[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: First rule of war - figure out who we're fighting

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
First rule of war - figure out who we're fighting
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1182867407.shtml


   Via CNN: [1]Report Blasts U.S. for failures in fighting terrorism

     WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A just-released report slams the federal
     government for failing to coordinate the work of U.S. law
     enforcement agencies overseas to fight terrorism.

     The Government Accountability Office found that in one country a
     lack of clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the FBI and
     the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency may have compromised
     several investigations intended to identify and disrupt potential
     terrorist activities.

     The GAO did not name the country in its report.

   (bet it's Saudi Arabia...)

     The White House has long issued directives asking that U.S. law
     enforcement agencies assist foreign nations' anti-terrorism
     efforts.

     But the report finds that embassy and law enforcement officials
     told the GAO "they had received little or no guidance" on how to
     accomplish that...

     ...The 2003 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism instructed
     the State Department to develop and coordinate U.S.
     counterterrorism policy abroad, but the report says that was not
     done.

   (they were probably too busy partying at [2]Bandar's place in Aspen..)

     The 2004 Intelligence Reform Act shifted that responsibility to the
     National Counterterrorism Center and, although a general plan has
     been drafted, it has not yet been implemented...

   But our tax dollars are still being used to combat the evil weed...

     In all four there was more U.S. funding devoted to fighting drugs
     than to fighting terrorism, the report said

     In one country, described as an "extremely high terrorist threat to
     American interests globally," the State Department provided six
     times more funding to stop illicit drugs and crime than it did for
     anti-terrorism assistance, the report said.

     In another country, an embassy official said most training and
     assistance funding from the U.S. was dedicated to counter-narcotics
     efforts "even though drugs were no longer a strategic concern in
     that country."

     Also, the report revealed that information about terrorists is not
     always shared or acted on.

   The next time we have a war, can we at least agree on what and who
   we're supposed to be fighting?

References

   1. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/25/terror.report/index.html
   2. http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2006/07/12/prince-bandar-to-sell-his-home-in-aspen-for-135-million/