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Counterterrorism Chief Says Bullets Alone Won’t Do the Job

USAF / Tech. Sgt. Eric T. Sheler

U.S. Air Force personnel participate in a counterterrorism training exercise.

John Brennan has known controversy for his defense of torture and rendition, but the president’s top counterterrorism adviser has just condemned the Bush administration’s approach by declaring: “We cannot shoot ourselves out of this challenge.”

It’s tempting to take Brennan’s apparent change of heart at face value. However, Glenn Greenwald has a dated but comprehensive analysis of Brennan’s pro-torture, pro-rendition past that gives us pause.

And the administration’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan doesn’t exactly align with Brennan’s words. Unless this has something to do with those reports about negotiating with the Taliban.

Los Angeles Times:

President Obama’s counter-terrorism chief rebuked the Bush administration repeatedly today in a speech designed to make the case for an expanded approach to fighting Islamic extremism, just weeks before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In his first public appearance as White House counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan said the Bush administration’s policies had been an affront to American values, undermined the nation’s security and fostered a “global war” mind-set that served only to “validate Al Qaeda’s twisted worldview.”

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TAGS: afghanistan aid bush counter-terrorism john brennan military obama pakistan rendition security speech terrorism torture war waterboarding

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By Night-Gaunt, August 7 at 12:33 pm #

“The president’s objective is for Guantanamo to “be shuttered—there’d be no detainees there,” Brennan said. “We are going to get there.”

Yes, just they are going to be hauled off maybe to Bagrahm AFB or maybe in some other prison and still not be proven to be criminals and not set free.

Well put FolkTruther and that is how it is going even while the Republicans play their pseudo-partisan games of calling their buddy Obama such preposterous things as a “Marxist” even while he continues Bush/Cheney polices and maintain all others instituted going back to Reagan.

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By Folktruther, August 6 at 11:13 pm #

This would be the same John Brennen that helped institute the policy of torture, rape and homicide under Bush. Now he can repudiate Bush and perform the same function under Obama.

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By freepressmyass, August 6 at 10:59 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

WTF? Not buying it. What’s the ulterior motive? Trying to assuage a destitute ripped off public that our troops will morph into Ghandi’s so we keep still as Congress approves the next installment of 75 billion and 20,000 more troops?

Or do they need more cash for our latest giant embassy going up in Baghram? In case you’ve forgotten, we’re nation building in two countries where we’re not wanted. Building in Afghanistan we might as well be building on the moon. There’s nothing there.
Hard to believe America is bankrupt with social programs being cut across the country yet there’s buckets of cash for nation building. I guess we aren’t as important as profits for the Haliburtons and Bexel’s. We’re good enough to pick up the tab though.

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By ChaoticGood, August 6 at 9:18 pm #

We “won” the war in Iraq buy paying our enemies not to fight us. After all is said and done, they just wanted to be on our payroll. There are many types of ways to win a war and we have just learned (again) that money is a powerful weapon.

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