Gen. Michael Flynn Resigns As Trump's National Security Advisor

General Michael Flynn has resigned as President Trump's National Security Advisor, after it was learned that the Justice Department informed the White House that it believed he might be subject to blackmail.

The axe fell when Flynn admitted that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials about his communications with Sergei Kislyak, who is Russia's ambassador to the United States. In his resignation letter,Flynn said:

"Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology."

Along with his resignation of course.

What happened is that the FBI had intel that Flynn had discussed sanctions on Russia with Kislyak, but Flynn told administration officials that he hadn't. Pence repeated the misinformation on national television.

While Flynn didn't do anything illegal, this was a bad mistake on his part. But like the soldier he was, he owned up, took the blame and paid the price, a sad end to an honorable career.

To their shame, the Democrats are absolutely ecstatic over this.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and a Leftist progressive. He said Flynn's resignation was "all but ordained the day he misled the country about his secret talks with the Russian Ambassador."

"In fact, Flynn was always a poor choice for National Security Advisor, a role in which you need to be a consensus builder, and possess sobriety and steady judgment," Schiff said in a statement. "It is certainly no role for someone who plays fast and loose with the truth."

Schiff, of course,has no military, hands on intel or national security experience whatsoever. So of course, he knows all about what's needed in an NSA advisor.

And that's interesting, considering that Rep. Schiff and his fellow Dems were all in for Hillary Clinton, whom we know deliberately endangered national security by putting classified material on an unprotected server to hide her crooked deals and operated her office as Secretary of State  for her own profit like a mega high priced escort service, pay for play.

Flynn made a bad error in judgement and he had to go. And there are stories floating around that he may have been responsible,inadvertently perhaps, for several media leaks. But by comparison with Mrs. Clinton's disgraceful, self serving misdeeds and outright felonies...no contest.

Retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg is a longtime trusted policy adviser for Trump. He  has been appointed acting national security adviser, according to a White House statement. Kellogg was the former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and he has years of combat, national security and command experience.

He may end up getting the gig permanently.

Another possibility being talked about is retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, the former deputy commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command. Former CIA head General David Petraeus was apparently also mentioned, but I doubt he gets it because of his own national security problems.

Either Kellogg or Harward would be a good choice, and Kellog will do a great job holding things together until a decision is made.

A Great Foreign Policy And Defense Forum With Dick Cheney And Leon Panetta

This is a major treat for anyone interested in U.S. foreign policy and national defense. A great Forum at the Reagan National Defense Forum featuring former Defense Secretaries Leon Panetta and Dick Cheney, along with veteran Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

This is a great discussion of the new era of foreign policy under President-elect Donald Trump, the challenges and national security threats we face and possible solutions by three people with vast experience and who very much know what they're talking about.



The fact that all three know and respect each other makes this a refreshing change from the usual shouting contest, and some humorous banter between the trio leavens an extremely worthwhile and informative discussion.

Well worth an hour's time, taped live as it happened at the Reagan Library.

NBC's C-inC Forum Sets the Tone For The Debates. And Yes, Hillary Lied Again

 

The reaction to last night's 'commander in chief' forum on NBC was absolutely surreal.

Matt Lauer actually had the temerity, just for a few minutes, to question Hillary Clinton like an actual journalist and to actually allow a questioner to be critical of her. And he's in a world of sh*t because of it. Look at these headlines:

CNN "Behind the scenes, NBC execs concede Matt Lauer forum performance was "disaster"

New York Times "Matt Lauer Loses the War in a Battle Between the Candidates"

Jonathon Chait,New York Magazine "Matt Lauer’s Pathetic Interview of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Is the Scariest Thing I’ve Seen in This Campaign"

There's tons more, but you get the drift.

He should have known better, really. Remember how the press crucified Bob Schieffer for being even handed during that first Obama-Romney debate in 2012? Schieffer,of course was indeed a fairly Left leaning Democrat, but he came from an older generation where there were still some journalistic ethics and standards.

The infamous Candy Crowley, who 'moderated' the second 2012 debate learned from Schieffer's faux pas and did everything she could short of pepper spraying Romney to make sure Obama came out looking good. Rest assured that ABC's Lester Holt, who's 'moderating' the first debate has taken note of Lauer's gang stomping and will behave the same way Crowley did.The presidential debates will be custom designed to attack Trump and destroy him at all costs, and to let Mrs. Clinton to slither into the Oval Office.

Actually, Matt Lauer was relatively easy on Hillary. Yes, he actually asked a few questions that stung a little, but he let her get away with blatant falsehoods.

For instance,Hillary made a big point last night that the stuff she was spreading around to unauthorized people via her illegal private server 'wasn't labeled classified.' (This after just a few days before she told the eFBI she didn't remember her briefing on how to handle classified material!)

Now, I didn't expect a Clintonista like Matt Lauer to challenge her on anything, but the FBI report showed that there were numerous e-mails from Mrs. Clinton to Cheryl Mills and Huma referring to removing 'classified tags' from e-mails she planned to share with unauthorized people and asking if they had done it yet!

And here's another point Lauer should of brought up but of course, didn't. If you're a high government official getting classified briefings and you share that information via a regular ol' email with an unauthorized person in exchange for a donation to a scam 'foundation', a six figure speaking fee for your disreputable spouse or a nice campaign contribution or other quid pro quo, you are trafficking in classified information.

Which of course, is exactly what Mrs. Clinton did. She's simply a corrupt felon who got away with it because the Obama DOJ let the FBI know that they weren't going to prosecute. FBI Director Comey's sickening nonsense about 'intent' was sheer bolshoi.

The illegal server itself shows intent. And when someone wipes an illegal server using software like Bleachbit AFTER the story breaks and when this same evidence has been subpoenaed, that shows intent too...for anyone but the Clintons.

Matt Lauer, of course, knew better than to 'fact check' Mrs. Clinton. But he made an even bigger error when he let someone with an actual hard ball question slip through, a vet with years of experience handling classified intel that told her that if he had done what she did, he would have been prosecuted and jailed. Her response was, well, not really a response at all.

He was the only one who questioned Mrs. Clinton on the subject or who even did more than toss her a softball. And if you watch, you'll see her glare briefly at Lauer and then look at the vet, write his name down after the question and hand it to one of her Secret service guards.

Then there's the matter of Mrs. Clinton's flesh colored earpiece, something Matt Lauer apparently didn't notice...or maybe chose not to:



NYPD officers involved with the NBC forum’s security detail recognized it instantly. They confirmed that Clinton was wearing an ‘inductive earpiece,” used by actors in Broadway shows so they can be prompted on their lines and receive cues off-stage from directors. They're wireless, not like the ones used by the police, the FBI and the Secret Service.

Mrs. Clinton has apparently been using this for quite some time as WikiLeaks confirmed with this email to Mrs. Clinton from Huma Abedin, her close personal aide:



As actor James Wood tweeted, 'She can't even #lie without help from a gaggle of other #liars through an earpiece' @HillaryClinton #HillarysEarpiece pic.twitter.com/YIMVd72SjH

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 8, 2016

Actually, what probably happened is that except for the one questioner who slipped through, the rest were rehearsed beforehand and Mrs. Clinton just needed prompting on her scripted answers.The media won't raise that question, but Trump should at the next debate. Either she's deaf, or she's being coached from off stage, and I think we all know which it is.

And Donald Trump? Lauer was actually tougher on him than he was on Mrs. Clinton. He got almost twice the amount of questions she did, and none of them were softballs. Lauer made a valiant try and getting Trump to slip up but failed utterly. trump refused to rise to the bait, and simply repeated what he's said all along, that he will defeat ISIS but that he's not giving away his ideas on strategy on live TV, but will consult with his military advisers and come up with the best ideas, whether there his, someone else's or a combination of the two. Contrast that with Mrs. Clinton, who informed ISIS, Iran and a whole lot of other bad actors on national television that we would newer send troops to Iraq under any circumstances.

I guess she learned from her old boss, President Barack Hussein Obama who informed the Taliban as well as any Afghans trying to decide whom to side with exactly when we were leaving. And they say Donald Trump doesn't know anything about foreign policy?

Two other things Donald Trump said that bear mention. He openly criticized some of the generals President Obama has kept in place who will go along with his farcical agenda and rules of engagement that have cost American lives...As opposed to some of our best and most successful field commanders that have been forced into retirement. And that purge includes not just generals and admirals but even extends down to junior officers, as my regular readers know. Barack Obama has played politics with our military in order to 'transform it' just as he has everything else.

And when challenged about Vladimir Putin, Trump said he thinks he can get along with Russia on a great many issues of mutual concern while keeping our national interests in mind. That's something Mrs. Clinton and her boss failed miserably at with the so-called 'reset.'

Fact - Putin is one of the few world leaders fighting jihad right now, and we will need Russia's help to defeat it,just as they will need ours. When Trump said 'imagine how great it would be if the U.S. and Russia cooperated in defeating ISIS' he was entirely correct.

I'll leave you to decide who sounded like a real commander-in-chief. The military has already spoken, and by a huge margin.

So have the people who watched it.

Obama Picks Carter Ash As His New Choice For SecDef

President Obama has chosen former deputy defense secretary Carter Ash as his pick to replace the ousted Chuck Hagel as his fourth Secretary of Defense.

Unlike his predecessors Hagel, Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, Ash has never served in the military. He's an academic and bureaucrat, a former Harvard professor who has worked in and out of Washington for almost forty years. His top job was serving as as deputy defense secretary under Leon Panetta from October 2011 to December 2013.

Ash was bypassed for the top job at defense by Obama twice before and only got picked for it this time because all of the other candidates the White House approached initially declined because, among other things, this president's dysfunctional relationship with the Pentagon and the U.S. military in general common knowledge, as is his serial micromanaging. Carter Ash was simply the last one standing.

One reason he might have been turned down before was a number of public statements, papers and reports that reflect a moderately hard line view on Iran and its rogue nuclear weapons program, as well as some favorable statements he made after a 2013 trip to Israel,his first.

Among other things, in a 2004 article for Foreign Affairs, he called for the complete and verifiable elimination of Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear programs and accused a “distracted” Bush administration of having “left the initiative for curbing Iran’s evident nuclear ambitions to two groups that failed to support the Iraq invasion: the Europeans and the UN.”

Well and good, but rest assured that whatever Carter Ash's previous position might be, if he becomes SecDef he will toe the Obama line of appeasement on Iran and disapproval of Israel and has undoubtedly given assurances of that to the president. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have been nominated.

If anyone needs any further assurance of this, you need only know that his mentor and teacher in matters of defense policy was William Perry, Bill Clinton’s SecDef during the 1990s.

He will likely be confirmed. I don't expect much in the way of change in defense policy as long as Barack Obama is president.

It's Official - The FBI Drops Law Enforcement From Its Primary Mission

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has made a major change in what it considers it's primary mission:

 

The change was first noticed this year by Kel McClanahan, a Washington-based national security lawyer.
McClanahan noticed the change while reviewing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the FBI and the FBI fact sheet accompanies every FOIA response.

This apparently reflects a noticeable change in agency policy in the last few years. Investigations of white collar crime, kidnapping and other federal offenses and an increase is counterterrorism and surveillance. In fact, according to a 2010 Inspector's General report, between 2001 and 2009, the FBI doubled the amount of agents concentrating on counterterrorism.

Needless to say, the emphasis on counterterrorism and national security reduces FBI manpower and resources available to fight crime.There's also the problem of multiple agencies like the NSA and DHS duplicating the FBI's efforts and getting in each others way...which was supposed to be what establishing the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to be about in the first place, wasn't it?

At least the FBI is finally being honest about it.

New US Intelligence Report - Iran's Missiles Could Reach America By 2015

 

A new intelligence report by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center states that Iran could develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States by 2015.

The report, the Foreign Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat Assessment, was prepared by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center with significant contributions from the Defense Intelligence Agency Missile and Space Intelligence Center and the Office of Naval Intelligence. The report's authors could not determine how many ICBM's the Iranians currently possess.

The report states that since 2008, Iran has conducted multiple successful launches of the two-stage Safir space launch vehicle and has also revealed the larger two-stage Simorgh SLV, which could serve as a test bed for developing ICBM technologies. Since 2010, Iran has revealed the Qiam-1 SRBM, the fourth generation Fateh-110 SRBM, and claims to be mass-producing anti-ship ballistic missiles. Iran has modified its Shahab 3 medium-range ballistic missile to extend its range and effectiveness and also claims to have deployed the two-stage, solid-propellant Sejjil MRBM.

The Iranian Shahab 3 MRBM is based on the North Korean No Dong missile. Iran has modified the Shahab 3 to extend its range and effectiveness, with the longest range variant reportedly being able to reach targets at a distance of about 2,000 kilometers. Iran also claims to have mass-produced Shahab 3 missiles. Iranian solid-propellant rocket and missile programs are also progressing. Iran has conducted multiple launches of the Sejjil, a solid-propellant MRBM with a claimed range of 2,000 kilometers. In addition, Iran has conducted multiple launches of the Safir, a multistage SLV that can serve as a test bed for long-range ballistic missile technologies.

Meanwhile the centrifuges keep spinning.

It's also important to remember that we're not really sure what Iran has hidden away, and that this report is based on what can be verified.

America Take Note - How Border Fences Work In The Real World

Do border fences actually work? Let's see.

While Israel's border with the Hamas state in Gaza was properly secured, the rest of Israel's 165 mile (266 km )border with the Egyptian Sinai was not. Previously, because of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, it was not felt that a fence was needed.

But when the Muslim Brotherhood government came to power in Egypt, Israel was faced with the need to come to terms with a two fold problem.

A flow of illegal migration into Israel, mainly from the Sudan, Eritrea and and Ethiopia had become noticeable. Major illegal African migration to Israel began in the mid-2000s, and by last year had amounted to more than 50,000 people.

The new illegal migrants (most of whom were not eligible for asylum under UN guidelines) were almost entirely economic migrants. Some ,like a few hundred Sudanese who fled the genocide in Darfur were allowed refugee status by Israel anyway, and many of the others have received temporary permission to stay and work in Israel. However, the flow was beginning to become noticeable when it came to costs to Israel's social welfare system, and to increased crime statistics involving the African migrants. In 2011, the last year statistics are available, over 1,200 criminal cases were filed against illegal immigrants from Africa, an increase of 54 percent from the year before.

Another problem is that the majority of the illegal migrants are Muslims, giving rise to certain security concerns for Israel that should be obvious.

To add to the mix, with the emergence of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood government, the security of Israel's southern border was no longer a given. While the Mubarak regime had done a reasonable job of controlling its side of the border, Morsi and the Brotherhood, who were much more hostile towards Israel made it known that they had no intention of doing so.

As a consequence, terrorist incidents directed towards Israel and originating from Sinai began to rise.

So the Israelis decided to build a fence, starting in late 2011. And made the project a priority.

Israel's border fence has two layers of fencing, one with barbed wire, and includes advanced state-of-the-art surveillance equipment.

Dubbed 'Operation Sand Timer', the fence cost just over 1 billion NIS (about $270 million)and was completed late last year, slightly ahead of schedule.

But is it working? Last year at this time, 9,570 incidents had been recorded of migrants illegally crossing into Israel from the Egypt-controlled Sinai.

This year that number is just 34.

That translates into a a 99.6% drop in illegal migration via Sinai.

In addition, terrorist incidents on Israel's southern border with Sinai have dropped markedly, as the jihadis take out their ire on Egyptian security forces instead.

That's what happens when a government decides that curbing illegal migration and securing its borders against terrorism are a priority.

As opposed to a lot of hot air from politicians who put ethnic pandering and partisan politics above national security.

N. Korea Warns Foreigners To Leave South, Escape "Thermo-Nuclear War"

North Korea issued a new threat today, read out on North Korea's state television in a bulletin that interrupted normal programming.

The message, reported by the KCNA news agency, said that once war broke out "it will be an all-out war, a merciless, sacred, retaliatory war to be waged by (North Korea):

"It does not want to see foreigners in South Korea fall victim to the war," the agency quoted the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee as saying.

"The committee informs all foreign institutions and enterprises and foreigners, including tourists...that they are requested to take measures for shelter and evacuation in advance for their safety."

In a separate announcement, North Korea said that it would "launch a missile tomorrow" likely a test firing of some kind. That's been the usual pattern..bellicose rhetoric followed by an act of aggression like a missile test...although the Norks have been increasing their aggression each time, combining nuclear tests with activities like sinking a South Korean naval vessel and shelling a South Korean island.

Right now, there are still about 28,000 U.S. military in South Korea, mainly stationed along the DMZ.So far, for all the talk of war, North Korea appears - and underline that word - to have not mobilized it's conventional forces, which far outnumber the combined U.S. and South Korean forces.

The South Korean capital of Seoul is within easy reach of North Korean artillery let alone missiles, but so far no diplomats have left and the bustling city appears to be engaging in business as usual, although I'm certain their military is on alert.

The same goes for Japan, where 3 Patriot Missile batteries co-developed by the U.S. and Israel have been deployed the protect the Kanto Plain, where most of Japan's big cites including Tokyo are and where most of its population lives.



Another unit has been stationed in Okinawa, site of U.S. bases as well as a place where Japan's south can be protected.

"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety. As North Korea keeps making provocative comments, Japan, cooperating with relevant countries, will do what we have to do. For the moment, the most important thing is to implement sanctions under the UN Security Council resolutions," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.

North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung's birthday is on April 15th, which could be the trigger for another North Korean 'demonstration.'

Stay tuned....

U.S. Allows Saudis Special Privileges To Bypass Airport Security

 

I suppose you could call this reverse profiling!

As Judicial Watch reveals, not only do the Saudis get privileges American citizens are denied, they even have a voice in vetting who gets security free entry into the U.S.

The Obama administration has quietly rewarded the Middle Eastern country that produced most of the 9/11 hijackers with a special travel privilege that allows its nationals to bypass normal passport security controls at major U.S. airports.

Only a handful of U.S. allies—including Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands—currently enjoy the perk while other American partners like Germany and France are still excluded. Incredibly, the Obama administration has cut a deal with Saudi Arabia, which produced 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 2001 terrorist attacks, to enjoy the privilege under a program called Global Entry.

It’s not the kind of story you’ll see in the mainstream media, but a research center dedicated to investigating radical Islamic terrorist groups, their operations and funding, brought much-needed attention to it this week. Citing Homeland Security sources, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reveals that it will mark the first time that the Saudi government has a direct role in vetting who is eligible for fast-tracked entry into the United States.

This is a “slap in the face,” according to IPT, which posts a number of in-depth reports on its website on topics ranging from American jihadist terrorism to the influence of Islamic law on law enforcement and the Muslim Brotherhood. Among the investigations that relate to this particular issue is a 2011 report documenting how textbooks long used in Saudi Arabia’s schools promote religious violence. Keep in mind that most of the 9/11 terrorist and Osama bin Laden himself were born and educated in Saudi Arabia.

In other words, while the DMV level unionized employees in the TSA are making you take your shoes off, scanning you and feeling up your children, someone the Saudis vouch for is admitted in without delay.

There's more here about the laughable Saudi rehab program for former Gitmo jihadis, where they essentially promise to be good and are released.

It's one thing to realize how clueless the Obama Administration is on Islamist terrorism. But it's worrisome to realize that this is an attack just waiting to happen that could get a lot of us killed.

Top US commander: Iran sanctions not working

That's what General James Mattis,  the outgoing commander of America's Central Command (CENtCOM) told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday.

General Mattis said it still may be possible to use sanctions and other pressure to bring Tehran "to its senses." But he also stated  that he believes Iran is using the ongoing negotiations as a ploy to buy time.


"That should not be in any way construed as we should not try to negotiate. I still support the direction we're taking," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I'm just — I'm paid to take a rather dim view of the Iranians, frankly."

Mattis at one point was asked point blank by Republican Senator James Inhofe whether he thought diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions were working to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"No sir," he said.

General Mattis said the U.S. military has the ability to bring defeat Iran.

"There are a number of means to do that," he said, "perhaps even short of open conflict. But certainly that's one of the options that I have to have prepared for the president."

"If the president orders [us] into action, I have what it takes to make it the enemy's longest day and their worst day. And we'll get the other carrier out there quickly to reinforce."

General Mattis also stated the obvious...that if Iran is allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, other nations in the region are going to do likewise.

"At least one other nation has told me they would do that. At a leadership level, they have assured [me] they would not stay without a nuclear weapon" if Iran had one, he said, without naming the country.

Mattis wouldn't identify the country, but answered yes after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked if it was a "Sunni Arab state." I'd guess it was the Saudis. Mattis said that in his opinion, Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would be the "most destabilizing event that we could imagine for the Middle East."

General Mattis also discussed Syria. In contrast to the Obama Administration, he said that he felt the situation was too murky and complex at this point for the U.S. to support arming the Sunni insurgents battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Mattis said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is “both on the ground [in Syria] and are bringing in foreign fighters”, something you already know if you read this site. Hezbollah has fighter there too.

And Mattis is also correct about arming the rebels, mostly hard core Islamists, some with ties to al-Qaeda, another little factoid I've discussed previously. "We don't want to inadvertently, with the best of intentions, arm people who are basically sworn enemies," he said.

Smart man, this general. And he brought up another scenario I hadn't considered. If Assad is taken out, Iran could mount a backlash that could keep Syria in chaos for years by doing just what it did in Lebanon and Iraq...arming and training terrorist militias. After all, Hezbollah is already onsite.

Apparently General Mattis is also a little too savvy for the Obama Administration. Scuttlebutt has it that this highly decorated Marine with literally years of combat command experience is being forced out of command of CENTCOM and into early retirement at age 63 because he's too hawkish on Iran and too critical of Islamists for the Obama Administration's taste.

Pity. We could use the sort of warrior who popularized the slogan "no better friend, no worse enemy" for his command back when he ran the Marine 1st division in Iraq.

SecDef Panetta Admits Enhanced Interrogation Works, Led Us To Bin-Laden

Well, well.

Remember all of the noise from Democrats about waterboarding being torture? Remember how President Obama released confidential memos after the entire intelligence community begged him not to,because it would tell our enemies exactly the techniques we'd be using to interrogate them? Remember how Attorney General Eric Holder and the president were going to prosecute the CIA interrogators involved and the government attorneys who wrote legal opinions for the Bush Administration used to authorize waterboarding and enhanced interrogation techniques?

Remember how President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and a slew of other Democrats used this issue to play partisan politics and the media amplified it?

Today on NBC's Meet The Press, ex-SecDef Leon Panetta admitted that those techniques provided the intelligence that led the U.S. to Osama bin-Laden.

(h/t, Jim at Gateway)

Of course Panetta was quick to try to qualify it with a quick remark that 'we worked out most of it without resorting to those techniques', but he admitted that waterboarding and enhanced interrogation got the results we needed. And it's not the first time he's said it.

This is the same man who, at his 2009 CIA confirmation hearing conformation hearings called waterboarding "torture" and said it was something he would never use. Until he needed to, I suppose.

These same people demonized President Bush for making the same decision, one that, according to then Vice President Cheney, prevented subsequent al-Qaeda attacks and saved American lives. After all the obscene noise from the Left, no one has ever provided any evidence whatsoever that Cheney was wrong.

And of course, you're never going to hear Panetta, Mrs.Clinton or the president admit they were badly mistaken.

In other remarks in today's interview, Panetta touted Chuck Hagel's appointment as the new Secretary of defense, saying he had no doubt Hagel was 'ready to take over his job.'

If by that he meant being a clueless sycophant with no understanding or appreciation of national defense who would cheerfully carry out the orders for the hollowing out of America's military, Panetta might be right.

Must See: Intel, Special Ops Vets Hit Obama Hard Over 'Dishonorable Disclosures'

Even some Democrats have voiced concern over national security leaks out of the Obama Administration that severely damage our military and intelligence capabilities.

OpSec is a super PAC composed of former intelligence and military special-ops professionals. While the group claims to be non-partisan, it's pretty obvious they are not overly fond of President Barack Obama's performance on defense and national security issues, especially when it comes to deliberately leaking important information for political purposes - and as far as I'm concerned, with good reason. The above video, 'Dishonorable Disclosures', which has had over 400,000 views does an excellent job of clarifying why.

It's 22 minutes well spent.

Dem Senator Feinstein: 'Intel Leaks Came From The White House'

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, went public and stated that someone at the White House was responsible for the recent leaks of classified information that were apparently released for partisan political purposes to bolster President Obama's national security image.

“I think the White House has to understand that some of this is coming from their ranks,” Feinstein said in an address at the World Affairs Council, The Associated Press first reported.

Feinstein said she was certain that President Obama had not disclosed any of the classified intelligence, but believed others in the administration were responsible.

“I don’t believe for a moment that he goes out and talks about it,” she said of the president.

Last month, reports in the press detailing a U.S. cyberattack against Iran and an administration terrorist “kill list” provoked outrage on Capitol Hill and led to bipartisan calls for an investigation into the disclosures.

After bi-partisan outrage, Attorney General Eric Holder claimed he was investigating the leaks, but the White House refused to name a special independent counsel. Feinstein and many of her fellow Democrats went along with this, saying they were sure Holder's investigation would be 'fair and impartial.'

That would certainly be a first for him.

President Obama has yet to respond to Senator Feinstein's statement.

My personal bets for who was directly involved? Either Leon Panetta or Tom Donilon, President Obama's National Security Advisor...whose background, as they say, is interesting.

Unlike many NSA's his history is political rather than military or security oriented. Donilon, a lawyer, migrated to his career in 'national security' after a stint as a lobbyist for Fannie Mae. He's also the brother of Vice President Biden's legal counselor and married to Jill Biden's chief of staff.

Cobra Vs. Mongoose - Michellle Malkin/Juan Williams Slugfest Gets Personal

In a discussion over the recent national security leaks that appear to be designed to help President Obama by improving his national security creds in the coming election, ex-NPR mouthpiece and FOX news commentator Juan Williams attempted to defend President Obama by comparing this to the Plame non-scandal and chanting the all purpose 'Bushie did it' mantra.

Michelle Malkin wasn't having any of that:

“All you can say is Plame, Plame, Plame; blame, blame, blame; Bush, Bush, Bush,” Malkin told Williams as he argued that the current national security White House leaks were not different from what had transpired in other White Houses. Williams took offense to that, telling Malkin that he was a “real reporter, not a blogger out in the blogosphere somewhere,” which in turn visibly offended Malkin, who retorted, “right, because I’m not a real reporter.” Williams completed his point that reporters “did not get any classified information,” over both Hannity and Malkin, before Hannity gave Malkin the last word.

She used that last word against Williams. “The American people are sick of the kind of snotty condescension from liberal elite journalists like Juan Williams who tell us that the rest of us are not doing our jobs, when the point is that when Eric Holder was shamefully approved and nominated and approved to be Attorney General–” At this point, after a heavy eyeroll and mouthing “Oh my God,” Williams interrupted to inform her that she was “way off topic” and “not talking about what we’re debating here tonight on Sean’s show.”

Williams is wrong of course, because the leaks were classified information, and as Sean Hannity points out, are going to create major problems if intel professionals in foreign countries like Israel decide they can't work with us any more because we can't be trusted.

But I suppose, to Juan Williams, having the president's back transcends all.