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ABC News Exclusive: National Security Adviser Says President Obama Is Having Greater Success Taking Terrorists Out of Commission Than Bush Did
August 31, 2009 6:00 PM
Responding to criticism from former Vice President Cheney that President Obama is making the nation more vulnerable to terrorism, the president’s National Security Adviser, Gen. Jim Jones (Ret.), told ABC News in an exclusive interview that actually the reverse is true: President Obama’s greater success with international relations has meant more terrorists put out of commission.
“This type of radical fundamentalism or terrorism is a threat not only to the United States but to the global community,” Jones said. “The world is coming together on this matter now that President Obama has taken the leadership on it and is approaching it in a slightly different way – actually a radically different way – to discuss things with other rulers to enhance the working relationships with law enforcement agencies – both national and international."
Jones said that “we are seeing results that indicate more captures, more deaths of radical leaders and a kind of a global coming-together by the fact that this is a threat to not only the United States but to the world at-large and the world is moving toward doing something about it.”
The former Marine General didn't provide any specific numbers to back up his claim, but he said “there is an increasing trend and I think we seen that in different parts of the world over the last few months for sure.” He added that he was not “making a tally sheet saying we are killing more people, capturing more people than they did -- that is not the issue.”
But the numbers are going up, he said. “The numbers of high value targets that we are successfully reaching out to or identifying through good intelligence” from both the CIA and intelligence agencies from US allies has made the difference, he said. “We have better human intelligence; we know where the terrorists are moving. Because of the dialogue and the tone of the dialogue between us and our friends and allies...the trend line against terrorism is positive, and that’s what we want. If we have a positive trend line we have a safer country.”
Jones made his comments the day after Mr. Cheney said he has “serious doubts” about the extent to which President Obama “understands and is prepared to do what needs to be done to defend the nation.” Cheney assailed the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to begin a preliminary investigation into whether any CIA officers went beyond what they were told was legally permissible in interrogating detainees.
“It's an outrageous precedent to set, to have this kind of, I think, intensely partisan, politicized look-back at the prior administration,” Cheney said.
Jones dismissed questions that the investigation was the result of political pressure and said “people that were acting within the law don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Obviously the former Vice President feels strongly about certain things,” Jones said, “I don’t know if it is a question of legacy.”
“I take exception” to assertions “that something that we decided or the president decided will make the country less safe,” Jones said. “I just don’t agree with that. We are about making this country safe. I think that we are fashioning global relationships with other countries around the world.”
“We are doing everything to make this country safe every single day,” Jones asserted.
Jones didn’t buy Cheney’s argument that the effectiveness of the Bush-Cheney counterterrorism policies are proven in the fact that the U.S. didn’t experience any terrorist attacks on U.S. soil after September 11, 2001. “It’s very easy to leave office and say, ‘Well, no other disaster happened on the size and scope of 9/11, so we did our job well.’ Well, maybe they did, maybe they didn’t.”
Jones did not dismiss Cheney’s argument that Holder’s decision could have a chilling effect on the willingness of CIA officers to do what they are told to do.
“I think it is something we have to address,” Jones said. “I think anybody who works in a law enforcement agency -- whether it is the police or FBI or CIA -- have to know clearly what the rules are and have to know what the law says and have to act with the parameters of the law. I think we are back, we are getting to a more consistent point.”
“We’re a nation of values,” he told ABC News. “I was on active duty when these techniques were used. I was surprised and disappointed.” The United States, he said, isn’t “known as a country that tortures people.”
Jones said he couldn’t provide any definitive answer as to whether, as Cheney argues, any detainees who were interrogated using methods President Obama has banned – ones that qualify as torture under international law – provided information they would not have offered using other means.
“I haven’t seen any compelling evidence that would argue because somebody was subjected to enhanced techniques that there was a revelation that we wouldn’t have had,” he said, “but it is very hard to prove the negative on this.”
Jones argued that a recent report that terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed provided information after being water boarded dozens of times is counter-balanced by KSM’s testimony to the International Committee of the Red Cross that some of those times he provided false information.
“He himself admitted that in order to get them to stop doing it, he lied,” Jones said, “and he is smart enough to play out the lie a little bit. I just think it comes down to our laws and our values and we are what we say we are or we are not and I think we are on the way back to being what we say we are.”
-jpt
August 31, 2009 in Iraq, Obama, Barack, White House | Permalink | Share | User Comments (1146)
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Its political spin to characterize Obama's approach as being more successful than that of the Bush administration. Our intel community began to rebuild itself in the post 9/11 world, and this effort takes a considerable amount of time. What we are seeing - in terms of HUMINT - is these networks starting to mature and produce vaild, real-time intelligence information. To attribute this success to a sitting president is simply political "spin."
Posted by: Jack | Oct 6, 2009 7:33:04 PM
It seems to me that everyone on here acts like they know everything about the situation. Surprise! The government, military, etc. don't tell you everything. We may have gone into Iraq for other reasons (not oil) but terrorism was a convenient excuse. The left never talks about how girls can now go to school where they couldn't before. You also don't here about women voting for the first time. Why all the negative and absolutely NONE of the positive?
Posted by: Jace | Oct 4, 2009 3:26:18 PM
Nine months in office: when liberals want to tout an issue, Obama gets all the credit. When things are going poorly, we are reminded that we are 'unfairly' blaming him and must 'give things a chance to work'. How patently hypocritical.
Posted by: gobnait | Sep 30, 2009 10:07:43 PM
Why are the GOP so hate-filled? It seems to me they have much in common with the terrorists they proclain to hate! We are all Americans and we should behave in such a manner. Godbless President Obama and God bless America.
Posted by: Andrew | Sep 28, 2009 10:16:06 AM
It was Israel's oppression of the Palestinians for 50 years that created suicide bombers/Osama Bin Laden etc!
Posted by: Mike Fisher | Sep 25, 2009 6:47:47 PM
Keep up the good work, President Obama. Thank you, Retired Marine General Jim Jones, Sir, for setting Cheney and gang straight. I'm so tired of his like getting away with their negative and misguided views. When someone of your caliber sets the record straight, it speaks volumes. Now, all of a sudden,though, the GOP bloggers are spewing their negative views about how we are NOT to believe our National Security Adviser who happens to be a Retired Marine General. How do they figure they, or for that matter, Cheney knows more about this subject than he? . . . Go figure. . .Laughabale. Tsk-tsk-tsk.
Posted by: TexMex4Obama | Sep 22, 2009 4:04:23 PM
Walt Whitfield, I couldn't have said it better. Cowboy71, same goes for you. God Bless President Obama and his efforts. God please CREATE A CLEAN HEART FOR THE HATE-FILLED GOP. Thank you.
Posted by: TexMex4Obama | Sep 22, 2009 3:52:16 PM
I looked at this, and I am concerned at the representations--there is a war in Afghanistan that I believe is shaking the foundations of terrorism at some level, so there is an increase of activity, more security infrastructure built up in part because of Bush, and so more bad guys are being caught. I give credit to our national security for that, but it hasn't proven that it is really up to a new threat. Not sure these talks internationally are viewed as anything but BS among the populations of other countries. I think we are the great Satan because of cultural issues that come out of Hollywood, etc. in part in the sense of the consumer nature and its impact internationally, not just politics. This report by the National Security Advisor sounds cocky to me. I'm concerned, and I don't care about the politics anymore. We're not safe.
Posted by: Karri | Sep 22, 2009 12:32:51 PM
Does anyone know why they hate us? Does anyone know why these "terrorists" call us (or at least used to) the "great Satan"? A soldier friend of mine went to Iraq and Afghanistan and said when he got back that he never faced a "terrorist" in battle, only other soldiers. Anyone remember 1984? Anyone worried that we don't have all the facts here? Anyone? no apparently, because most of these comments deal with a man no longer in power and calling people racist, both of which are a waste of time, and/or a diversion, and/or an ignorant blasting of those who oppose your viewpoints. If you had a problem with what bush did, why don't you have a problem with what obama is doing? What is he doing so differently then what bush was? Same policies. NO ONE protests the war anymore. WHY IS THAT? I could enlighten more of you but it is best that you seek these answers yourself, far from any ideological, political, narrow minded, biased viewpoints that most of you seem to repeat, its like watching the news cause all i see are soundbites written down. There are few real, original, and independent thought in any of these comments. I fear for my country even more after reading these thoughts.
Posted by: Jazzy_Pickle | Sep 22, 2009 2:59:55 AM
The only thing that the dieing conservatives have left is hate. When shown the facts that all your proposed reasons for your hate are false you still hate... this is because you will not admit your real reasons for your hate even to your self. He is a black man sitting higher than you.
Posted by: Cowboy71 | Sep 18, 2009 5:31:26 PM
It is really fun to sit back and listen to the whining of the liberal pundnts, that have no Idea what they are talking about having never had to survive on their own, or been in combat, because they were to busy heading for Canada.
Posted by: Apachelx | Sep 18, 2009 2:32:20 PM
There was no al-qaida (poor spelling) threat in Iraq before the current war, now it is a significant problem, their numbers are much higher now than on 9/10. This will be the legacy of the Bush/Cheney anti terror efforts; we helped raise a generation of terrorists that the next several presidents will have to deal with.
Posted by: brian simmons | Sep 13, 2009 10:55:21 AM
"SORRY BUT i dont beleive the general."
Well, there you go... case closed. What's left to discuss??
Posted by: MalcolmT | Sep 13, 2009 9:01:27 AM
SORRY FOR MY TYPO ERRORS !!!
Posted by: amind2think | Sep 13, 2009 4:26:01 AM
SORRY BUT i dont beleive the general. i think the obama administration is hurting the country in the fight against terrorism. they are going after the CIA agents who might have done torture. but Im sorry, torture is what happened to mc cain in the vietnam as a POW.
Mark as for you saying bush is from texas. He isnt. he was born in New Haven, CT
Posted by: james | Sep 12, 2009 9:08:20 PM
In conventional wars of the past, intelligence played a supportive part, with blood and sacrifice combined with luck achieving the victories. In this conflict between extremists and Western influence, intelligence combined with traditional law enforcement may be key to neutralizing extremist advances. Unfortunately, the US validated some extremist claims through lowering its standards on human rights. Hopefully we can regain the "high ground". The US also needs to beware of falling into the trap of manipulating international law enforcement entities for national ends, a "Nazi's used INTERPOL to hunt Jews in World War II" scenario. As far as the Obama administration's actions, many of their successes were from actions taken prior to their advent, and they have been smart enough (or lazy) to let them stay in place.
Posted by: k. daraa | Sep 12, 2009 1:18:07 AM
If we were so safe under Bush and Cheney, why did 9/11 happen in the first place?
Posted by: foreveryman | Sep 11, 2009 10:56:29 PM
Enough already with the mindless horse manure and hate of President Obama. He will go down in history as a pivotal person in American history. The Guy who stopped the drift of this Country to oligarchy. He will be one of the great ones. If you are dumb enough to think Bush/Cheney had it right, please explain why our priority of effort was regime change in Iraq when we had very sketchy intelligence about Saddam Hussiens intent regards terrorism while at the same time we had solid intell regards the the organization and location of those behind the 9/11 attacks. Something is very wrong with that picture. To top things off now we have a resurgence of the Taliban. Obama will have no choice but to put more American service people in harms way to do a job that old 'W'finish ;- Cheney or McCain could not articulate. Obama's lot is to clean up behind these GOP buffoons in the Executive and Congress. The way you can tell the GOP is lying is watch there lips move. The party of Lincoln has become a greedy, thieving, collection of old 'bigots' trying to maintain the status quo, while the rest of America and indeed the world suffers. May God bless President Obama and America.
Posted by: Walt Whitfield | Sep 11, 2009 6:41:51 PM
The media continues its constant propaganda assault. This drivel in the news is so blatantly bias anymore it has become comical, tabloid quality. The headlines themselves are so slanted as to negate the need to even open the link to the story. I GET it allready. To you Lefties no analytical stories on Obama allowed. Bush bad, Obama good. You rubber stamped your support for him from day one and will continue to write falasies until you elevate him to above your other false prophet Martyrs tha are above reproach. MLK JFK etc.
Posted by: Don | Sep 11, 2009 7:43:48 AM
Now that is a laughable matter! You get rid of torture techniques, you bow down to foreign leaders and you don't even know what you are saying half the time and the country is more safe! I almost fell out of my lazyboy. Thanks for the laugh!
Posted by: jacob | Sep 9, 2009 11:28:27 PM
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