American Director of National Intelligence: The biggest mortal threat to the US is... China? BONUS: Gadhafi will prevail!
And I thought John al-Quds Brennan was the most incompetent adviser that President Obama has....Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has called for Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to resign after Clapper called China the biggest mortal threat to the United States in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. In case you're wondering, he had Russia second.
Let's go to the videotape.
Does Obama actually believe this too (Hat Tip: Memeorandum) ?
It's unclear whether Clapper was stating an administration position Thursday or his own personal view. When Clapper in February testified that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is "largely secular," Clapper's office afterward issued a statement effectively retracting the remark.Send in the clowns....
The White House stepped to Clapper's defense in December after he stumbled in an interview when asked about a major set of terror arrests in Great Britain.
The White House later acknowledged that Clapper had not yet been briefed about the sweep, while calling him "the consummate DNI."
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney seemed to indicate nothing untoward by the answer.
"Obviously, Russia and China are two of the three largest nuclear powers in the world. Therefore, they have dangerous weapons and have the capacity. But he made clear that we do not view Russia and China as a threat," Carney said. Carney later added that Graham misinterpreted the director's response.
Though officials often warn that China's economy and military are developing at a rapid pace, the Obama administration has made a push to improve relations with the country. The White House hosted Chinese President Hu Jintao for a State Dinner in January.
The U.S. government also finalized an arms-reduction treaty with Russia, something Clapper acknowledged at the hearing.
Though there are conflicting reports about Iran's intentions and resources, a State Department official said Wednesday that Iran was approaching the threshold of being able to construct a nuclear bomb.
But Graham said he lacks confidence in Clapper's understanding of his job and referred to Clapper's statement that he believes the regime of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi would prevail in fighting against Libyan rebels.
Labels: China, James Clapper, Libya, Lindsey Graham, Russia
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:45 AM
2 Comments:
This might defy conventional wisdom, but China and Russia my yet be the greatest threats to the United States. During the Cold War, the threat that Russia and China presented was one of proxy attack, not direct attack. The nuclear technology and expertise the Iranians are using to develop "the bomb" are supplied by the Russians. Remember that Israel has repeatedly had to challenge Russia on it's attempts to sell advanced weapons to Syria. In the Sudan, the weapons used to slaughter the southern non-Arab Sudanese were Chinese made. In China the same regime rules there as did during the cold war. In Russia, although the form of government has changed, the new government is filled with loyalists and leaders from the old Soviet state. Consider that the Muslim World has not demonstrated technical proficiency in modern times with the higher sciences on the level needed to compete with the west. Therefore they, the Muslims, need help from China and Russia to pose a serious threat.
Islamists only able to threaten the West using our own compassion and respect for human rights against us. If Osama Bin Laden had attacked in 1931 instead of 2001 would he had been a threat? Afganistan and Pakistan would have been carpeted bombed back to the stone age. Every person who looked a little Muslim would have been placed in detention camps and deported. The Al Queda threat could not exist in the generation of Roosevelt.
This might defy conventional wisdom, but China and Russia my yet be the greatest threats to the United States. During the Cold War, the threat that Russia and China presented was one of proxy attack, not direct attack. The nuclear technology and expertise the Iranians are using to develop "the bomb" are supplied by the Russians. Remember that Israel has repeatedly had to challenge Russia on it's attempts to sell advanced weapons to Syria. In the Sudan, the weapons used to slaughter the southern non-Arab Sudanese were Chinese made. In China the same regime rules there as did during the cold war. In Russia, although the form of government has changed, the new government is filled with loyalists and leaders from the old Soviet state. Consider that the Muslim World has not demonstrated technical proficiency in modern times with the higher sciences on the level needed to compete with the west. Therefore they, the Muslims, need help from China and Russia to pose a serious threat.
Sidenote: Islamists only able to threaten the West using our own compassion and respect for human rights against us. If Osama Bin Laden had attacked in 1931 instead of 2001 would he had been a threat? Afganistan and Pakistan would have been carpeted bombed back to the stone age. Every person who looked a little Muslim would have been placed in detention camps and deported. The Al Queda threat could not exist in the generation of Roosevelt.
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