Time to get serious: Name Holt to Head the House Intelligence Committee
It's been mostly fun and games around here since the election, but a subject has come up that requires everyone's full attention. David Corn, Washington editor for
The Nation,
makes the case for naming
Rush Holt (D-NJ-12) to chair the
House Intelligence Committee. Sifting through the candidates for the job, Corn advances Holt's resume:
Which brings us to Rush Holt. He is a former Princeton University physicist and past intelligence analyst at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He specialized in nuclear matters. He knows much about the intelligence bureaucracy and about weapons proliferation and loose nukes, critical national security priorities. First elected in 1998, Holt has not been shy about confronting the administration and the intelligence agencies. He voted against granting George W. Bush the authority to invade Iraq. He has challenged the administration's policies on the detention and questioning of suspected terrorists, arguing the White House has not been mindful enough of civil liberties. He also was one of the few Democrats to charge on to the House floor to oppose the Republicans when they sought to intervene in the Terri Schiavo affair. The Courier News of Bridgewater, New Jersey, endorsed Holt's reelection this year and noted, "Holt offers the kind of intelligence, reasonable and decisive voice that has been all too lacking inside the Beltway during the partisan wars of recent years. But Holt's value in Congress goes beyond that; he has developed a reputation as a thinking man's congressman, a scientist by trade who provides more thoughtful analysis on issues than most lawmakers." Holt calls for beginning a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. He has warned the administration not to hype the intelligence on Iran's nuclear weapon program, noting the "intelligence on Iran is poor, contradictory, or both."
DBK's post from Blanton's & Ashton's (needed to be shared)
We need all the sanity and intelligence we can get, so Holt sounds good to me. What a big change to have people on committees who actaully have some experience in the area in question.
Posted by
Peacechick Mary |
4:08 AM
I'm not familiar with Holt but so far he sounds like my kinda guy. I will have to research him a bit. God knows we need someone that uses their head in DC.
Posted by
fallenmonk |
5:58 AM
As long as it's not Rep. Alcee Hastings.
Posted by
Frederick |
7:40 AM
I'm not familiar with Holt either, but he certainly sounds good.
Posted by
PBS |
9:38 AM
Mary...I was taken with DBK post so much that I wanted to share it...he seemed to think it should get around too.
Monkk...I wasnt familiar either...he sounds upstanding. DBK is involved with politicians so he always has something to learn about that otherwise you might miss.
Fred...thanks for that...it was very interesting and some of it shocking. Just because they are FBI doesn't mean they are honorable.
pbs...since I wasn't familiar either...I figured to pass it along for my readers' benefit. We all need to share important imformation with eachother as it comes along in case others don't know about it.
Posted by
sumo |
4:19 PM
Who'd have thunk that in this nation competence would be the dreaded fly in the ointment? Shows how low we've sunk since the Bushlet took office.
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:46 PM
But if he isn't a buddy of Bush then what good is he, ha,ha..
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:59 PM
Mandt...couldn't have said it better myself...
Happy...he he...you're right, they'd rather he were bad to the bone...Dub's side I mean...
Posted by
sumo |
7:41 PM
It sounds like he is smart, so he wouldn't fit in real well playing with the big boys
Posted by
Graeme |
1:04 AM
Graeme...I'm hoping he will...and show the big boys a thing or two...
Posted by
sumo |
3:52 AM