Phi Beta Iota: There is a contest of personalities going on, in which Army officers and camp followers without integrity (Alexander, Burgess, Long) are winning out over Navy officers with integrity (McConnell, Blair, Mullen). The militarization of intelligence is Clapper's pathetically counter-productive technocratic dive over the cliff. What Obama has done is demonstrate that he is incapable of selecting subordinates who can deliver substance. He prefers unethical sychophants. His Administration lacks intelligence.
Here are some of the economic reforms that turned the horde of Genghis Kahn into a steamroller than flattened most of the world's kingdoms/empires.* He:
Delayed gratification. He banned the sacking of the enemy's camp/city until all of the fleeing soldiers, baggage, etc. were rounded up. This radically increased the loot accumulated and ensured it could be shared among all of the participants (he confliscated the wealth of those men that cheated by looting early).
Systematically shared the loot based on contribution and merit. He disregarded title or status and systematically rewarded loot to everyone in the horde that earned it (the traditional approach was to let a few take it all — sound familiar?). Of course, that fairness pissed off the nobility since they were used to backroom dealing and hereditary rights. However, the benefits of this system, were far greater than the costs. To wit: He cemented the loyalty of the men and was able to attract thousands to his banner for every noble lost.
Protected those that make sacrifices. For men killed in the campaign, he paid their share of loot to their widows/orphans posthumously.
*of course, the first unsaid lesson is: attack the places with the most loot.
The economic strategy of Genghis Kahn works well against any corrupt, top-heavy system (loot rich targets that are defended by nobility + serfs). Sounds somewhat similar to today's global economic formula. Of course, it's also important to view this simple but effective strategy as something apart from the figure that used it. For example, a decent/moral decentralized system that replicates this merit based approach could reproduce some of the success Ghengis had against the feudal holdings and petty tyrannies of today's marketplace.
Phi Beta Iota: Brother John raises the spectre of honorable leadership with integrity….that means no rule by secrecy, no earmarks, no back office deals. Ronald Reagan (thank you Peggy Noonan) had it right: the US Congress [and Executive] is no better than the Soviet Politburo. ALL “top down” elite systems have failed for lack of integrity (holistic informed analysis). Populism failed as well–bottom up mobs are no better than corrupt elites for different reasons. The combination of open information and honest crowds is ripe with potential. The leaders that enable and empower the public, while revealing the “true cost” of predatory capitalism, virtual colonialism, and unilateral militarism, will go down in history as the Epoch B Founding Fathers.
As someone who spent the better part of 2008 and 2009 in Turkey, I find the attached analysis a very useful summary of Turkish developments. To be sure, I am biased. Turkey is one of my very favorite countries, I love the people, the culture, and food, and I have been fascinated by its ongoing political evolution.
Mr. Heydarian's cogent comparison of Turkey's evolution to the so-called Arab Spring* provides much food for thought, and I find it eyeopening.
* I prefer the term Arab Revolt to Arab Spring, because the forces of counterrevolution seem to be taking over, and like its predecessor in WWI, it might not lead anywhere.
Turkey is emerging as an attractive model for the new generation of democrats in the Middle East and North Africa. Turkey, as a bastion of Islamic moderation, economic dynamism, military might, and foreign policy creativity, has inspired many who envision a prosperous and free Arab world.
Phi Beta Iota: The USA is part of the autocratic corrupt system against which the Arabs are revolting. It is neither a leader nor a model–it is an obstacle for the simple reason that the US Government lacks intelligence and integrity, and therefore has nothing to offer in the way of non-zero strategic analytics acceptable to Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and everyone else. The US Government is morally and intellectually bankrupt.
Terrorists To Protest Organizers: Lessons Learned From The Demise Of bin Laden and The Future Of U.S. National Security
Phi Beta Iota: Below the line is a very ably crafted press release from the Project for National Security Reform (PNSR) led by Jim Locher and Dennis Blair, long-time champions of inter-agency reform or “Beyond Goldwater-Nicols.” This is a brilliant contribution to the dialog that points out that we no longer have money to win UGLY, we now have to win smart. That is what we, the Phi Beta Iota collective, have been advocating since 1988.
An insightful account of the pending prosecution under the Espionage Act of former National Security Agency official Thomas A. Drake appears this week in The New Yorker. Author Jane Mayer delves deeply into the origins of the case stemming from Drake's critical view of NSA management and surveillance practices. She explores the unfolding consequences of the case and its larger significance.
Among the article's many striking observations on the Drake case is the concluding quote from Mark Klein, a former AT&T employee who exposed warrantless surveillance activity by the Bush Administration. “I think it’s outrageous,” he says. “The Bush people have been let off. The telecom companies got immunity. The only people Obama has prosecuted are the whistle-blowers.”
Photo Caption: Drake, a former senior executive at the National Security Agency, faces some of the gravest charges that can be brought against an American citizen. Photograph by Martin Schoeller.
UPDATE: Here is the full back story. What is revealed is a long-standing US Government practice of lying to Congress and the Judiciary, the other two “co-equal” branches of the federal government. More and more each day we see the naked unethical Emperor for what he/she is: naked unethical tyranny replete with impeachable acts each day.
