‘A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism’

Last week, PG stated unequivocally that the release of the so called “torture memos” have “damaged the country.”  There is no question that Obama will be walking a tight rope with no net on this issue.  PG correctly pointed out that Obama has backpedaled on his commitment to not prosecute over the matter, demoralized the intelligence community, polarized the country, and emboldened our enemies. 

Not to be outdone, resident naysayer and thorn-in-the-side of conservatives, Phoenecian (Phooey), challenged PG to come up with evidence that supported PG’s assertion that the intelligence community was “demoralized.”  The exchange proceeded as such:

Phooey: Cite your sources, please.  (Hint hint: anecdotes are not data)

PG:  dude, should I just give a bad link like you do, with demonstrably misleading information, or should I provide real support?  Here is one Phooey…  *PG then went on to post two more

Phooey: Hint hint: anecdotes are not data.     Also hint hint – the directors do not always speak for the workers.

PG: What part of its “my observation of the available comments” do you not understand son. I gave you some of those comments. If you fail grasp that I can not help you. If you disagree with that then that’s fine with me Phooey. If you can find comments contrary to my position then more the better. If you find my argument unsupported that is all cake to me.

Well, unfortunately for the United States, it appears that PG actually knows what he is talking about.  Global Intelligence think tank Stratfor writers Fred Burton and Scott Stewart had this to say about the topic:

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. Many of these people are now questioning whether the administration that happens to be in power at any given time will recognize the fact that they were carrying out lawful orders under a previous administration. 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.

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, and combined with a few other dynamics, 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 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) as a contributing factor to the intelligence failures that led to the 9/11 attacks.

If you care about our counterterrorism efforts, you must read the entire link.  It is a fascinating, non-partisan look at how legal and political considerations may be trumping our ability to effectively fight terror abroad.