Repressed intelligence?

A bit of a grim post by Hunter at dailyKos about more invisible maneouverings with regard to the flow of intelligence information to and within the Administration, the tendency to condone torture, and the muzzling of the CIA (and any other source of dissent). The pattern is getting harder and harder to ignore.

[I]ntelligence information originating from the CIA is now going to be filtered, before reaching the President, by not one but two deeply questionable Bush appointments. Porter Goss, who has sought to "purge" the intelligence agency of undesirable opinions, and Iran-Contra figure John Negroponte, who has an explicit previous record of ignoring intelligence on horrific human rights abuses in order to further administration goals. It's a safe bet that Bush will hear only what he wishes to hear, and that CIA analyses contradicting neocon "beliefs" will either be silently ignored (by Negroponte), or actively punished (by Goss).

If this doesn't worry you, it should. Far from being appalled at the increasing evidence of poor intelligence and systemic abuses, the Bush folk are seeking to make those problems permanent. Choosing to make important decisions in a fact vacuum can be nothing but foolhardy for the long term.

The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.

-- Thomas Carlyle, writer
(1795-1881)

(quote via A Word A Day)