During an interview aired on “Fox and Friends” Wednesday morning, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was asked whether he “trusts intelligence.”
“Not so much from the people that have been doing it for our country,” Trump responded. “I mean, look what’s happened over the last 10 years. … It’s been catastrophic.
“Very easy to use them, but I won't use them, because they’ve made such bad decisions,” he said, pointing to apparent intelligence failures ahead of the United States's 2003 invasion of Iraq. At the time, George W. Bush administration officials appeared convinced that Saddam Hussein’s government was creating weapons of mass destruction, though that was not the case.
“If we would have never touched it, it would have been a lot better,” Trump said.
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I'm still trying to figure out what he said that was so terribly wrong in this statement. He's right. If the politicians are telling the truth, which is doubtful, but if they did base their decisions on intelligence provided to them, then the intelligence was obviously wrong.
Just take a quick look around the world to see if Trump is right or wrong.
Also, Obama is absolutely famous for never or rarely going to intel briefings. So, Trump would only be following the precedent of Obama. It would not be anything new.
What was wrong with Trump’s statement?
What was wrong with it is that he just insulted everyone (“the people that have been doing it for our country”) working in the intelligence community. These people include those working in both military and non-military agencies. FWIW over the years, I’ve known some people who work or have worked for some of those agencies and I find Trump’s comments insulting to those good people.
If Trump had said something along the lines of “we need to improve our intelligence gathering, improve our ability to share and interpret gathered by and across multiple agencies, perhaps consolidate intelligence gathering to fewer agencies in order to get a clearer picture and make better decisions based on that intelligence”, I would not necessarily disagree.
But no. Instead he implies, and makes his statement even before having received his first intelligence briefing or ever having gotten one, that the intelligence community as a whole has been wrong – “It’s been catastrophic.”
He misplaces blame on the intelligence community as a whole when it should be placed on those who have made bad political decisions regardless of what the intel said.
Remember for instance that during Benghazi, we had the intel as to what was about to go down and intel as to what was happening as it happened. That was not a failure on the part of our intelligence gathering but rather a failure of Obama and Clinton to take the appropriate actions.
“George W. Bush administration officials appeared convinced that Saddam Hussein’s government was creating weapons of mass destruction, though that was not the case.”
Really? You might want to read up on that.
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/bombshell-new-york-times-reports-wmds-found-iraq/http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/18/stop-it-liberals-bush-didnt-lie-about-iraq-having-wmds/Whether that necessitated the invasion of Iraq under GWB’s administration and what followed after Sadam’s ouster may be rightly debated, but it is a lie to say that the intelligence was completely wrong or a failure.
And as to Trump’s statement “Very easy to use them, but I won't use them, because they’ve made such bad decisions,” that begs the question as to just who Trump will use? He may certainly make appointments and his own appointments to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) but to make such a broad statement as to him disregarding security briefings because he doesn’t trust them shows both a (and as previously documented) contempt for anyone that Trump perceives as being “smarter” than he is and a very dangerous mindset.
Remember that this is the man who said; “I know more about ISIS than the generals”, who accused U.S. troops of stealing money in Iraq, said that avoiding STD’s in the late 70’s and early 80’s was like his own personal Viet Nam, that he always wanted to get a Purple Heart, said with respect to POW’s “I like people who were not captured”, and that attending a toney military school for rich kids was just like going to West Point or having served in the military. But he loves him some the “veterans” and wants to build up our military and use our military to wipe out ISIS and based on some previous comments, use them to confiscate oil and other assets from nations or territories we defeat, use torcher and seek out and kill all the families of terrorists …..
But, don't let logic or facts stand in the way of hating Trump.
NeverTrump forever!
Even if Trump loses the election I will still hate him with the fire of a thousand suns until the very second that I die, and then I will hate him from my grave. I hate him not for any specific reason. I hate him for the very fact that he exists in this world, and ever dared to run for President. I hate him, his family, his friends, his supporters, and everybody who he has ever known. He is a vile, disgusting pig of a man, with tiny hands, and orange skin. He deserves the wrath of hell for ever taking his first breath of air, and I will despise his soul until my last breath of air. My last breath of air is a very special one. For that is the breath I have reserved to curse Trump with as I go.
Project much?
I don’t hate him in the way you project, nor do I hate him “not for any specific reason”. I have reasons for disliking him, reasons why I think he is destructive to the Conservative cause and not seeing him fit to be POTUS and can list them. I can also list many reasons why Hillary Clinton is also unfit.
But I’d be very happy for Trump to live a long and prosperous life and continue his and his family’s pursuits in real estate and reality TV shows.
I do not however want him as POTUS. I don’t want Hillary either.
But it is not a zero sum game nor a question of choosing the “lessor of two evils”.
Neither are acceptable.
When it comes to choosing between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich, I have the right and moral and ethical obligation to say “Neither”.
