Duncan Hunter: The Man Who Killed the NID (National Intelligence Director) By Mike Whitney

Duncan Hunter: The Man Who Killed the NID (National Intelligence Director)

By Mike Whitney

Al-Jazeerah, November 29, 2004

When they lower the pine box that carries the 9-11 recommendations into
the ground, they should offer a few parting words of praise to Congressman
Duncan Hunter(R-CA) His efforts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee
ensured that legislation for a National Intelligence Director was
Dead-on-Arrival. Despite the conclusions of the 9-11 Commission, Hunter
decided to throw his lot with Pentagon bigwigs and powerful constituents
rather than provide greater safety for the American people.

The story of how one man can subvert the system and torpedo legislation is
a familiar one in Washington DC, but alien to those beyond the Beltway. It
demonstrates the corrupting influence of money in politics and how the will
of the people is subordinated to private interests. In this case,
Congressman Hunter battled tooth-n-nail to protect the yearly allocations
(80% of the annual Intelligence budget) to the Defense Dept. rather then
supporting a plan that would improve national security. His maneuverings
keep the flow of taxpayer dollars surging into the Pentagon where the money
is controlled by good friend, Donald Rumsfeld.

Hunter is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Defense industry; no one
harbors any illusions that he is performing the “people’s work”. He gets his
marching orders from either his constituents or their employer in the
Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld. Hunters’ list of campaign contributors reads like a
“whose-who” of defense contractors. Everyone from Boeing to Lockheed-Martin
has taken their turn filling the coffers of the six-time California
congressman. Lately, his connection to Titan Corp. has turned more than a
few heads; especially since he personally led the charge to quash further
investigations into the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. Hunter may not have
started the apocryphal “a few bad apples” theory, but he certainly got a lot
of mileage out of it. His appearance on countless conservative talk shows
and cable stations has given him ample opportunity to rail against “liberal
subversives” who pressed for an independent investigation of Rummy’s torture
chambers. As he dismissively noted, “I would call on the media who has now
given more attention to these seven people (the torturers) then what they
did to the invasion of Normandy”. Hunter’s braying is nothing more than a
cover up for the massive human rights abuses of his friends and political
contributors. After all, big-time Hunter supporter, Titan Corporation, is at
the epicenter of the controversy. Titan employees have been photographed
taking part in stacking up naked Iraqis to extract information through
humiliation. No wonder Hunter would like to see the whole mess disappear;
Titan’s involvement threatens to cut off a reliable source of campaign
income.

Currently, Hunter has been making the rounds on the various news programs
defending his decision to nix the legislation for creating a National
Intelligence Director. He argues that establishing an Intel chief would
affect “real time intelligence” necessary to conduct the war on terror. In
his words, “We need to protect our war-fighters”. It sounds very impressive,
but its pure nonsense.

Fellow Republican Senator Susan Collins refuted Hunter’s claims saying
they were “entirely without merit”. “What you are seeing is the forces in
favor of the status quo protecting their turf, whether it is Congress or in
the bureaucracy," Collins opined.

Chairman of the 9-11 Commission, Thomas Kean, was equally critical
saying, “I think there's no question that there are people in the Pentagon
who want the status quo, and they fought very hard with their allies in
Congress for the status quo.”

Kean is right on the mark; Hunter’s claims are hogwash. His job is to make
sure that the truckloads of cash keep off-loading at the Pentagon so that
Rummy’s Gulags, mini-nukes and Death Squads are sufficiently funded into
perpetuity. Hunter is a key part of the Defense establishment’s food-chain;
an “enabler” whose parasitic existence depends on the smooth transitioning
of wealth from one group to another. When he outlives his usefulness,
they’ll find someone else. Until then, he’ll remain bound together in the
inextricable love-embrace of government malfeasance; one filthy hand washing
the other.

(Note: Both Cheney and Bush made brief appearances in this Washington
kabuki; feigning interest for the public safety and jumping through the
requisite hoops to look like they care about protection of “the Homeland”.
No one is really taken in by the hoax. If Bush wanted the National Director
legislation passed, the Congress would have cooperated. Instead, the 9-11
Commission’s recommendations are headed for the dumpster and all plans to
integrate Intelligence operations under one cabinet-level post have been put
on hold).

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

Apartheid Wall


The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03).

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