Gen. James Clapper to resign or be fired as Director of National Intelligence ?

[American Patriot]

Lindsey Graham Calls for General James Clapper’s Resignation

by Fox News | March 10, 2011

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in an exclusive interview with Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron, called for Gen. James Clapper to resign or be fired as Director of National Intelligence, citing his comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning, on which Graham sits.
Clapper had stated his belief that the Qaddafi regime, in the long term would "prevail," and also assessed China and Russia to be primary threats to the United States.
Graham told Cameron that he lacks confidence in Clapper's understanding of his job, that President Obama should "repudiate" Clapper's remarks, and that this is the third time Clapper has faltered in this way.
"Three strikes and you're out," Graham said.
The earlier missteps cited were Clapper's ignorance of a major anti-terror raid in London and his recent assertion that the Muslim Brotherhood is essentially a "secular" organization.
Graham said Clapper has a "lack of situational awareness" and was sending the wrong message to Qaddafi and the people in the streets of Libya. He added that Clapper should know better.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/20...#ixzz1GE27URp2

[American Patriot]

Ok guys, I'm REALLLLLLLLY confused now.

This guy, Clapper made a statement regarding "the biggest threat" and mentioned China and Russia - basically in that order.

now the Dems are calling for his resignation, or firing?

He's the "intelligence" guy.

So - wtf?

BTW I know Graham isn't a democrat - but Carl LEVIN is and was on the cabinet....

[Ryan Ruck]

This may have been one of the few times that Clapper was on the money and now Graham is chastising him?!?!

Graham needs to go play in traffic...

I'm tired of living in Bizarro World.

[American Patriot]

I'm seriously confused over this, Ryan.

It wasn't just Graham. I watched the video earlier. Carl Levin (or is that Karl?) who is a big time democrat from Michigan (another of the men I knew as a young man in High School, damn, I was doing work for these bastages then!) said he was " as surprised at the second answer as the first..."

Now, I didn't SEE Levin, I HEARD him speak and I wasn't sure it was him... so I might be wrong on this.

[American Patriot]

Graham wants Clapper to resign

Lindsey Graham (left) wants James Clapper to resign or be fired from his job. | AP Photos Close



By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 3/10/11 3:39 PM EST Updated: 3/10/11 4:09 PM EST
Sen. Lindsey Graham is calling on Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to resign or be fired from his job, and for President Barack Obama to “repudiate” statements made by Clapper in recent months.

“I don’t have confidence that this gentleman understands what his job is all about and how his words affect the world as it is,” the South Carolina Republican told Fox News on Thursday.

POLITICO 44




Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning, Clapper called China and Russia “mortal” threats to the United States. The intelligence chief also claimed that controlled by the Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi are better armed than the opposition, and that “the regime will prevail” in the long term.
Seeking to play down Clapper’s assessment, White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Clapper was arguing Qadhafi could stay in power “if the dynamic doesn’t change.” He then added, “The dynamic is changing by the hour, by the day.”
Graham called on the president to denounce Clapper’s remarks, who he said has a “lack of situational awareness.” He added, “Three strikes and you’re out,” alluding to earlier mishaps: Clapper not knowing about a terrorism raid in London, and his calling the Muslim Brotherhood a “secular” group.
Carney said Graham’s reaction was a “real misinterpretation of what Director Clapper said.”
“Obviously, Russia and China are two of the three largest nuclear powers in the world,” Carney said, continuing his defense of Clapper. “Therefore, they have dangerous weapons and have the capacity. But he made clear that we do not view Russia and China as a threat.”
But Graham said that Thursday’s remarks were only the latest to come from Clapper that indicate a “lack of situational awareness” that ought to lead to his resignation. “This is the third time around,” he said. “Three strikes and you’re out.”
In December, Clapper was unaware of a bombing that happened in London hours before he was asked about it by ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer in an interview.
Last month, Clapper told a House committee that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was “a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam.” He later tried to clarify his comments, saying that “largely secular” was a “shorthand … description of the Muslim Brotherhood, my message was lost and that’s regrettable.”
Matt Negrin contributed to this story.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1GEYYf3hD

[American Patriot]

Ok, no I WAS RIGHT:

Sen. Graham Wants Intel Chief Gone After He Claims Russia, China Pose 'Mortal' Threat


Published March 10, 2011
| FoxNews.com

AP
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testifies on Capitol Hill Feb. 10 before the House Intelligence Committee.

A prominent Republican senator called on Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to resign Thursday after he said Russia and China pose the biggest "mortal threat" to the United States, stunning lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee.



Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said it's time for Clapper to go after his testimony on Capitol Hill, but the White House said it has the "full faith and confidence" of the director.


Clapper, who just last month startled lawmakers when he claimed during a hearing that the Muslim Brotherhood is "secular," made the comments about Russia and China during an exchange with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. He was in the midst of testifying about global security threats when Manchin asked which country represents the biggest "mortal threat" to the United States.



Russia and China, Clapper answered.



At that point, Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., broke in to say he was "really kind of taken aback" by the answer. Levin said North Korea and Iran are the first nations that come to his mind, not Russia and China.




Clapper clarified that North Korea and Iran are "of great concern," but questioned whether they pose a "direct mortal threat" to the United States. The intelligence chief seemed to be focused on which countries have the capability, not necessarily the intent, to threaten the United States.



Pressed by Manchin to narrow his list, Clapper picked China.



"So Donald Trump is right?" Manchin joked, referring to the businessman-turned-reality-star-turned-possible-presidential-candidate's frequent warnings that China is catching up with America.



Levin, apparently not satisfied by the exchange, again jumped in to press Clapper further.



"I'm just as surprised by your answer to that question. You're saying China has the intent to be our mortal adversary?" he said.



Clapper said he was "loathe" to pick one country, but said Russia and China have the "capability."


He said he could not get into "gauging intent."



Levin, who seemed to be on the verge of laughing, said: "By that measure, the U.S. represents the biggest threat" to China and Russia.





Graham, who sits on the committee, told Fox News afterward that Clapper should go.



"Three strikes and you're out," Graham told Fox News in an interview, citing Clapper's previous public missteps.



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.



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.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...#ixzz1GEYraRw2

[American Patriot]

I guess my greatest confusion is that the man is RIGHT and apparently both the right and left wing are idiots after all and do not believe him.

WTF? You're right. Bizzaro World

[American Patriot]

Graham Wants DNI Chief to Resign Over Objectively True Statement

Posted Thursday, March 10, 2011 2:45 PM | By David Weigel
This doesn't seem like a great reason for Sen. Lindsey Graham to demand that James Clapper find another job. It is, at least, a deceptively simple reason. Clapper, asked which countries represented the greatest "mortal threat" to the United States, suggested Russia and China.

Clapper, who just last month startled lawmakers when he claimed during a hearing that the Muslim Brotherhood is "secular," made the comments about Russia and China during an exchange with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
He was in the midst of testifying about global security threats when Manchin asked which country represents the biggest "mortal threat" to the United States. Russia and China, Clapper answered.
At that point, Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., broke in to say he was "really kind of taken aback" by the answer. Levin said North Korea and Iran are the first nations that come to his mind, not Russia and China.
Here's the video as edited by Fox, which leaves out the start of the exchange, but leaves in the key bit -- Clapper treating this as an intellectual exercise, and discussing which nations literally have the power to destroy the United States.

I’m more of a mind to consider their capabilities. Both Russia and China potentially represent a mortal threat to the United States. I don’t think either country today has the intent to attack us.

Clapper's right. We estimate that China has around 240 warheads, and Russia has around 12,600. We estimate that North Korea has less than 10 nuclear weapons, and Iran has none. So it's literally true -- only China and Russia can obliterate us.
However! This is a tone-deaf thing for a DNI to say, knowing that he's 1) in Congress, 2) being filmed, 3) the combination of those first two things means his comments will be heard in Russia and China and Iran and North Korea. How much does that matter? I have no idea. How much better off would he have been if he'd given a simple answer to an easy question? Much better.

Filed under: James Clapper

[Ryan Ruck]

Fuck Obama, fuck Levin, and fuck Graham!

[American Patriot]

Obama's director of national intelligence in more hot water

03:51 PM


By David Jackson, USA TODAY
Comment

Recommend

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.


CAPTION

By Ann Heisenfelt, AP

President Obama's director of national intelligence is in trouble again, on two fronts.

First, James Clapper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will prevail if the current stalemate in Libya drags on and the rebels are "in for a tough road."


Then, Clapper -- criticized in previous months for failing to know about major terrorism arrests in Great Britain and for saying the Muslim Brotherhood is "largely secular" -- said the countries that pose the biggest "mortal threat" to the United States are ... Russia and China.


Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was "really kind of taken aback" by the answer, and that he would have named North Korea and Iran as bigger threats.


Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called for Clapper's resignation, citing his earlier missteps.


"Three strikes and you're out," Graham told Fox News.


The White House defended both of Clapper's remarks.


Spokesman Jay Carney said Gadhafi is "hunkering down" in Libya. "It's precisely why we and our partners are responding in the way that we are and that we have, and why the dynamic is changing day by day to enhance the pressure on him to force him to leave," he added.


As for Russia and China, Carney said Clapper was referring only to potential capability.
Obviously, Russia and China are two of the three largest nuclear powers in the world," Carney said. "Therefore, they have dangerous weapons and have the capacity. But he made clear that we do not view Russia and China as a threat."


In his testimony, Clapper said North Korea are "of great concern," but questioned whether they had the nuclear capability to pose a "mortal threat." Russia and China do have that kind of capability, though he could not get into "gauging intent".


Levin replied, "by that measure, the U.S. represents the biggest threat" to China and Russia.


See photos of: Barack Obama, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Moammar Gadhafi

[American Patriot]

Well... it comes down to this.

This guy, who is really a kind of a loser, Liberal Leftwing kook if you ask me, is telling it like it is. I SUSPECT that he is telling it like he tells the President, and therefore the President has been aware of his comments prior to his hearing.

That means:

1) Obama IS AWARE China and Russia are "mortal threats" (like we all know)
2) The Right Wing is unaware of the things we observe in the news daily.
3) The Left Wing is unaware of the things we observe in the new daily.
4) The President believes this - but is going to left Clapper's head roll of his own accord, because Obama doesn't WANT this information spread around!

NONE of this was logical. I was actually shocked to here him say those things- thinking that the Obama administration wouldn't care or would hide it, or simply won't BELIEVE.

Now I am reading the administration, and the White House is DEFENDING HIS STATEMENTS.

[American Patriot]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper

James R. Clapper, Jr. (born March 14, 1941) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and is currently the Director of National Intelligence. He was previously dual-hatted as the first Director of Defense Intelligence within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence alongside the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.^[1] Clapper has held several key positions within the United States Intelligence Community. He served as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from September 2001 until June 2006. Previously, he served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 1992 until 1995.
On June 5, 2010 President Barack Obama nominated Clapper to replace Dennis C. Blair as United States Director of National Intelligence. Clapper was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the position on August 5, 2010.^[2][3]
In 2003 Clapper, then head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, attempted to explain the absence of WMDs in Iraq by asserting that the weapons materials were "unquestionably" shipped out of Iraq to Syria and other countries just before the American invasion, a "personal assessment" which Clapper's own agency head at the time, David Burpee, "could not provide further evidence to support."^[4] In an interview on December 20, 2010 with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, Clapper was unaware that twelve alleged would-be terrorists were arrested in Great Britain earlier in the day.^[5][6]
In February, 2011, when mass demonstrations were bringing down Mubarak's presidency in Egypt, Clapper told a House Intelligence Committee hearing that:

"The term 'Muslim Brotherhood'...is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," ... "They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera.....In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally." ^[7]

[Ryan Ruck]

Well... it comes down to this.

This guy, who is really a kind of a loser, Liberal Leftwing kook if you ask me, is telling it like it is. I SUSPECT that he is telling it like he tells the President, and therefore the President has been aware of his comments prior to his hearing.

That means:

1) Obama IS AWARE China and Russia are "mortal threats" (like we all know)
2) The Right Wing is unaware of the things we observe in the news daily.
3) The Left Wing is unaware of the things we observe in the new daily.
4) The President believes this - but is going to left Clapper's head roll of his own accord, because Obama doesn't WANT this information spread around!

NONE of this was logical. I was actually shocked to here him say those things- thinking that the Obama administration wouldn't care or would hide it, or simply won't BELIEVE.

Agreed.

Now I am reading the administration, and the White House is DEFENDING HIS STATEMENTS.

Can someone please stop the world, I'd like to get off now.

[American Patriot]

President Obama made the official announcement on June 5, 2010 saying Clapper "possesses a quality that I value in all my advisers: a willingness to tell leaders what we need to know even if it's not what we want to hear." ^[12]

[American Patriot]

Ok... so you agree that this is severely confusing? LOL

[American Patriot]

Agreed.

Can someone please stop the world, I'd like to get off now.

Ryan, the White House is AGREEING with you, me and the rest of the crew here.... you suddenly want to find fault with this?

I'm curious... so many people think we (you and me perhaps) are kooks for believing that the Communists never went away, that we are somehow the real conspiracy theorists in the world. Now we have the President of the United States and the Director of National Intelligence AGREEING with us.

What do you want to get off now for?

LOL

Perhaps we made our points?

[vector7]

Ok guys, I'm REALLLLLLLLY confused now.

This guy, Clapper made a statement regarding "the biggest threat" and mentioned China and Russia - basically in that order.

now the Dems are calling for his resignation, or firing?

He's the "intelligence" guy.

So - wtf?

The future's so bright I gotta wear shades...

[Ryan Ruck]

Ryan, the White House is AGREEING with you, me and the rest of the crew here.... you suddenly want to find fault with this?

I'm curious... so many people think we (you and me perhaps) are kooks for believing that the Communists never went away, that we are somehow the real conspiracy theorists in the world. Now we have the President of the United States and the Director of National Intelligence AGREEING with us.

What do you want to get off now for?

LOL

Perhaps we made our points?

No fault finding. Just severely puzzled and very wary as to what the reasoning behind it is.

[catfish]

People look at me like a kook every time I talk about Russia or China. It's really no suprise that both the left and right think he is off his rocker. The cold war is over you fucking conspiracy believing nutjob morons, move along nothing to see here.

[American Patriot]

Well, there isn't a conspiracy theory here. This isn't a lot of unconnected dots. There's news each day of what the Russians and Chinese are doing.