UPDATED – Counterterrorism: The Obama Effect
STRATFOR is finding that our worst fears about the release of the “torture” memos are becoming true: A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism.
[O]ur contacts in the intelligence community report that the release of the memos has had a discernible “chilling effect” on those in the clandestine service who work on counterterrorism issues.
Politics and moral arguments aside, the end effect of the memos’ release is that people who have put their lives on the line in U.S. counterterrorism efforts are now uncertain of whether they should be making that sacrifice…It is hard to retain officers and attract quality recruits in this kind of environment. It has become safer to work in programs other than counterterrorism.
There is one tiny bit of good news, but it comes with some bad news:
The memos’ release will not have a catastrophic effect on U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Indeed, most of the information in the memos was leaked to the press years ago and has long been public knowledge. However, when the release of the memos is examined in a wider context…it appears that the U.S. counterterrorism community is quietly slipping back into an atmosphere of risk-aversion and malaise — an atmosphere not dissimilar to that described by …the 9/11 Commission…as a contributing factor to the intelligence failures that led to the 9/11 attacks.
Way to go, Mr. President. Happy 100th Day…
Anyway, do read the whole thing.
UPDATE: Post of the Day at Legal Insurrection. Thanks, Professor Jacobson!
