Everyone wishing that Bolton or Bush or someone else could “clean up” State forgets one thing: State personnel, like most CIA and other agencies, are General Services (GS)personnel, not political appointees.

Reno replaced all of the prosecuting attorneys in the DOJ.

After she did that, there was suddenly no support or protection when, in 1993, the Hatch act was sh*tcanned and Clinton’s appointees started purging supposedly GS protected federal workers who failed to contribute to the Dems.

If the next President is willing to play as fast with the law as the Clintonistas, it can be done.

John Bolton once again does an excellent job, here in focusing on how the NIE’s report on Iran is flawed (Hat tip: Hot Air):…

He KNOWS what “it” is and tells it straight.

Time to expose the Fingar–keep it up on board.

Wanderlust on December 5, 2007 at 8:25 PM

I left out one detail: anyone hired into the new agency is required to give a Loyalty Oath to the US Government, US Constitution, US Flag, and the US President.

/sigh

LegendHasIt on December 5, 2007 at 5:10 PM

I keep having this dream where Bolton becomes National Security Adviser under a strong Republican president and revitalized, conservative Republican party.

In the dream, Bolton issues his own national security statement that declares Foggy Bottom and the CIA to be a threat to the national security of the United States and its interests abroad.

Despite the bleatings of Foggy Bottom and Langley, and over the protests of the DNI, the new President appeals directly to the public to support legislation to dissolve the Department of State, National Security Agency, National Reconnaissance Office and Central Intelligence Agency, and creates a new agency that is broken into SIGINT, HUMINT, and ELINT work and is also liaised with a new Diplomatic Corps. First persons accepted for application into the new agency are former SOCOM, Police detectives, and IT professionals.

Oddly enough, when I wake from that dream, I need a cigarette – and I don’t smoke.

/sarc, just a tiny bit

I remind everyone that the penalty for treason is death. If an iranian built nuke goes off and kills Americans, then the diservice done by these traitors warrants the strongest punishment.

The sole purpose of this NIE is to undermine this President and does NOT represent reality, So, should We, The People, get hurt by their machinations, the maximum penalty should be imposed: death.

For the sake of our deceased citizens, we would owe them justice. For the sake of the future, we must not permit GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES to sabotage the wars we are fighting, or assist any future enmies.

Call me hardcore; I don’t care. If we don’t prosecute such people, who take the oath, the the incidents of saboage WILL get worse.

A CO/FI doctrine.

Caution- Out.

Faith- In.

It amazes me that the Liberals, who have been saying for years that our intelligence sources can’t be trusted in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, have now seized the new Iran NIE as absolute gospel. It also seems strange…

Thomas Joscelyn, along with several bloggers such as Ace and CQ, hammer home that the latest NIE represents a flip-flop from a position one of its authors advocated just five months before: As many recognize, the latest NIE on……

Wanderlust on December 5, 2007 at 4:59 PM

I think Bolton addressed this in one of his book promo interviews, and that it has been going on like this for many years. And like the leftization of American universities, it’s becoming a self-perpetuating phenomenon.

Otherwise your only hope is to find agency managers and directors who are aligned with your own political leanings.
And as that great philosopher Spongebob Squarepants once said, “Good Luck with that…”
Wanderlust on December 5, 2007 at 4:59 PM

I say we take off and nuke the State Department and the CIA from orbit.

It’s the only way to be sure.

/ripley
/hicks

“The system” isn’t strong enough to capture John Bolton. We might need a John Bolton Facts list one of these days.

Bryan on December 5, 2007 at 1:44 PM

John Bolton doesn’t read NIE reports or other government documents. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

The eternal conundrum “what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object” was finally solved when Chuck Norris punched John Bolton in the face.

Chuck Norris is the only person in the world who can actually give 110%. John Bolton is the only person in the world that can make Chuck Norris give 110%.

Chuck Norris does not sleep; he waits. He knows that John Bolton is out there.

Everyone wishing that Bolton or Bush or someone else could “clean up” State forgets one thing: State personnel, like most CIA and other agencies, are General Services (GS)personnel, not political appointees.

While hiring decisions are quite likely affected by the politics of the current Administration and personal political leanings of the hiring manager or his/her superiors, these people are hired into their Government jobs.

They are not appointed into those jobs.

HUGE difference.

As GS employees, they are protected legally from “retaliation” for their political leanings, regardless of which party or person they support. Therefore no politician or political appointee is able to “clean house” based on what may appear to be deadwood left over from the previous Administration. If someone so much as suggests they will try to do such a thing, the employees can sue on the basis of retaliation, and (as I understand it) the penalties of law for someone retaliating against a GS employee on the basis of personal political preferences is severe.

So what you have is groups of people hired into these agencies during the Clinton Administration who rely on their political dislike of the Bush Administration to color their performance. If you had superiors in these agencies who were willing to actually, you know, rate their teams on the basis of merit – that is, their individual performance – only then would you be able to “clean house”, as so many of these dolts allow their personal political leanings to influence their work, which is by all appearances, shoddy and unprofessional.

But if the agency managers themselves are acting out of political motives as well, then, you have very few options left, and those options are difficult to action.

For example, you could suggest that the entire agency, or significant parts thereof, fail to perform. Your only option then is to use the power of the purse to reduce or defund the agency, and create a new one in its stead.

Otherwise your only hope is to find agency managers and directors who are aligned with your own political leanings.

And as that great philosopher Spongebob Squarepants once said, “Good Luck with that…”

**facepalm**

OK, Superman may Chuck Norris pajamas…

OK, Superman may WEAR Chuck Norris pajamas…

DOH!