Seems that a frontrunner, according to the rumor mill, "John Brennan remains the favorite to be nominated director of the Central Intelligence Agency" and the far left is not happy and are already threatening to "go to war" with Barack Obama, before he even takes office.
Democratic and national security sources say that former National Counterrorism Center head John Brennan remains the favorite to be nominated director of the Central Intelligence Agency even as his pending appointment raises the hackles of some Obama advisers because of his ties to George Tenet and controversial programs.
Andrew Sullivan talks a big game here on this issue, stating:
It's fine not to uproot the entire agency and to have some continuity. But for Obama to appoint a Bush-Cheney apologist to the CIA? How on earth did this idea get this far?
It may be that Brennan will stop torture under any euphemism. But the trouble with this area of policy is that it is necessarily secret and so trusting the people running the CIA is essential. I don't trust Brennan. On the question of torture, it is absolutely vital that there be a clean break with Bush-Cheney at the top of the agency. Many CIA staffers have been implicated in war crimes, and their cover-up. If you were to de-Cheneyize the entire place after eight years of entrenchment, you'd have few people with real skills left. So the top leadership is vital. It needs to signal that there is no longer any doubt that the US is abiding by Geneva, including Article 3, in all its branches of government.
The least we know is that Brennan is ambivalent about this. Ambivalence on this matter is unacceptable. We haven't fought for decency and reform and a return to American values for so long to be turned back now. We didn't work our butts off to elect Obama only to get Bush another four years at CIA. If Brennan emerges as the pick, those of us against the continuation of war crimes and the prosecution of war criminals will have to oppose him strenuously in the nomination process. We will, in fact, have to go to war with Obama before he even takes office.
And if Obama doubts our seriousness, I have three words for him. Yes we can.
Wow, bet Barack Obama is shaking in his boots right about now, huh?
Quick newsflash for Sullivan... ya'll already got Obama elected dude, too late now for your threats to do anything but make Obama laugh.
In fact, an article I read yesterday, in the LA Times, makes it very clear that Obama knows that some of his choices will not be happy with his choices but that will not deter him.
The activists -- key members of the coalition that propelled Obama to the White House -- fear he is drifting from the antiwar moorings of his once-longshot presidential candidacy. Obama has eased the rigid timetable he had set for withdrawing troops from Iraq, and he appears to be leaning toward the center in his candidates to fill key national security posts.
The president-elect has told some Democrats that he expects to take heat from parts of his political base but will not be deterred by it.
Fact is, Obama told his supporters what they wanted to hear, they bought it all, hook, line and sinker, they elected him.... now, he will do as he pleases because the bottom line here is he doesn't need them anymore.
The so-called "progressives" are starting to notice this and express their anger.
And if Obama really wanted change, if he really wanted to honor progressives who backed him early on and then did the grunt work against McCain, he’d nominate Dennis Kucinich as Secretary of State.
That sure would indicate a welcome departure from empire as usual.
But at this point, progressives are getting absolutely nothing from Obama.
NewsBusters hunted around a little and found others, Obama supporters, not celebrating as happily now that the election is over.
On DailyKos, the Kossacks are beginning to wonder if they've been hornswaggled? Of the latest Obama picks, a recent KosKid carped:
So that's 2 DC lifers, 1 billionaire & 1 more Clinton vet. 50% of hires are Clintonites. Lobbyists abound...What's changing?
Another good question.
A poster on the DemocraticUnderground was just as wary of Obama's choices.
Obama's cabinet is at this point filled with DLC people, very centrist, anti populist, and big business among other things. We heard "change and clean up Washington" before from the last President and we got a redux on Nixon's and Reagan's people. Now we are getting a redux of the 90's Clinton people, that doesn't spell change to me...
Looks like some of the more extreme far left liberals are starting to feel they were sold a bill of goods.
Too bad......so sad.
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