EGO TOPS BRAIN: HILLARY TO ANNOUNCE ON SUNDAY

April 11, 2015

Desert Musings:

Hillary Clinton isn’t short on ego. She’s short on a lot of things, but ego isn’t one of them. And at a time when even liberal pundits are warning her not to get involved in the upcoming presidential sweepstakes, she’s decided to throw caution to the wind.

Hillary Clinton will become the third presidential candidate officially on Sunday.

She’s on her way to Iowa and will make the announcement at noon, eastern time. It will be followed by a video on youtube.com, and a bunch of conference calls to media. And of course, she’s hoping to rule the day on Sunday and Monday (which is why you announce on a Sunday in the first place…you get two days of news cycles, not just one).

And then the fun starts. See, Iowa has never been kind to Hillary. The last time she ran, she finished third there. It was a LONG time before she set foot in the Hawkeye State again…not until last year actually. That’s six years to be away. Not smart for someone who wants to be president. But that’s Hillary.

It will be very interesting to watch Hillary as she tries to make a go of it in less than admirable circumstances. She’s got about a dozen scandals swirling around her, not the least of which is the Benghazi debacle that she was in charge of and ultimately will be found to be the cause of (just speculation…but wait…it’s coming!). She has her testimony before Trey Gowdy’s select committee, which probably won’t help her poll numbers at all…and they’re already falling.

And then there’s the inevitable “Hillary Fatigue”. The more people see Hillary Clinton, the more people hate her. I know she’s hired this consultant who is supposed to give her a personality makeover…but I don’t really think it will help. Look, there are a bunch of brain-dead, low-information voters out there that think she’s great and would vote for her if she killed every member of the Duke basketball team. But I have this gut feeling that America really isn’t “Ready For Hillary” just yet. I don’t really think America will EVER be ready for her. Just like in the long run, I don’t think America will ever be ready for Jeb Bush. It’s not a political thing, it’s a dynastical  thing. I can’t see either making it to the White House. Of course, I’ve been wrong before…but my hunch is, I won’t be wrong this time. There’s too much fodder for Hillary.

Add to that one thing that is going to be the final nail in her coffin…the GOP candidates are spending more time attacking her than they are attacking each other. THAT is exactly what they should be doing. Spend a year and a half asking America if they really want her to answer that 3 am phone call. Ask America if they really want someone leading the country that hasn’t successfully led anything in her life.

And ask America if they really want a second person in the White House in a row that has more ego than brains!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Permission was given by Desert Musings to Lorra B. to post their articles in their entirety.

GO BACK TO SUCKISTAN: What Boston Bomber’s Mom Said About Guilty Verdict Will Make You See Red

(Screenshot credit, Daily Mail)

April 9, 2015

Daily Mail (H/T Clash Daily: by Doug Giles)

What the Boston Bomber’s mother said about his guilty verdict is unbelievable. If she doesn’t like America, we can raise some money to get her the first ticket back to Suckistan.

(Snapshot credit, Daily Mail)

Boston Marathon bombers’ mother stood defiant in the wake of Dhozkhar Tsarnaev’s guilty verdict Wednesday, declaring in a message to a supporter that her convicted mass-murderer son is ‘the best of the best.’

The 21-year-old Tsarnaev was found guilty by a Boston jury this morning of all 30 counts – 17 of them carrying the death penalty – in connection to the deadly 2013 attacks.

But the bomber’s mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaev, continued asserting Dzhokhar and his late brother Tamerlan’s innocence.

In a text message to her sons’ supporter Timur Rudaev, Zubeidat Tsraneav called the convicted killer ‘my precious boy’ before going on a rant against the US.

‘America is the real terrorist and everyone knows that,’ she wrote in the text, which was later shared on the Russian social media site VKontakte and sent to the news blog Vocativ.

‘My boys are the best of the best,’ Mrs Tsarnaev added.

She effusively thanked everyone who have been helping her family over the past two years and vowed to keep them in her thoughts.

‘May God reward them for supporting my precious boy,’ the mother wrote.

Read more: Daily Mail

Disclaimer: This was not written by Lorra B.

Obama Bashes Christians At Prayer Breakfast

April 8, 2015

Bunkerville:

Unfortunately Obama can’t get off his contempt for Christians. We won’t get into his feelings about the Jews. But then anyone who disagrees with Obama clearly finds themselves on his radar for further correction viz a viz the IRS for one. As far as the crusades, he might just want to review history on that one.

Barack Obama spoke at the annual Easter Prayer Breakfast in the White House. He bashed Christians. No mention of the slaughter that is going on. Anyone really belive he is a Christian?

“On Easter I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian I am supposed to love. And, I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less than loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned. But that’s a topic for another day. (laughter) Where there is injustice, I was about to veer off.”

Here is his statement from an earlier Prayer breakfast.

Christians On a “High Horse” – POTUS Compares Crusades To Islamic Extremism – Fox & Friends

More at Bunkerville

Disclaimer: This article was not written by Lorra B.

Decoding the Obama Doctrine

(Screenshot Credit, The Counter Jihad Report)

April 7, 2015

by Daniel Pipes

Washington Times (H/T The Counter Jihad Report)

April 6, 2015

James Jeffrey, Barack Obama’s former ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Iraq, has this to say about the administration’s current record in the Middle East: “We’re in a goddamn free fall.”

Count the mistakes: Helping overthrow Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, leading to anarchy and civil war. Pressuring Husni Mubarak of Egypt to resign, then backing the Muslim Brotherhood, leading now-president Sisi to turn toward Moscow. Alienating Washington’s most stalwart ally in the region, the Government of Israel. Dismissing ISIS as “junior varsity” just before it seized major cities. Hailing Yemen as a counterterrorism success just before its government was overthrown. Alarming the Saudi authorities to the point that they put together a military alliance against Iran. Coddling Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey, encouraging his dictatorial tendencies. Leaving Iraq and Afghanistan prematurely, dooming the vast American investment in those two countries.

And, most of all: Making dangerously flawed deals with the nuclear-ambitious mullahs of Iran.

Qaddafi of Libya, an Obama success story?

Is this a random series of errors by an incompetent leadership or does some grand, if misconceived, idea stand behind the pattern? To an extent, it’s ineptitude, as when Obama bowed to the Saudi king, threatened Syria’s government over chemical weapons before changing his mind, and now sends the U.S. military to aid Tehran in Iraq and fight it in Yemen.

But there also is a grand idea and it calls for explanation. As a man of the left, Obama sees the United States historically having exerted a malign influence on the outside world. Greedy corporations, an overly-powerful military-industrial complex, a yahoo nationalism, engrained racism, and cultural imperialism combined to render America, on balance, a force for evil.

Being a student of community organizer Saul Alinsky, Obama did not overtly proclaim this view but passed himself off as a patriot, though he (and his charming wife) did offer occasional hints of their radical views about “fundamentally transforming the United States.” On ascending to the presidency, Obama moved slowly, uneager to spread alarm and wanting to be reelected. By now, however, after six full years and only his legacy to worry about, the full-blown Obama is emerging.

Saul Alinsky, the community organizer par excellence. (And whom the author of this article met in about 1965.)

The Obama Doctrine is simple and universal: Warm relations with adversaries and cool them with friends.

Several assumptions underlie this approach: The U.S. government morally must compensate for its prior errors. Smiling at hostile states will inspire them to reciprocate. Using force creates more problems than it solves. Historic U.S. allies, partners, and helpers are morally inferior accessories. In the Middle East, this means reaching out to revisionists (Erdoğan, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Republic of Iran) and pushing away cooperative governments (Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia).

Of these actors, two stand out: Iran and Israel. Establishing good relations with Tehran appears to be Obama’s great preoccupation. As Michael Doran of the Hudson Institute has shown,Obama during his entire presidency has worked toward rendering Iran what he calls “a very successful regional power … abiding by international norms and international rules.” Contrarily, his pre-presidential friendships with truculent anti-Zionists such as Ali Abunimah, Rashid Khalidi, and Edward Said point to the depth of his hostility toward the Jewish state.

The Obama Doctrine demystifies what is otherwise inscrutable. For example, it explains why the U.S. government blithely ignored the Iranian supreme leader‘s outrageous “Death to America” yelp in March, dismissing it as mere domestic pandering, even as Obama glommed onto the Israeli prime minister‘s near simultaneous electoral campaign comment rejecting a two-state solution with the Palestinians during his term of office (“we take him at his word”).

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamene’i can say most anything and Obama won’t mind.

The doctrine also offers guidelines to predict possible developments during Obama’s remaining tenure, such as: Wretched P5+1 deals with Iran compel Israel’s government to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. Gentle policies toward Damascus clear the way for the Assad regime to re-extend its power. Ankara chooses to provoke a crisis in the eastern Mediterranean over Cypriot gas and oil reserves.

The great question ahead is how, in their wisdom, the American people will judge the Obama Doctrine when they next vote for president in 19 months. Will they repudiate his policy of shuffling and contrition, as they comparably did in 1980 when they elected Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter? Or will they choose four more years of it, thereby turning the Obama Doctrine into the new norm and Americans into European-style remorseful masochists?

Their verdict in 2016 has potentially world-historical implications.

Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum. © 2015 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved

Disclaimer: This article was not written by Lorra B.

So, The Pentagon Misplaced $45 BILLION In Afghanistan Funds

(Screenshot Credit, Rare)

April 3, 2015

Rare: An audit of the U.S. military’s spending in Afghanistan has revealed that a whopping $45 billion is unaccounted for.

This is zero percent surprising given the Pentagon’s track record on waste. Scott Shackford at Reasonably explains why this is just another reason we do not need to increase the military’s budget—especially without a full audit of the Pentagon:

Remember when we were informed in 2013 that America was giving literal bags full of cash to the office of then-Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai? It really shouldn’t be a surprise at this point that billions of dollars of Pentagon spending within Afghanistan prior to 2010 is unaccounted for. …

Now comes the news that we don’t even really know for certain what the Pentagon has done with $45 billion of $66 billion spent in Afghanistan prior to 2010. Why? Because until then the Pentagon was not required to account for it. The bureaucratic details that led to these circumstances is fleshed out here.

Of course, that “full audit of the Pentagon” part is going to be tricky to achieve. In fact, the audit which discovered the missing $45 billion can’t say much more than that because the Pentagon has not provided the information.

More at Rare

Disclaimer: This article was not written by Lorra B.

ISRAEL: ‘ Security Source Reveals IRAN Is Smuggling Rockets With Warheads To Hezbolla ‘

April 3, 2015

#AceNewsServices – ISRAEL:Featured Report:April.02: A senior Israeli security source revealed on Tuesday that Iran is smuggling rockets souped-up with advanced guided warheads to its terror proxy of Hezbollah in Lebanon, posing a direct threat to the Jewish state of Israel from right over its northern border.

Col. Aviram Hasson, a leader in the IDF’s top-level missile defenses, brought up the threat at the Israel Air and Missile Defense Conference held in Herzliya, an event hosted by theiHLS (Israel’s homeland security) defense website and the Israel Missile Defense Association.

The colonel said Iran is taking unguided Zilzal rockets and upgrading them into guided M-600 missiles by swapping out their warheads with more advanced components.

The Islamic regime is a “train engine that is not stopping for a moment. It is manufacturing new and advanced ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. It is turning unguided rockets that had an accuracy range of kilometers into weapons that are accurate to within meters,” he revealed.

Hasson stated that Hezbollah “is getting a lot of accurate weapons from Iran. It is in a very different place compared to the Second Lebanon War in 2006.”

The statements come the same day reports revealed the IDF had updated its worst case scenarios for a war against Lebanon for the first time since 2007. The assessment posited that Hezbollah would hit Israel with 1,000-1,500 rockets every day, and the number of Israelis killed daily will be in double or even triple digits.

As far as what Israel can do against the major threat, Hasson said the “ultimate defense is a combination of counter-attack, active defenses, and passive defense,” with the later consisting of civilians following orders to stay secure.

American backing?

Also addressing the missile threat at the conference was Riki Ellison, founder and chairman of the US Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

Ellison remarked that the US has a policy of always leaving a warship with an Aegis naval missile defense system in the Mediterranean to provide Israel with defense from Iranian long-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting the Jewish state from Iran.

He described how the warship “can stand off the coast and shoot long-shots coming in from Iran.”

However, Ellison noted how the US wants Israel to complete developing its missile defenses for all ranges of missiles, through such systems as Arrow 3 and David’s Sling, which would free up the Aegis ships.

If needed the US could take its defense of Israel a step further, revealed Elisson, noting that Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries could be deployed to secure the Jewish state.

Even as nuclear talks reached a deadline on Tuesday that was extended by the US, Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, said “wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation,” illustrating the dangers posed by the state’s nuclear program coupled with its missile capabilities.

Disclaimer: This article is not written by ACE NEWS GROUP or Lorra B. Contributions from Arutz-Sheva – Israeli Media Sources.

#ANS2015

Hero CIA officer who led the hunt for Bin Laden and converted to Islam is removed from his post in ‘restructure’

March 38, 2015

Comment by Jim Campbell, Citizen Journalist, Oath Keeper and Patriot.

The same Adobe Photoshop was used to create these false images of Osama’s alleged death created Obama’s fake birth certificate.

Nothing happens in the current administration without Obama’s sign off.

Perhaps the easiest explanation is the simplest, SEAL TEAM VI did not kill Osama bin Laden.

Would that bird be willing to sing? 

But wait ! we have the assurance and a death certificate that seems to seal the deal.

• Official known only by his agency identity, ‘Roger’, is stepping down the as Counter­ terrorism Center’s head
• Ran the drone campaign which killed thousands during his nine-year reign 
• Is a Muslim convert who has seen the center turned into a paramilitary unit
• He will remain in the CIA and is being replaced by an agency veteran 

Of course we all know that Barack Hussein Obama would never lie !

By Wills Robinson

Dailymail.com

March 27, 2915

The CIA official who led the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is being removed from his post, it has been revealed.

The head of the agency’s Counter­terrorism Center, who also directed drone campaigns which killed thousands, has been in the position for nine years and is described as a ‘true hero’.

His move is part of a major restructuring under CIA director John Brennan, and ends a tenure which has seen the center become a paramilitary unit, The Washington Post reported. 

The official, who has not been fully named by the paper as he is still undercover, is a convert to Islam and is believed to be in his 50s. 

 

The head of the United States’ CIA John, Brennan is a converted Muslim, what the hell is that all about?

The CIA official who led the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is being removed from his post as part of director John Brennan’s (pictured) restructuring. The agency veteran has been described as a true hero.

Known by his agency identity Roger, he presided over a campaign of espionage and armed drone strikes that have killed both terrorists and civilians.

Many of Al Qaeda’s most influential leaders have been slain under his leadership, but the main threat has since shifted to ISIS.   

In a Post profile written in 2012, he was described as chain-smoker and ‘not at all a team player’ by colleagues. 

He was also the basis for the character ‘The Wolf’ in the film Zero Dark Thirty and is said to have spent hours on the treadmill reading terrorism reports. 

But agency spokesman Dean Boyd paid tribute to the senior official as news of his departure surfaced.

He said: ‘After nearly a decade of outstanding work in this post, including the take down of countless terrorists and many other successes in protecting the country, he will be moving on in connection with the CIA modernization plan announced last month.’

Roger is believed to be staying on at the CIA and will be reassigned. His successor is known as Chris and is said to be an agency veteran who has already been in a number of high profile positions

Earlier this month Brennan ordered a sweeping overhaul of the spy agency, aimed in part at sharpening its focus on cyber operations and incorporating digital innovations into traditional intelligence gathering.

 

 

 Known by his agency identity Roger, he was the basis for the character ‘The Wolf’ in Zero Dark Thirty (not pictured). Kyle Chandler (left) and Jessica Chastain (right) during one of the scenes  

The move was prompted after nine outside experts spent three months analyzing the agency’s management structure.

These included what deputy CIA director David Cohen called ‘pain points’ – or organizational areas where the CIA’s bureaucracy does not work efficiently.

US officials said that Brennan decided the agency had to increase the resources and emphasis it devoted to cyberspace because advanced communications technology is rapidly becoming pervasive.

Historically, electronic eavesdroppers at the National Security Agency have been at the cutting edge of digital innovation within the US government. But the CIA felt that it too had to reorganize to keep up with the technological ‘pace of change,’ as one official put it. 

The U.S. Seafood And Retail Industry React To Slave-Fish Report

March 27, 2015

#AceNewsReport – Featured Update:WASHINGTON:March.26: The US State Department and business leaders are renewing their call on the Thai government to crack down on slavery in its fishing fleets.

The bones of the people could be an island, it’s that many.” RT

Reuters / Bazuki Muhammad

The US seafood and retail industries and a member of Congress reacted to an AP investigation published this week that found slave-caught fish clouds the supply networks of major supermarkets and restaurants in the US.

Hundreds of men were reportedly trapped on the Indonesian island of Benjina.

There are an estimated two to three million migrant workers in Thailand, the bulk of whom are from Burma (now known as Myanmar), the US State Department noted in its annualTrafficking in Persons (TIP) report.

In 2013, the report listed Thailand as a member of the Tier 2 Watch List, it’s second-worst designation, meaning its government does not meet the standards laid out in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (originally passed by Congress in 2000), “but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards,” yet slave labor is still increasing, according to the report’s definitions and methodology.

The industry leaders in the past have asked the Thai government to address forced labor, but have lacked specific allegations.

Let us hope this time that this sudden re-emergence of US interest is not just a profit related rouse, but do not hold your breath! This time they have their proof and can act – lets hope they do.

Ace Related News:

Burmese Slaves Editors Report: Ace News Services

Tortured Dinner: RT

#ANS2015

Disclaimer: Not written by Lorra B.

The Bergdahl Trade And The Partisan Polarization Of America’s National Security

March 26, 2015

Fox News:

On June 30, 2009, a young solider, Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, decided that the Army life just wasn’t for him and after writing several missives to spell out his disdain for his current circumstance at his post in Afghanistan and mailing off his kit to family and friends, he decided to go on an unaccompanied (and unauthorized) “walk-about” in Afghanistan. This was generally regarded by all as a “bad career move.”

The young private was swiftly captured and made a prisoner of war by the Taliban. He was moved to Pakistan for safe keeping as a guest of the Haqqani terror network (as so designated by the U.S. government on September 6, 2012). This transfer to Pakistan placed Bergdahl out of touch from U.S. forces due to the artificial U.S. limitation to not pursue terrorists across the Durand Line from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

Bergdahl, sadly, is simply a pawn in a much larger game of badly played chess.

Significant resources in manpower and surveillance technology was utilized to try to find and return Bergdahl. This action diminished the U.S. military’s operational capability to attack the Taliban in other parts of Afghanistan. It also resulted in the loss of life, at the hands of the Taliban, of his fellow soldiers who were sent out to find him.

Over his years of captivity the Army saw fit to promote Bergdahl not once but  twice – first to E-4/Specialist and then to his current rank of E-5/Sergeant.

Years later President Obama, with other options on the table, decided in December 2013, that the best political option was to trade five senior Taliban detainees (two of which were material supporters of Al Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks) for the return of Sgt Bergdahl.

I was briefed in December 2013 that a decision had been made to make a “trade” over other options and the trade was confirmed to me by senior leadership in the Defense Department.

Again – this was a political option – not an operational one.  There were at least three other viable operational options for the live return of Bergdahl that did not include the return of the five Taliban leaders. Those options were ignored by President Obama.

The five Taliban leaders were traded for the release of Sgt Bergdahl on May 31, 2014.  The five Taliban were sent to reside in Qatar, in luxury conditions, for one year. After one year they would be allowed to go about their business as they saw fit.

These five Taliban leaders will soon, in May 2015, be allowed to return to Afghanistan to what will no doubt be a “rock star” welcome, and resume their efforts to both fight U.S. forces still in the country and work to destabilize the central Afghan government. (A government that, according to the White House, is what we’ve invested 13 years of blood and treasure to establish and protect.)

By the way, we will have no ability to track or monitor these five “enemy combatants” once they arrive in Afghanistan and who will no doubt resume their effort to kill American and Afghan government forces immediately.

Does this sound like a national security policy conflict?  You betcha!  Why? Because And the political objectives, in the eyes of this White House, trump all other policies – even if it means damage to our national security interests.

The reason that the option to swap Bergdahl for the five Taliban senior leaders was so appealing is because President Obama wants to close the military prison at Guantanamo, period. No matter the real world harm such a move will cause to our allies and to the operations of our military forces.  This political narrative, above all else, has drove the horrid and dangerous decision to release the five Taliban leaders.

Further – legally, the president violated the law in authorizing the trade of the so-called Taliban Five for Bergdahl.

Under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2014, the president is required to provide Congress with 30 days notice of any release of detainees from Guantanamo; no such notification was made. There was no justification for the president to have violated this law. To date, Congress has failed to hold the president accountable for his actions.

Bergdahl, sadly, is simply a pawn in a much larger game of badly played chess.  He was inappropriately praised by the president in the May 31, 2014 Rose Garden press conference marking his return (a blatant attempt to influence the Army chain of command regarding the disposition of Bergdahl’s desertion from his post in combat) and by NSC Advisor Susan Rice who called him a “hero” in a lame attempt to build up Bergdahl to justify his importance in the trade.

Two investigations, one conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in 2009 and a second AR 15-6 conducted in 2014 by Maj. Gen Kenneth Dahl, have reached the factual conclusion that Bergdahl violated punitive article 85 – desertion, of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

More at Fox News

Disclaimer: This was not written by Silent Soldier.

Bureaucrats Block Special Operations Intel Requests

This image provided by the U.S. Army shows a page from a brochure about the Distributed Common Ground System. Military bureaucrats have been trying to force the use of DCGS, an unpopular government-built intelligence system on special operations units deploying to war zones while blocking soldiers from using the commercial alternative they say they need.
US ARMY/AP

March 26, 2015

Stars and Stripes: By KEN DILANIAN  The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Military bureaucrats have been trying to force an unpopular government-built intelligence system on special operations units deploying to war zones while blocking soldiers from using the commercial alternative they say they need, according to government records and interviews.

Over the last four months, six Army special operations units about to be deployed into Afghanistan, Iraq and other hostile environments have requested software made by Palantir, a Silicon Valley company that has synthesized data for the CIA, the Navy SEALs and the country’s largest banks, among other government and private entities.

But the Army has approved just two of the requests after members of Congress intervened with senior military leaders. Four requests pending with U.S. Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida-based Special Operations Command have not been granted.

Email messages and other military records obtained by The Associated Press show that Army and special operations command bureaucrats have been pressing troops to use an in-house system built and maintained by traditional defense contractors. The Distributed Common Ground System, or DCGS, has consistently failed independent tests and earned the ire of soldiers in the field for its poor performance.

Special operations units have used Palantir since 2009 to store and analyze intelligence on information ranging from cultural trends to roadside bomb data, but has always been seen by top Pentagon officials as an interim solution until their in-house system is fielded. Those who have used the system say DCGS has yet to deliver on its promise of seamlessly integrating intelligence.

Pentagon officials say DCGS, despite its flaws, has broader capabilities than Palantir, and that in some cases it complements Palantir.

Intelligence officers say they use Palantir to analyze and map a variety of intelligence from hundreds of databases. Palantir costs millions, compared to the billions the military has been pouring into DCGS.

Special operations officials, in a statement to AP, said Palantir had been “extremely successful” in Iraq and Afghanistan and they are working to expand access to Palantir for units deployed in the fight against the Islamic State group. But records and interviews show a history of internal pressure against making and approving such requests.

One veteran special operations intel analyst, who is on his seventh deployment in 12 years, said his recent request for Palantir for a unit heading to Iraq had met with “pushback” both from his own headquarters and from bureaucrats who favor DCGS’ analytical component at the Pentagon, special operations command headquarters in Tampa, and Army special operations in Fort Bragg. Another special operations officer also used the term “heavy pushback” in an email about his request for Palantir.

Like most active-duty Army personnel interviewed for this story, they declined to be quoted by name because they feared speaking out could put their careers at risk.

In their statement, special operations officials said their questions about Palantir requests should not be interpreted as resistance.

The failings of the Army’s version of DCGS has received significant public attention in recent years. The version tailored to special operations troops has even less capability, special operations command acknowledges in its records. Another version being offered to special operations troops working in remote areas, called DCGS-Lite, has received mediocre reviews from intelligence analysts, Army records show.

Intelligence officers say Palantir is easier to use, more stable and more capable than DCGS, which sometimes doesn’t work at all.

 

The Pentagon system is difficult to master, the veteran intelligence analyst said, while it takes him about 30 minutes to train a new analyst on Palantir.

More at Stars and Stripes

Disclaimer: This article was not written by Silent Soldier.