Is Chas Freeman Being Handed His Hat and Shown the Door?
Obama's pick for NIC chairman is probably a gone goose thanks to his own emails about Congress.
The nomination of Charles “Chas” Freeman to serve as the next chairman of the National Intelligence Council has created a new bout of controversy for the Obama administration regarding its personnel choices to serve in key positions. This one comes with a bit of a twist. Cabinet nominees must be confirmed by the Senate. When several of President Obama’s choices had their pasts catch up with them, they bowed out rather than face the prospect of a challenging confirmation hearing. However, the position that Freeman would fill does not require Senate confirmation. Regardless, he will probably be compelled to withdraw his name from consideration for the post in the days ahead.
Why?
It might be worthwhile to just briefly review why Freeman has become a bit of an albatross for Barack Obama.
He formerly served as an ambassador to Saudi Arabia. As is true of many former ambassadors to Saudi Arabia, he later became a de facto ambassador from Saudi Arabia to America. As head of the Middle East Policy Council (a think tank based in Washington, funded in part by the Saudis), he has served as an apologist for Saudi Arabia, has worked to publish textbooks for American children that are actually pro-Arab propaganda, has been a fierce critic of Israel, and has supported the attacks launched by Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer against supporters of the U.S.-Israel alliance here in America.
But wait, there is more. He serves on the international advisory board of the China National Offshore Oil Company, which is owned by the Chinese government. He also seems to have become a de facto ambassador for the Chinese regime. He has gone so far as to suggest the regime was being too soft for not moving swiftly enough and more harshly to deal with the pro-democracy protesters in Tienanmen Square back in 1989.
These ties, as much as a litany of other questionable actions and statements, will come back to haunt him in the days ahead. The National Review recently published an editorial regarding Freeman:
The National Intelligence Council is a “a center of strategic thinking within the U.S. Government, reporting to the Director of National Intelligence … and providing the President and senior policymakers with analyses of foreign policy issues that have been reviewed and coordinated throughout the Intelligence Community.” The NIC plays a crucial role in determining what specific intelligence the president consumes from the torrents of information gathered by 16 different agencies. As chairman, Freeman will decide how that intelligence is framed.
With that in mind, it is unsettling that Freeman will play a key role in determining what intelligence the president sees — and what he doesn’t. As NIC chairman, he will have a strong hand in the production of National Intelligence Estimates, reports that are pivotal in determining the direction of U.S. policy. An errant NIE can be a dangerous thing. Recall the disastrous 2007 NIE that concluded, against the evidence, that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003. Though quickly abandoned, that NIE helped soften our national resolve to prevent Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, even as the mullahs ramped up production.
Three of the major foreign-policy challenges the United States faces today involve the survival of Israel, the Saudis’ promotion of radical Islam, and the ambitions of China. To navigate them, Obama has chosen a fierce critic of Israel — our only reliable ally in the region where threats to the United States are most immediate — whose track record is one of kowtowing to our enemies in the Mideast and our rivals in Beijing.
But opposition has not just been found in the conservative media. The New Republic — a left-of-center, well-respected magazine — has published a number of articles outlining the problems that Freeman would pose as chairman of the NIC. Even one of its most pro-Obama journalists, Jonathan Chait, famous (or infamous) for writing an article declaring his hatred for George Bush, took to the pages of the Washington Post to express his dismay that Freeman would be considered for the post (see “Obama’s Intelligence Blunder”).
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Ed Lasky is news editor of the American Thinker.
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23 Comments
1. David Thomson:Charles “Chas” Freeman is indeed being pushed out the door. However, many folks like Marty Peretz still refuse to personally blame Barack Obama for this mess. They simply refuse to believe that he is a politically correct, self-hating American. When will they wake up to reality? I wish I knew. To describe Obama as a teflon president is the understatement of the year.
Mar 6, 2009 - 12:34 pm 2. fred:Someone else who is in the ballpark of Mr. Freeman’s biases will be inserted. I believe that Barack Obama is a puppet for some very powerful people who are calling the shots. They paid for it and they want their money’s worth. One way or another the policy going forward will be the same, but the faces representing it will change.
Mar 6, 2009 - 1:15 pm 3. David Adams:The Obama group is so on love with itself from basking in the media and Democrat adulation that they thought they could make any decision, any appointment, with no questions asked. This,however, is still America and we are used to having the freedom to express our doubts about the people we appoint to manage our affairs. This government is of the people, by the people and for the people – no dictators need apply.
Mar 6, 2009 - 2:13 pm 4. Fairbanks99:fred, by Jove, I think you have it! Chairman Zero Of The Missing Transcripts isn’t smart enough to be doing all this damage by himself. I agree with you that he is a puppet for others.
Mar 6, 2009 - 2:38 pm 5. Meryl:Fred and Fairbanks,
Ideas and perceptions such as those expressed in both this column and these responses about obama are now finding wide publication and acceptance.
Just a few weeks/months ago those who articulated the very same ideas and perceptions about obama were ridiculed and laughed to the sidelines.
What other observations that were laughed to scorn in the fall (along with a little namecalling on the side) will be finding their way into mainstream editorials and commentaries in the weeks ahead?
Chilling.
Mar 6, 2009 - 2:51 pm 6. Oscar the Grump:Seeing Chas Freeman get the boot is a good thing. His replacement may be worse than Freeman himself. While Obama is at it he should also replace Samatha Powers, she’s another jewel. We still don’t know what others of that ilk he’s snuck in.
Mar 6, 2009 - 3:25 pm 7. fred:Mr. Freeman was a toady of the Arab world and a Jew hater who fit right in with Samantha Powers’ views. Pretty much all of the Jews involved in the Obama campaign and administration are not practicing Jews. They’ve rejected their religion and their identity, and their allegiance is to cultural Marxism or some kind of socialism within its orbit.
I’ve devoted nine years of study to learn about Islam – its scriptures (Qur’an), traditions (ahadith), and the life of Muhammad (Sira). I understand how these people practice taqiyya (lying to/deceiving kafirs in order to advance the jihad)and how they win over people who are deficient of this knowledge. People like Freeman and Power (and other Obama policy people)will execute the policy of demonizing Israel and paying off the Paleosimian savages called Hamas, Fatah, and Hizb’allah.
If you think sending $900 million bucks to those savages in Gaza is a sound policy, maybe Obama has a job for you in his administration.
Mar 6, 2009 - 4:06 pm 8. Miss Orange:re David Thomson: >>many folks like Marty Peretz still refuse to personally blame Barack Obama for this mess.
He was fine with “God damn America,” but he draws the line at “God damn Marty Peretz.”
Mar 6, 2009 - 5:17 pm 9. glueball:Fred is completely right. Somehow the muslim world has learend the same techniques of subversion the Soviets used for 3 decades on the capitalist West, (could they all be reading Sun Tzu?) and as Western society is open, they can subvert it, overtly. The non practicing Jews who have adopted cultural marxism as their ideology play right into the hands of whatever militant subverting element there is in process of undermining every footer of Western society. It is, like it or not, a clash of civilizations and the decades of demoralization via Soviet efforts have been co-opted by more than a few, the muslim world being not the least thereof. Far too many Americans and Europeans both are incredibly non viginlant regarding efforts at subversion of their own cultural underpinings, even enough to be deconstructive and dismissive of them on their own. cordeliaforlear.blogspot.com
Mar 6, 2009 - 10:11 pm 10. TomF:I have maintained the HOPE that in the end patriotism can trump party affiliation in Congress. If his removal is due to more than his bad mouthing of Congress, than this may be an example of this HOPE. What the Democrats may soon learn is that in a one party government there needs to be dissension to have a proper discussion on the issues. If they don’t figure this out soon enough the voters will clue them in come next election. Let’s HOPE it doesn’t come too late.
Mar 6, 2009 - 10:28 pm 11. Doug:Chas of Arabia
Mar 7, 2009 - 3:49 am 12. Dougf:Rich Lowry
Judging BHO by those he chooses to have around himself is frightening.
…but this has always been so.
I am of the belief that ANYBODY who sympathizes with Saudi Arabia and its peculiar outlooks is ,by definition, ’suspect’.
That said however how on earth does the following diatribe which you quote, in any way reflect negatively on this guy ?
“To advise the ambassador on the pet peeves and domestic political circumstances and agendas of the congresscritter in question so as to facilitate flattery, concrete gestures with possible impact on the electorate in question, or arrange a pseudo-event at which the congresscritter can claim credit for one his/her district’s companies having made a sale to the country represented by the lobbyist. To do research on the congresscritter so as to expose duplicity, where and when it exists, as it almost always does.“
He actually related that Congress is IN FACT and IN DEED the “closest thing to a native American criminal class”? Good for him.
Just for that comment alone, I have to say that at least sometimes this guy appears to be firmly rooted in reality. Sure reject him because he might be an Arabist and that is about the last thing we need at this point. But reject him because he despises and holds in contempt ‘Congress’ ? I think he should be publicly congratulated for his willingness to call ignorant corrupt clowns, well, ignorant,corrupt, clowns.
Don’t we ALL ?
Mar 7, 2009 - 4:32 am 13. formwiz:All of these appointments are, I think, beginning to reflect on the administration. Sanjay Gupta and Geithner’s prospective nominee are two examples of that reflection. Before long you’ll be hearing Obambi or Rahmbo saying something to the effect that it’s getting hard to find good help.
Mar 7, 2009 - 6:11 am 14. David P:Impeach Obama Now! The longer we wait, the more damage he will do to our nation.
Mar 7, 2009 - 7:17 am 15. aloysiusmiller:Ya’think some Jews are finally waking up and deciding that they’re too close to the edge? Had to be or Chuckie the Chucker wouldn’t lift a finger.
Mar 7, 2009 - 7:44 am 16. frieda:Have you seen this report ? the rise of Iranian lobby in Obama admin and check out how many times Chas Freeman’s name is mentioned here:
http://204.96.138.161/upload/wysiwyg/center%20publication%20pdfs/Clare%20Lopez%20-%20Rise%20of%20the%20‘Iran%20Lobby’%20(Feb%202009).pdf
This report documenting the rise of what can accurately be described as the “Iran Lobby” in Washington,
D.C. is derived entirely from unclassified open sources and describes in detail the activities, linkages, and objectives
of this alarming alliance between NIAC, CAIR and others that is aimed at co-opting America’s foreign policy in the
Middle East and specifically with Iran. Understanding the involvement of the Tehran regime in the foundation and
continuing activities of organizations like these and their allies will become increasingly important to understanding
the extent of the regime’s influence on American foreign policy decisions regarding Iran.
Mar 7, 2009 - 8:48 am 17. frieda:oops, corrected link
http://204.96.138.161/upload/wysiwyg/center%20publication%20pdfs/Clare%20Lopez%20-%20Rise%20of%20the%20‘Iran%20Lobby’%20(Feb%202009).pdf
Mar 7, 2009 - 8:50 am 18. Dr. T:And now Dr. Sanjay Gupta has decided to withdraw from the nomination for Surgeon General. He was gracious in giving reasons of income, family, and a desire to continue his practice. One has to wonder though. He certainly considered all this when accepted the nomination.
If it were me, and yes I am a physician, I’d have withdrawn because of the current administrations agenda and policies. If these were truly the reasons that Dr. Sanjay Gupta withdrew, then I would hope Dr. Gupta would step forward and speak up now.
So far the President has managed to slip legislation into what was supposed to be a Stimulus Bill, and is promising to do so again with his upcoming budget. and yet nothing has been discussed publically. Perhaps it is like the stock market and he really doesn’t care what he is and will be doing to our healthcare system, but every American who wants healthcare for themselves, their families, and their friends do care.
I expect that as more people in his administration see what is going on, we will see more defections, and more people speaking out even if they know they will lose their job.
There will likely also be those who do not get enough direction from their president and will unknowingly step on a few eggs, as I believe Mr. Freeman did.
Mar 8, 2009 - 8:16 am 19. betz55:Some of the neocons who have bankrupted this country in the name of Israel with their blind support of it – Daniel Pipes, Feith, Wolfowitz, Irving Kristol, William Kristol, Seth Lipsky, Martin Peretz, Norman Podhoretz, John Podhoretz, Richard Perle, Richard Cohen, Mortimer Zuckerman, Alan Dershowitz, Jeffrey Goldberg, Lawrence Kaplan, Charles Krauthammer, David Horowitz, Jonah Goldberg, David Gelernter, Ruth Wisse, David Brooks, Charles Schumer and David Frum.
Confronting the Israel Lobby, AIPAC, JINSA,WINEP, ADL, PNAC , AEI, JDL matters and should be done, now.
It is unacceptable that our leaders are not free to put American interest first for fear of the political reprisals of a foreign nation’s lobbyist.
It is unacceptable for the Israel Lobby to falsify, manipulate and color our beliefs of who is our “enemy” and who is our “friend” ” by deliberate obstructionism and McCarthyism.
The Israel Lobby to subvert our foreign policy appointees in their supposed interest, at the expense of our real interests, is a clear and present danger to the United States.
We give Israel 10 million dollars a day. That money is funding apartheid and the illegal settlements when we need the money here at home.
Why don’t we put it to vote and see how many Americans and world citizens want to continue supporting the world’s biggest welfare client, Israel ?
Mar 8, 2009 - 10:57 am 20. seven:If freeman is as bad as it appears and has a rebellious attitude, he will fit right in.
Mar 9, 2009 - 9:39 am 21. Souththeborder:You can accuse Obama of many things, but anti israel or anti jew because of this apointment?
Mar 9, 2009 - 6:49 pm 22. deguello:The most important guy for Obama, his Chief of Staff, is of jewish backgroung – Rahm Emanuel. His most important Adviser David Axelrod is also of jewish backgroud and many people inside the adiministration, such as Orszag or Reich.
You can accuse Obama of many things, but that he is anti-jewish is just nonsense. He even showed up at AIPAC before he got elected.
21 SOUTHOFTHEBORDER, It’s true that the Ohole has surrounded himself with self hating liberal(is that redundant?)jews , who in their condescending arrogance, think they can”moderate” the anti Israel views of a man they regard as their puppet.They are as wrong as the german plutocrats who thought they could manipulate Hitler. The Ohole admires Farrakhan, and had his daughters baptized by a jew baiter.These clowns are going to get a brutal education in antisemitic racial resentment. They will have deserved it!
Mar 12, 2009 - 2:49 pm 23. diginess:You guys have your own echo chamber going on here. First, remember that Israel is NOT the center of the world. Why should we give Israel any attention when we’ve got our own problems here? Now, it’s a good thing this guy is being shown the door if he thinks that China should have gone further against the demonstrators. However, I don’t see a problem with having Jews who are liberal or who aren’t currently practicing, whatever that means for you guys.
Jul 27, 2009 - 9:05 pmIsrael should not dictate our policy. Our own interests should dictate our policy.
Sure, you may be right about Arabs making statements they don’t mean. When we make deals, we should do so with the understanding that at some level, it is binding. If it is not kept by the other party (and they are not monolithic) then there are countermeasures.