Our "Intelligence" Services

Addressing the nation on January 5, 2010, President Obama declared, " But make no mistake. We will close Guantanamo Prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al Qaeda. In fact, that was the explicit rationale for the formation of Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula."

It is a hopeful sign that at last the administration may be taking into consideration the legitimate grievances of the Arab/Muslim world. Since presumably the purpose of our various intelligence services is to keep us safe, clearly it is important to gather information about why we are targeted by terrorists. And acting on such information is of utmost importance, even, and maybe especially, to intelligence operatives themselves.

For instance, on December 30, 2009, 7 CIA members were blown up in Afghanistan by a Jordanian triple agent whom they trusted enough not to bother to search. As noted in The New York Times, 1/5/10, "The United States, and the CIA in particular, are deeply unpopular in Jordan, where at least half the population is of Palestinian origin and where Washington's support for Israel is roundly condemned." Likewise, the BBC World News reported 1/5/10 that "on the street [in Jordan] there is broad support for attacks against American CIA officials."

As broadcast on CNN's Fareed Zakaria Global Public Square 1/3/10, Kishore Mahbubani, renowned author and scholar, Dean of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, stated that "the key issue" is pushing for a two-state, Israel/Palestine solution. Such action "immediately lowers the barometer of anger in the Islamic world." Now that is "intelligence" which is indeed intelligent.