MORE INCOMPETENCE & ARROGANCE

(Via ThinkProgress)

Rummy decided to have his own mini-CIA and wasted precious U.S. human resources.

U.S. seeks to rein in its military spy teams
Special Forces units work in allied countries and clash with the CIA.
By Greg Miller, LA Times Staff Writer
December 18, 2006

(excerpts)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Forces teams sent overseas on secret spying missions have clashed with the CIA and carried out operations in countries that are staunch U.S. allies...

The program was approved by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks...

And to date, the effort has not led to the capture of a significant terrorism suspect.

Rumsfeld, who lacked confidence in the CIA, directed a major expansion of the military's involvement in intelligence gathering to make the Pentagon less dependent on the agency.

At a time when the military is stretched thin, the official questioned the priority of using Special Forces for espionage, noting that the MLE program has not produced a significant success in terms of disrupting a plot or capturing a terrorist suspect.

"These are a highly trained, short-supply resource of the U.S. government," the official said. "What … are they doing there instead of Pakistan or Afghanistan?"

Steve Clemons has more on the significance of DoD's intelligence gathering:

"More important though was that the Rumsfeld-Cambone-Feith-Boykin intel machine included the staff of Vice President Cheney who were key beneficiaries of intel activities and information passed on to the Vice President's Office by DoD. Instructions also flowed from Cheney's office to DoD regarding intelligence initiatives and work that should be done. This entire interaction existed beyond what was legally prescribed and appropriate between the White House and this subcabinet intelligence activity controlled by Rumsfeld and his minions.

Bob Gates is about to shut down a signficant chunk of Vice President Cheney's intelligence eyes and ears -- and to some degree, an inappropriate ability to help drive covert actions."