Feingold Nudges Obama To Select "New Leadership" For Intelligence Agencies

In a gentle yet clear nudge to President-elect Barack Obama, Sen. Russ Feingold released a statement on Thursday calling for "new leadership" in the nation's various intelligence services.

"I am confident President-elect Obama understands the need for new leadership of the intelligence community and will appoint competent, capable people who will work aggressively to ensure the safety and security of Americans without undermining our laws and Constitution," Feingold said in the statement.

"For eight years, the current Administration has shown contempt for the rule of law, including in intelligence-related matters, while repeatedly refusing to work cooperatively with Congress. At the same time, the Administration has failed to develop comprehensive strategies to protect our nation against our most immediate threat, al Qaeda and its affiliates. New leadership is needed to move our intelligence policies in the right direction," Feingold's statement concludes.

Feingold -- perhaps the Senate's most indefatigable civil libertarian -- has been a stalwart opponent of the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program, as well as extensive searches of Americans' laptops and other property at airports by the TSA. It would be practically impossible to read his statement as anything but a reaction to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this week that claimed Obama is "unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies."

Comments

[LemonMeringue]

As much new blood as possible, please.

They cannot possibly do a worse job than the old guard, if they are people with brains, judgment and the right intentions.

[bascombe]

WSJ is f_u_x noise. when did murdick have any credibility?

[waitforme]

Russ Feingold would be a great Secretary of State. But he would also make a great Attorney General. Why not? His thoughts are right on the mark on making changes in 'intelligence agencies' -- and how about Justice? Both need to be overhauled. CIA/FBI because they have been tainted by being torturers, or enablers of torture and by not being able, even if they had wanted to, to release people they are holding whom they know or sense to be innocent. These experiences would leave some of them less than human.

Justice because -- this agency is full of people hired first and foremost because of their ties to the Federalist Society and their commitment to doing away with reproductive rights for women. These people need to be cleared out, if possible. Certainly the leaders need to be changed.

Did we hear something about.....­Change?...­during the campaign?

I hope Russ Feingold keeps speaking out. His ideas are virtually always right, and progressive and way ahead of what is going on.

[lastcallmd]

Most of the people writing here are too young to remember Senator Frank Church. He ruined our intelligence capability for 20 years. Is Fiengold the next Church?

[LemonMeringue]

Can't expect much coming out of Idaho.

[bascombe]

feingold does not want a boosh shill in charge. do you?

[SamEllison]

That depends on what you call "intelligence capability".
Reagan's neocons bred Cheney's neocons and look at what we got.
The need for a new set of "Church Hearings".
Hopefully we have learned the lesson.

[dizmo4]

I agree to an extent that the long term effects of the Church commission was negative. But at the time the CIA was quite honestly, far exceeding its mandate. Someone needed to put them in check.

[Wiredwilly]

God Bless Russ Feingold
Forget Clinton. Make Feingold Sec of State

[madisonhack]

Secretary of State? How about AG?

[CarolW2]

Great idea! Except, who would replace him in the Senate?

[dizmo4]

Feingold needs to stay where he is. Can't draw too heavily upon Senators. At some point you need good Senators to stay in the Senate. After all, Congress still needs to hold hearings, perform oversight, and vote on legislation that Obama wants to pass.

Without strong, effective Democratic Senators, his legislation is as good as DOA ( republicans will filibuster).

[MontereyJack]

Russ Feingold makes me proud to be a cheese.

[athelas]

Russ Feingold makes me proud to be from Wisconsin.

[Baritone45]

My thoughts exactly. You know why the Shrubbites wanted McSame to win so badly? Self-preservation. They wanted four more years to help them reach the statute of limitations.

I say, get rid of Robert Gates and all stains left by W., so they can't cover up the facts, the lies, and the illegalities of the Appointed Occupant and his neo-fascist administration.

[Chicago48]

Obama seems to be appointing the Clintonites and the Bushites..­..is there anyone "new" in his administration, somebody that's not a retread?

[bascombe]

nothing is final except the latest edition of the news. they report every rumor and everyone bites.

[Intelligentia]

If Obama replaces intelligence agency heads, it would be because he chose to do that, not because anyone pressured him. If he was not pressured into selecting Hillary Clinton as his vice president, he cannot be pressured to do anything he does not want to do! Everybody is now being cloaked with all kinds of power they do not have over Obama. If Senator Feingold suggested to Obama that he should replace the leadership within the intelligence agencies, that would be an excellent counsel but the Senator is in no position to pressure the President-Elect.

[Nec V20]

Hopefully Biden will step down in '12 in favour of Russ Feingold for VP. Then it will be Feingold '16 and the Repugs still will have nothing.

Feingold is awesome.

[taketheother]

here here

[taketheother]

i mean hear hear - god i'm tired

[nellie]

He does need to rebuild the intelligence agencies. What we've got now is not going to be easy to set right without new leadership.

[taketheother]

these word from russ are very welcome - one of the few democrats in the senate with any credibility in these matters - he's shown courage and taken principled stands when almost no one else in the congress was - obama would be wise to take this advice - feingold is the kind of person obama should be taking advice from, not the hillary clintons of the congress

[monicaangela]

Thanks for your comment, you are right on the money. I have been a fan of Russ Feingold for years, and often wondered why he hasn't run for president. He is usually right on everything he takes a position on. The repugnicans hate him because he is correct 99% of the time when he takes a stance. Mr. Feingold really knows how to express his views and commands attention when speaking. Mr. Feingold is fair minded, and heads and shoulders above Hillary when it comes to someone Obama should take advice from.

[taketheother]

i very much miss having him as a home state senator - he is a true inspiration and protector of the constitution - wonderfully nuanced analysis and positions on so many topics - i would have voted for him over obama in a heartbeat truth be told

[madisonhack]

Russ Feingold represents my great state, but he is too "tarnished" for the Presidency - he's been divorced once too many times. He does great work in the Senate and I think he would be a great choice for AG. Mr. Obama should listen to the Junior Senator from Wisconsin. What do they mean by that, anyway?

[AC-DC]

this is great news if Obama does what this man is suggesting!!.

[LemonMeringue]

Thank you Sen. Feingold. You are right on this one.

[ErnestineBass]

BINGO.

Clinton holdover George Tenet is a prime example of what can happen when a new administration fails to "clean house".

Our intelligence apparatus needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, free of the GWOT mentality.

[S1m0n]

The new progressive cause ought to be Feingold for the Supreme court. The paragraph below (from wikipedia) sounds like a bencher to me:

After graduating from Joseph A. Craig High School, Feingold attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1975, a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He went to Magdalen College at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship in 1977, where he earned another Bachelor of Arts degree. Upon returning to the U.S., he attended Harvard Law School, receiving his J.D. with honors in 1979.

[ErnestineBass]

Hmmm...int­riguing suggestion considering Feingold's third Senate term ends in 2010.

[waitforme]

I didn't know all this. It makes it even more obvious that he should be put in charge of someplace where he can use his considerably integrity-full influence.

I consider Feingold a sleeper. He rarely makes waves, but when he speaks out he is right, and way ahead of everybody else. I have often wished he would run for president. Obama should use him and listen to him.