Investigations Update

What happened to Obama's favorite general?

A senior Obama administration official told the Washington Post that the former deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is being investigated by the Justice Department for allegedly leaking information about the computer virus Stuxnet, which was part of the Olympic Games campaign.

He lost his clearance later in 2013.  But the last anyone has heard about this case was this past summer when one Jofi Joseph, fired from the White House in 2013 for running a Twitter account critical of his bosses, which included naming advisor Ben Rhodes as a possible leaker candidate, refused to comment about it.

The former White House national security official who was fired last year after being unveiled as the snarky anonymous tweeter behind the NatSecWonk account declined to comment on Thursday about his exploits and previous accusations that another senior official leaked classified U.S. intelligence information.

It might be nice to know why he thought Rhodes was the snitch. The media certainly has no curiosity.

Meanwhile, the media has had some curiosity about the FBI investigation involving former diplomat Robin Raphel, best known as the ex-wife of the late Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel, best known for being killed in a mysterious plane crash with Pakistani president Zia ul-Haq in the late 80s. Ms. Raphel is described as a friend of Pakistan, even "Lady Taliban" (wow read this story), and an enemy of India, at least by the Indians. Curious, since the relationship between India and Obama hasn't exactly been buttery smooth. Could this be a fig leaf or is it something else ?

Finally, in the process of reading Sharyl Attkisson's book "Stonewalled" something strikes me about her, both in her TV appearances and by reading the first 30 pages of the book--she seems like a person who might be a bit Aspergery, at least in some areas.  For instance, she seems oblivious to the real world of quid pro quo and looking out for number one as she plows forward running down what she calls 'puzzles'.  That kind of singular focus got her called a pit bull, but Asperger's people tend to be narrowly focused on certain subjects while taking things literally.  She also recently said she isn't part of any social circles (ie, most high profile national journalists are often heavily involved with the people they report via social circles, marriage, etc). 

If so it's actually an awesome quality for a journalist to have.  They should all be that way.  Of course, it also tends to piss off almost everyone, ie, her anecdote about the White House calling her unreasonable.  It would also tend to make her fight the harassment instead of looking out for number one and backing down, which itself could be dangerous.   We'll see.

It's Tough to be the King

From NY Times coverage of O's Indian adventure regards the 'town hall meeting':

“We call him the world king, king of the world,” said Chetman Rawal, 20, who studies commerce at the college. “I think he will change the world.”

To be fair, these foreign idealists don't have the luxury of seeing the wild-eyed version of their hero talking about punishing enemies and ditches and acting stupidly. It's sometimes hardest to maintain the mojo in your own backyard.

But this is not a knock on the trip at large. There are some benefits to appearing in India and talking to youngsters about how Pakistan...

..is not making progress against militants "as quick as we'd like." Pakistan has a lot of potential, but has some "extremist elements within it," the president said. "The problem has to be addressed."

While not all the town hall attendees were impressed, the answer wasn't directed at them but rather at Islamabad. Dubya tried the same trick by signing a nuclear deal with New Delhi and we're still fighting the ISI's proxy army and searching for bin Laden, but props to Obama where due; the outside pressure is needed. This trip will also produce outside pressure on China.

As to a video or transcript, hard to locate yet but here's a Voice of America report about one of the other questions:

Mr. Obama had this advice for a young man who asked about core moral values versus materialism.

"I don't want any young person here to be dismissive of a healthy materialism because in a country like India, there are still a lot of people trapped in poverty, and you should be working to try to lift folks out of poverty, and companies and businesses have a huge role in making that happen," Mr. Obama said.

Doesn't sound very Ghandi-like. Here's another from OneIndia News:

Obama stated that US can't withdraw army completely from Afghanistan. He described Afghanistan as more complicated problem. US need to follow Iraq model in Afghanistan.

Would that be the same "Iraq model" he opposed or another one?

The media meme was "students ask tough questions" but were they scripted or pre-screened like US town halls? Seems the answer would be yes. According to this report there were only six questions in total, so if the event lasted an hour as advertised Obama did what he does here--filibustered his answers to an average of 10 minutes each. That would be like an Obama presser with the White House media. But as always it's the symbolism that really counts, not the substance.

Onward to India!

Drudge has a headline up this morning about Obama taking 34 warships to India to protect the waters offshore during his visit:

He will also be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast during his two-day stay there beginning Saturday. The measure has been taken as Mumbai attack in 2008 took place from the sea.

Arrangements have been put in place for emergency evacuation, if needed.

Yes we already have a fleet in the region, they are simply moving them to the coast off Mumbai. Previous stories have mentioned 40 aircraft, a Batman-like Lincoln to carry the prez, renting the entire Taj Hotel and even flunkies being told to remove coconuts from the trees above his projected path so he doesn't get bonked on the head. All very secure at about 200 million per day.

But from whom is he securing himself? The Indians aren't enemies and after all, he's going in part to discuss lucrative trade agreements. India is certainly not Pakistan or Indonesia where AQ cells are more rampant...er wait, he IS going to Indonesia later in the trip (so we'll be able to compare the security in that Islamic country versus this Hindu nation). Or is any of this related to his decision not to visit the great Sikh temple?

Or more aptly, is it all just routine?

Very possibly just routine. The world is a place of many threats. AQ has shown over the past two years they are still determined to win. But wait, this is a man who repeatedly said..

"When George Bush steps down," Obama once declared, "the world is going to breathe a sigh of relief."

He was the one who said his own international background and new approach to handling our enemies would reduce their numbers. Not just him though, his Secretary of State said the following after the inauguration:

"There's a great exhalation of breath going on around the world as people express their appreciation for the new direction that's being set, and the team that's put together by the president to carry out our foreign policy goals," Clinton said after telephoning dozens of world leaders in her first five days on the job. "We have a lot of damage to repair."

Unfortunately Hillary could not be reached for comment.

One could take this publicity over massive security to mean they've been slacking off on the job or just garden variety idealist ignorance and arrogance from liberals coming in the door. Some may say they were just words. The trick is figuring out which words represent the truth, sometimes known as a Kinsley gaffe in Washington.

MORE 11/5/10

The left is now having some revenge fun over what appears to be a series of bogus sources fueling these reports about the India trip, well, aside from renting the entire Taj Hotel, which hasn't been refuted. But OK, guilty as charged, some of this is quite ludicrous on its face (like the 200 million a day stuff).

But why is someone leaking this? And who? Has this ever occurred in the past before a major presidential visit where sources in the visiting country tried to kneecap the trip before it started?