Howdy Doody Dilanian Reports All the “News” the Intelligence Community Wants You to Believe
The conventional wisdom in the US is that Turkey’s president Erdogan totally pwned Trump over Syria. The most extreme example of this is a Tweet by NBC’s Ken Dalanian, aka the Howdy Doody to the CIA’s Buffalo Bob Smith:
You wouldn’t know it from the US media, especially from reporters like Dilanian who are nothing but conduits for what the anti-Trump elements in the intelligence community (i.e., pretty much the entire intelligence community) wants you to hear, but the view from Turkey is somewhat different.
A Turkish friend tells me that the boastful Erdogan’s mien changed notably after Vice President Pence’s visit last weak. Whereas Erdo was at his chest thumping best (or worst) prior to that, he has been restrained and sheepish since. Moreover, there are many in Turkey who claim that Erodgan is (in the words of my friend) “Trump’s dog” and that Trump is the actual president of Turkey.
Now, there may be some sample selection bias here. My friend’s father was a leader of the May 27, 1960 coup against the proto-Erodgan (Menderes) and was on the tribunal that sentenced Menderes to hang. My friend is an ardent Kemalist and has a social network that is rooted in Rumelian Turkey and in the CHP. So what he sees (on Facebook, for instance) or hears (from friends and colleagues) is not necessarily representative of Turkish opinion.
It is interesting to note, however, that things look very different to many Turks than they do to American journalists. So don’t take the vaporings of the likes of Ken Dilanian at face value, and keep in mind that he (and most of the rest of the media claiming to report on views of those in the defense and intelligence communities) is essentially the ventriloquist’s dummy–and the ventriloquists are carrying out guerilla warfare against Trump.
Another Howdy Doody report illustrates how intense this war is:
A review launched by Attorney General William Barr into the origins of the Russia investigation has expanded significantly amid concerns about whether the probe has any legal or factual basis, multiple current and former officials told NBC News.
. . . .
Durham has also requested to talk to CIA analysts involved in the intelligence assessment of Russia’s activities, prompting some of them to hire lawyers, according to three former CIA officials familiar with the matter. And there is tension between the CIA and the Justice Department over what classified documents Durham can examine, two people familiar with the matter said.
In other words, Barr and Durham have many in the intelligence community shitting themselves.
Well it’s about ‘effing time.
“Concerns about whether the probe has any legal or factual basis.” LOL. Just who is concerned, Howdy? Your IC buddies? Good!
How many times during the Mueller probe did we hear “if Trump has nothing to hide, why should he fear an investigation?”
What’s the expression? Oh yeah. Turnabout is fair play. And payback is a bitch.
As if Barr or Durham (amazing isn’t it how their like are characterized as “career federal prosecutors” when investigating Trump or other Republicans, but not when they are investigating Democrats or deep staters?) would engage in baseless probes.
So things are heating up. And this means that the stream of leaks to the likes of Ken Howdy Doody Dilanian will build into a torrent in the coming weeks. Ignore their content, and take them as a positive signal that some people are afraid, very afraid.
A fairly reliable way to discern BS in the media is when their minions use terms like “experts are already saying”, “multiple current and former officials told”, “many are saying”, “many experts”, “officials concurred”, “amid concerns”, “many scientists”, etc.
Often such articles will cite by name at least one to three sources for added emphasis, but even that couldn’t possibly indicate a majority view.
Many experts do say that the best thesis is one that doesn’t rely on corroboration of other possibly made-up voices, but rather on the elucidation of facts by themselves.
Comment by I.M. Pembroke — October 20, 2019 @ 6:41 pm
The ‘Russiagate hoax’ setup.
The sham Ukraine ‘impeachment’ inquiry.
McRaven – supports John Brennan, says ‘Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President’.
Former Fed bigwig Dudley – ‘Trump’s re-election arguably presents a threat to the U.S. and global economy, to the Fed’s independence and its ability to achieve its employment and inflation objectives. If the goal of monetary policy is to achieve the best long-term economic outcome, then Fed officials should consider how their decisions will affect the political outcome in 2020.’
The establishment, from the beginning lined up against Trump, is stepping out of the shadows and becoming increasingly vocal – just as things start moving against them (DoJ inquiries, pull out from Syria – and I imagine they are exercised about the lack of overt action in support of Saudi).
Matt Taibbi – We are watching a coup.
‘If voting made a difference, they wouldn’t let us do it’.
What might happen in the repo market this morning?
So much happening, so much to watch.
Comment by EX-Global Super-Regulator on Lunch Break — October 20, 2019 @ 8:06 pm
@I.M. Pembroke. Exactly. Journalism is basically sample selection bias run amok. Find sources that support your angle, ignore those who don’t.
You are exactly right: anything based on recycling opinion is at best worthless, and more likely malicious. Just give me the facts. But that is an anathema to journalists today. It is somehow beneath them.
Comment by cpirrong — October 20, 2019 @ 8:19 pm
@Ex-GSRoLB. Yes, the entire establishment is getting increasingly frantic because it feels under threat. I think things are approaching a climax. So much is happening, indeed.
Comment by cpirrong — October 20, 2019 @ 8:23 pm
“Fact check: Experts are already saying …” – I simply laughed. Had he had a liquid lunch?
Comment by dearieme — October 21, 2019 @ 8:00 am
@Ex-GSRoLB…A whole lot has already happened, in spite of the ‘nothing is happening’ claims. Downer is doomed, Australia is now co-operating. Italy fired those 7 IC guys, and Barr getting those phones is a clear sign that Italy is co-operating. Ukraine is the first country to convict for meddling in the 2016 election, and that is still in the early innings. Trump already spanked May the first time he met with her, and slowly the UK is finding Jesus. There are others of significance who have already been assets, and they are hiding in plain sight.
Comment by Richard Whitney — October 21, 2019 @ 10:28 am
Not really going to stray down the deep-state conspiracy rabbit hole this early in the morning and before my first espresso, but a couple of comments on the US pull-back from Syria:
– if it was such a genius and well thought through Trump idea, why was it necessary to send Pompeo *and* Pence to Ankara to Yanksplain things to Erdogan? Surely Trump’s follow-up letter must have made it clear how far the US was prepared to let Turkey go? Incidentally, it was nice to see Pence out and about doing something useful for once in his career as VP.
– the whole debacle does beg the question why on Earth the US maintains such an enormous military given Trump seems intent on ditching commitments left, right and centre, and taking no more on. I know China are a special case and the likes of Saudi need extra supervision but seriously, is it really necessary in this new era? Just think what size of wall you could have if you downsized it even a little…
– it is odd the level of scrutiny of the various options available to Trump by his cheerleaders. As with the whole Greenland debacle, surely there must have been ways to further US strategic interests without creating a massive fuss and pissing off your erstwhile allies? Or maybe that is all he and you are bothered about.
As for your Tweets on this topic, it was reported yesterday the US is considering leaving some troops in Syria to guard its oil installations, and only this morning it was reported that Trump has stated he would be prepared to use force against Turkey. Of course, these reports could well be misinformation from a desperate deep-state media.
Comment by David Mercer — October 22, 2019 @ 3:27 am
@D Mercer… The Greenland gambit was no debacle. It alerted everyone to the strategic position of Greenland. And the Danish Prime Minister blew it, even many Danes admit that. She should have been a gracious hostess to her future guest and said “Sure, …come into my parlor.” Then she could ask for $1 trillion and Rhode Island and there would have been smiles after but no deal. But she handled it poorly. He just said, “OK, maybe next time”, changed his destination to Poland, then had to change plans again because of issues here. So he wouldn’t have arrived anyway and she squandered the moment.
The Greenland strategy won’t go away, and the next time Denmark may not be able to define the terms.
Comment by Richard Whitney — October 26, 2019 @ 11:28 am