It's 2010 - Must be Time for a Team B Posted by Patrick Barry

Josh Marshall rightfully throws water on Frank Gaffney and Fox News' idea that we need what's known as a 'Team B' to analyze the threat posed by Islamic extremism, in order to challenge the soft views held by the Obama administration.  For those of you who don't speak neocon, a Team B, put charitably, is an alternate intelligence assessment performed on a given threat (Islamic extremism in this case) meant to challenge the intelligence community's orthodoxy.  Put bluntly, it is the neoconservative equivalent of someone throwing a temper tantrum at their birthday party when it looks like they might not get their way.  Marshall's take below is spot on (though he misses the Rumsfeld Commission, as well as the uproar over the 2007 Iran NIE):

Frank Gaffney is on Fox right now making his argument that Obama needs to appoint a 'Team B' to come in and analyze the threat of Islamic fundamentalism to make sure that Obama -- as Gaffney thinks -- isn't radically underestimating the threat. The Fox spot goes on to draw the analogy to the first 'Team B' -- which emerging neoconservatives got appointed to double-check what they then deemed to be the CIA's grave underestimate of Soviet power. Really? You've got to be kidding, I thought. All the above is reasonable history up till that point. What they somehow failed to mention was that we later got a chance to do what amounted to a post-mortem of the Soviet Union -- something seldom wholly possible in intelligence work. And it turned out that the neocons and the fabled 'B team' hadn't the slightest idea what they were talking about. Not only were the neocons off base, even the CIA had greatly overstated Soviet military and especially economic power in the 1970s.

The CIA's failure to correctly diagnose Soviet economic decrepitude of course later became a tool for the neocons to further attack the US Intelligence Community. In other words, you couldn't trust the CIA because the CIA had to a small degree partaken of the crazy miscalculation that the neoconservatives had used to make their name.

The second incarnation of the 'B Team' was of course during the build up to the Iraq War. And we all know how well that worked out.

So by the most conservative measure this is like the third time the same folks have rolled out the 'B Team' concept, with the other times both being failures of almost unimaginable proportions.

Now, I know Gaffney's having to hawk the idea on Fox on day time. It's not exactly ripe. But how many crazy failures are required before this club is put permanently out to policy pasture?

 

Comments

[8GB SD Karte]

Hi,
Only one goal can be awarded.If the apparent goal was scored by Team A, and is subsequently confirmed as a goal by the Video Goal Judge, any goal scored by Team B during the period of time between the apparent goal By Team A and the stoppage of play (Team B’s goal), the Team B goal would not be awarded. However, if the apparent goal by Team A is deemed to have entered the goal, albeit illegally (i.e. distinct kicking motion), the goal shall be disallowed by the Video Goal Judge and since the play should have stopped for this disallowed goal, no goal can be awarded to Team B on the same play. The clock must be re-set to the time of the disallowed Team A goal and play resumed.

[8GB SD Karte]

Hi,
Only one goal can be awarded.If the apparent goal was scored by Team A, and is subsequently confirmed as a goal by the Video Goal Judge, any goal scored by Team B during the period of time between the apparent goal By Team A and the stoppage of play (Team B’s goal), the Team B goal would not be awarded. However, if the apparent goal by Team A is deemed to have entered the goal, albeit illegally (i.e. distinct kicking motion), the goal shall be disallowed by the Video Goal Judge and since the play should have stopped for this disallowed goal, no goal can be awarded to Team B on the same play. The clock must be re-set to the time of the disallowed Team A goal and play resumed.