Hillary Clinton’s abominable national security record
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Hillary Clinton’s abominable national security record
Editor’s Note
– Gary Aldrich served in the FBIfor 26 years and was assigned to the White House bracketing the Reagan and
Clinton Administrations. In his White House post, he was the responsible for
background checks for positions including White House Counsel, Chief of Staff,
Secretary of State, Attorney General, FBI Director, and other cabinet posts.
Prior to his White House assignment, Aldrich held liaison positions in both the
U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. From 1969-1986, he served as
FBI Special Agent Investigator in Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington,
D.C. (Read more here.)
ALDRICH: Hillary Clinton’s abominable national
security record
History of incompetence and
dangerous decisions
By Gary Aldrich – Washington Times
dangerous decisions
By Gary Aldrich – Washington Times
Gary
Aldritch
Aldritch
I have extensive experience in
national security matters, including years served in the House, the Senate and
the White House, where I was detailed as senior FBI special agent liaison and
investigator with the Bush and Clinton White House counsel’s office.
There was never a question that national security was a top priority for George
H.W. Bush’s executive branch. The security system was ironclad, serious and
professional. The rest of the federal agencies followed the lead of the Bush
White House.
Our national security group consisted of the FBI, the CIA, the Department of
Defense and the Secret Service, all working united in a common mission. I
cannot recall a single complaint that the Bush administration ignored warnings
or suggestions of those ready to give their all — including their lives — to
protect the president and his White House, and our national security. We
performed our mission, and it was appreciated by the Bush team.
Contrast that with the mess that occurred when Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham
Clinton took office. The administration, with few exceptions, did not take
national security seriously. National and White House security were not
priorities. We were shocked.
Because of an obvious disregard for security-related matters throughout the executive
branch, career professionals left the Clinton White House and their respective
agencies in droves. I knew many who did, and it was a sad day when another one
would greet us in the hallways of the Old Executive Office Building with an
announcement of retirement, transfer or outright resignation. I could not blame
them. I also approached my FBI managers with my own request for reassignment.
Why did I want to leave one of the most unique assignments an FBI agent could
achieve? The bad attitude the Clintons had toward national security made it
impossible for us to perform our duties successfully. Their failure to properly
assess threat levels, along with their unwillingness to acknowledge that they
knew little about national security, was a recipe for disaster. We knew this
from experience.
Mrs. Clinton eventually was accused in congressional testimony of ordering the
hiring of Craig Livingstone — a former bar bouncer — to head the White House
security office. Mr. Livingstone also headed up liaison with the FBI. His was
not a serious appointment — he was a joke. Some of my security friends thought
that this was Mrs. Clinton’s way of showing us that she held no respect for us.
Lacking respect did not discourage Mrs. Clinton from using security agencies as
a hammer to attack and punish those who stood in her way. The FBI, the Secret
Service and the Internal Revenue Service hounded and then prosecuted seven
innocent men who worked for the White House travel office simply because they
were standing in the way of Mrs. Clinton’s political interests and ambitions.
She knew federal investigations would destroy those good men, but she wanted
her friends in those slots, and that was all that mattered.
No
one could understand why Mrs. Clinton would want to insert herself into
security matters. She was neither elected nor appointed, and day-to-day
security issues were considered dry or boring. Security usually is not
micromanaged by the front office. Moreover, a good front office always staffs
this important function with the best candidates. One possible reason for Mrs.
Clinton’s unusual interest was that she and her husband had much to hide. There
was no statutory authority for her to be so involved, but that didn’t seem to
matter, either.
The Clintons left a wake of questionable activities behind them. Both had come
up from the same crowd — the anti-war left, where Saul Alinsky taught that all
truth was relative, a tool to be used to win. Having won the White House, Mr.
Clinton had little interest in staffing, as documented in articles and books
explaining the chaos, released after the fact.
Mrs. Clinton called on Arkansas Rose Law Firm associates to staff the Clinton
White House Counsel’s Office. Most memorable among these was Vince Foster, who
died in Fort Marcy Park of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Foster, a
seemingly decent man, was deputy counsel in charge of the overall security
program in the White House. He possessed no background or education for the
job. Foster’s deputy, William Kennedy, also a former co-worker of Mrs. Clinton,
supervised Craig Livingstone. FBI and Secret Service agents did their best to
work with this trio, but within days it was clear that there was not a dime’s
worth of experience between them regarding White House security or national
security. That didn’t seem to register in Washington, where perception trumps
logic and truth.
Soon the predictable happened, as the Clinton White House became a swamp of
scandal and chaos, eventually resulting in Mr. Clinton’s impeachment. We were
lucky that nothing worse than the Monica Lewinsky scandal occurred. The Clinton
White House — with a security system conceived and overseen by Mrs. Clinton —
was an exceptionally soft target for espionage and also for a deadly terrorist
attack.
Five House members recently raised questions about Huma Abedin, an aide in Mrs.
Clinton’s State Department, whose family has ties with terrorist sympathizers.
This aide should not be a candidate for close access. Only those completely
above suspicion should ever be given close access to a Cabinet secretary’s daily
business or schedule. Such a person would require the highest clearance
possible. Agendas, comings, goings, identities, plans, what the president says
and thinks — that is a virtual treasure trove of key data if a potential spy
can access an inner circle participant. Of course, Mrs. Clinton’s choice for a
constant travel companion could be an innocent person, but if the FBI
director’s closest aide was the son of a Mafia boss, would that be deemed
acceptable?
On the heels of this national security background investigation mystery, now
there are four deaths — one of a U.S. ambassador — apparently because of other
lapses in national and embassy security procedures at Mrs. Clinton’s State
Department. She hired a former bar bouncer for White House security — who runs
the State Department’s security office?
Mrs. Clinton has a documented track record of interference and poor judgment as
she micromanaged the White House security program, sans credentials. In recent
days, she has said that what happened in Libya is her fault, and maybe that’s
the truth. The media ought to ask her some tough questions about State
Department security, and then seek to get some straight answers.
More important, a preventable horror such as the one that happened in Benghazi,
Libya, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks should require an
in-depth congressional hearing. No one should be allowed to hide behind weak,
insincere apologies or cover up a national security collapse. Our nation and
the families of the victims deserve better, and true accountability can prevent
future national security debacles.
Gary Aldrich is president
of The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty and author of “Unlimited
Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House” (Regnery, 1996).
national security matters, including years served in the House, the Senate and
the White House, where I was detailed as senior FBI special agent liaison and
investigator with the Bush and Clinton White House counsel’s office.
There was never a question that national security was a top priority for George
H.W. Bush’s executive branch. The security system was ironclad, serious and
professional. The rest of the federal agencies followed the lead of the Bush
White House.
Our national security group consisted of the FBI, the CIA, the Department of
Defense and the Secret Service, all working united in a common mission. I
cannot recall a single complaint that the Bush administration ignored warnings
or suggestions of those ready to give their all — including their lives — to
protect the president and his White House, and our national security. We
performed our mission, and it was appreciated by the Bush team.
Contrast that with the mess that occurred when Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham
Clinton took office. The administration, with few exceptions, did not take
national security seriously. National and White House security were not
priorities. We were shocked.
Because of an obvious disregard for security-related matters throughout the executive
branch, career professionals left the Clinton White House and their respective
agencies in droves. I knew many who did, and it was a sad day when another one
would greet us in the hallways of the Old Executive Office Building with an
announcement of retirement, transfer or outright resignation. I could not blame
them. I also approached my FBI managers with my own request for reassignment.
Why did I want to leave one of the most unique assignments an FBI agent could
achieve? The bad attitude the Clintons had toward national security made it
impossible for us to perform our duties successfully. Their failure to properly
assess threat levels, along with their unwillingness to acknowledge that they
knew little about national security, was a recipe for disaster. We knew this
from experience.
Mrs. Clinton eventually was accused in congressional testimony of ordering the
hiring of Craig Livingstone — a former bar bouncer — to head the White House
security office. Mr. Livingstone also headed up liaison with the FBI. His was
not a serious appointment — he was a joke. Some of my security friends thought
that this was Mrs. Clinton’s way of showing us that she held no respect for us.
Lacking respect did not discourage Mrs. Clinton from using security agencies as
a hammer to attack and punish those who stood in her way. The FBI, the Secret
Service and the Internal Revenue Service hounded and then prosecuted seven
innocent men who worked for the White House travel office simply because they
were standing in the way of Mrs. Clinton’s political interests and ambitions.
She knew federal investigations would destroy those good men, but she wanted
her friends in those slots, and that was all that mattered.
Noone could understand why Mrs. Clinton would want to insert herself into
security matters. She was neither elected nor appointed, and day-to-day
security issues were considered dry or boring. Security usually is not
micromanaged by the front office. Moreover, a good front office always staffs
this important function with the best candidates. One possible reason for Mrs.
Clinton’s unusual interest was that she and her husband had much to hide. There
was no statutory authority for her to be so involved, but that didn’t seem to
matter, either.
The Clintons left a wake of questionable activities behind them. Both had come
up from the same crowd — the anti-war left, where Saul Alinsky taught that all
truth was relative, a tool to be used to win. Having won the White House, Mr.
Clinton had little interest in staffing, as documented in articles and books
explaining the chaos, released after the fact.
Mrs. Clinton called on Arkansas Rose Law Firm associates to staff the Clinton
White House Counsel’s Office. Most memorable among these was Vince Foster, who
died in Fort Marcy Park of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Foster, a
seemingly decent man, was deputy counsel in charge of the overall security
program in the White House. He possessed no background or education for the
job. Foster’s deputy, William Kennedy, also a former co-worker of Mrs. Clinton,
supervised Craig Livingstone. FBI and Secret Service agents did their best to
work with this trio, but within days it was clear that there was not a dime’s
worth of experience between them regarding White House security or national
security. That didn’t seem to register in Washington, where perception trumps
logic and truth.
Soon the predictable happened, as the Clinton White House became a swamp of
scandal and chaos, eventually resulting in Mr. Clinton’s impeachment. We were
lucky that nothing worse than the Monica Lewinsky scandal occurred. The Clinton
White House — with a security system conceived and overseen by Mrs. Clinton —
was an exceptionally soft target for espionage and also for a deadly terrorist
attack.
Five House members recently raised questions about Huma Abedin, an aide in Mrs.
Clinton’s State Department, whose family has ties with terrorist sympathizers.
This aide should not be a candidate for close access. Only those completely
above suspicion should ever be given close access to a Cabinet secretary’s daily
business or schedule. Such a person would require the highest clearance
possible. Agendas, comings, goings, identities, plans, what the president says
and thinks — that is a virtual treasure trove of key data if a potential spy
can access an inner circle participant. Of course, Mrs. Clinton’s choice for a
constant travel companion could be an innocent person, but if the FBI
director’s closest aide was the son of a Mafia boss, would that be deemed
acceptable?
On the heels of this national security background investigation mystery, now
there are four deaths — one of a U.S. ambassador — apparently because of other
lapses in national and embassy security procedures at Mrs. Clinton’s State
Department. She hired a former bar bouncer for White House security — who runs
the State Department’s security office?
Mrs. Clinton has a documented track record of interference and poor judgment as
she micromanaged the White House security program, sans credentials. In recent
days, she has said that what happened in Libya is her fault, and maybe that’s
the truth. The media ought to ask her some tough questions about State
Department security, and then seek to get some straight answers.
More important, a preventable horror such as the one that happened in Benghazi,
Libya, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks should require an
in-depth congressional hearing. No one should be allowed to hide behind weak,
insincere apologies or cover up a national security collapse. Our nation and
the families of the victims deserve better, and true accountability can prevent
future national security debacles.
Gary Aldrich is president
of The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty and author of “Unlimited
Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House” (Regnery, 1996).
NESARA- Restore America – Galactic News
2012-11-15 01:40:22
Source: http://nesaranews.blogspot.com/2012/11/hillary-clintons-abominable-national.html
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