A Critical review Of 'Global Trends 2030'

U.S. Intelligence's New Year's Wish -- Tom Engelhardt, Real Clear World/TomDispatch.com

Think of it as a simple formula: if you've been hired (and paid handsomely) to protect what is, you're going to be congenitally ill-equipped to imagine what might be. And yet the urge not just to know the contours of the future, but to plant the Stars and Stripes in that future has had the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) in its grip since the mid-1990s. That was the moment when it first occurred to some in Washington that U.S. power might be capable of controlling just about everything worth the bother globally for, if not an eternity, then long enough to make the future American property.

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My Comment: If you have 15 minutes to spare .... read and enjoy.

Embattled Ex-diplomat Chas Freeman Gives Up Top Intelligence Analyst Post -- News Updates

Intelligence Pick Withdraws Name Amid Controversy -- FOX News

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair announced former Ambassador Chas Freeman's decision in a statement Tuesday.

Chas Freeman, the former ambassador appointed to be the military's top intelligence analyst, has withdrawn his name following complaints from Democratic and Republican lawmakers who said he was too entangled in foreign affairs to handle the job.

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, who originally appointed Freeman to the post of National Intelligence Council chairman, announced the move in a statement Tuesday.

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More News On The Withdrawal Of Chas Freeman From The Post Of Intelligence Analyst

Embattled top US intel pick Freeman withdraws: official -- AFP
U.S. intelligence candidate pulls out after objections -- Reuters
National intel council appointee withdraws -- UPI
Outspoken former ambassador quits analyst post -- AP
Embattled Ex-diplomat Chas Freeman Gives Up Top Intelligence Analyst Post -- U.S. News And World Report
Freeman Withdraws From Key Intelligence Post -- NPR
Freeman is forced out -- Foreign Policy Blog
Charles Freeman fails the loyalty test -- Salon
So If Freeman Loses By Winning… -- Washington Independent
Freeman's withdrawal -- Politico
Controversial intelligence pick withdraws -- The Hill
Freeman Withdraws as Top Intelligence Analyst -- Wall Street Journal

Complaints About President Obama's National Intelligence Council Pick

From FOX News:

Intelligent Choice?

The Obama administration is pleading ignorance over complaints about the president's pick to head the National Intelligence Council.

Chas Freeman is a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia who now runs a Saudi-funded Washington think tank. A bipartisan congressional group wants a review of Freeman's ties to the Kingdom to guard against a conflict of interest.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor says "Freeman's past associations and positions on foreign policy are deeply alarming."

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More News On The Appointee For The National Intelligence Council

Foreign ties of nominee questioned -- Washington Times
Freeman to be investigated, hasn’t been vetted -- JTA
Obama's spy ruffles hawks' feathers -- Asia Times
Lots of Freeman links—and the debate is getting personal (UPDATED) -- JTA
Chas Freeman Causes Embarrassment for Obama Administration -- Associated Content
Where was due diligence? -- Spectator
Chas Freeman Redux: "When Idiots Attack" -- The Nation
Independent AG will look into Freeman's finances -- American Thinker
Freeman Already Under Investigation -- Weekly Standard
Intelligence Failure -- National Review editorial