. Bush would be on the verge of going to war in Iraq in January of 2003 and would use the claim of Iraq’s uranium buying spree as one of the key justifications for starting the war. Blessed with this advance knowledge, the blond Mata Hari aka Wilson manipulated her bosses at the CIA to ask her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, to go to Niger and come back with news that the intel was bogus. Then, she controlled the CIA reports officers and kept the information secret waiting to strike until Bush announced at the State of the Union that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Niger (even though CIA kept telling him no).
You guys could not sell this crap to a B movie producer in Hollywood. What actually happened is becoming clearer with every passing day. George W. Bush was told repeatedly in intelligence analysts, including the Deputy Director of the CIA (i.e., John McLaughlin) and the National Intelligence Officer for Africa (Ambassador Robert G. Houdek). We also have learned that the Chief of the Directorate of Operations European Division, Ty Drumheller, warned the President directly about false intelligence being used to justify war planning.
I guess it is fair to say you folks are strong supporters of the methods of George Bush. Like him, you ignore history, you butcher facts, and you have a healthy fantasy life. God Save the United States of America.
Sincerely yours,
Larry C Johnson
……………………………………………………..
Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder
of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm
that helps corporations and governments manage threats posed by
terrorism and money laundering. Mr. Johnson, who worked previously
with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s
Office of Counter Terrorism (as a Deputy Director), is a recognized
expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, crisis and risk
management. Mr. Johnson has analyzed terrorist incidents for a variety
of media including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio,
ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s Today Show, the New York Times, CNN, Fox News,
and the BBC. Mr. Johnson has authored several articles for
publications, including Security Management Magazine, the New York
Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has lectured on terrorism and
aviation security around the world. Further bio
details.
Personal Blog: No Quarter
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