Conservative Wanderer

“A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

Tag Archives: Valerie Jarrett

Does Obama Deserve Any Credit For OBL Hit?

UPDATE and BUMP: Not sure if this is the same “insider” or a different one, but there’s a new report about this over on Socyberty.

Q: You stated that President Obama was “overruled” by military/intelligence officials regarding the decision to send in military specialists into the Osama Bin Laden compound.  Was that accurate?

A: I was told – in these exact terms, “we overruled him.” (Obama)  I have since followed up and received further details on exactly what that meant, as well as the specifics of how Leon Panetta worked around the president’s “persistent hesitation to act.”  There appears NOT to have been an outright overruling of any specific position by President Obama, simply because there was no specific position from the president to do so.  President Obama was, in this case, as in all others, working as an absentee president.

I was correct in stating there had been a push to invade the compound for several weeks if not months, primarily led by Leon Panetta, Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, David Petraeus, and Jim Clapper.  The primary opposition to this plan originated from Valerie Jarrett, and it was her opposition that was enough to create uncertainty within President Obama.  Obama would meet with various components of the pro-invasion faction, almost always with Jarrett present, and then often fail to indicate his position.  This situation continued for some time, though the division between Jarrett/Obama and the rest intensified more recently, most notably from Hillary Clinton.  She was livid over the president’s failure to act, and her office began a campaign of anonymous leaks to the media indicating such.  As for Jarrett, her concern rested on two primary fronts.  One, that the military action could fail and harm the president’s already weakened standing with both the American public and the world.  Second, that the attack would be viewed as an act of aggression against Muslims, and further destabilize conditions in the Middle East.

It certainly seems that this story is developing legs.

————

Still having intermittent ‘net issues, but I think I can stay online long enough to post a couple of things.

It seems, according to one unsourced report, that Obama basically had to be overridden by military/intelligence officials to actually make the OBL hit happen (emphasis in original):

RE Osama Bin Laden.  Significant push to take him out months ago.  Senior WH staff resisted.  This was cause of much strain between HC [Hillary Clinton] and Obama/Jarrett.  HC and LP [Leon Panetta] were in constant communication over matter – both attempted to convince administration to act.  Administration feared failure and resulting negative impact on president.  Intel disgusted over politics over national security.  Staff resigned/left.  Check timeline to corroborate.Now Intel already leaking to media facts surrounding how info obtained. Namely from enhanced interrogation efforts via GITMO prisoners.  Obama administration placed in corner on this.  Some media aware of danger to president RE this and attempting protection.  Others looking for further investigation.  We are pushing for them to follow through and already meeting with some access. 

Point of determination made FOR Obama not BY Obama.  Will clarify as details become more clear.  Very clear divide between Military and WH.  Jarrett marginalized 100% on decision to take out OBL.  She played no part.  BD [Bill Daley] worked with LP and HC to form coalition to force CoC [Chain of Command/Commander in Chief] to engage.

IMPORTANT SPECIFIC:  When 48 hour go order issued, CoC was told, not requested.  Administration scrambled to abort.  That order was overruled.  This order did not originate from CoC.  Repeat – this order did not originate from CoC.  He complied, but did not originate.

Independent military contacts have confirmed.  Stories corroborate one another.  This is legit.

I cannot stress this enough: This is, as of the time of this writing, unsourced, unverified, and uncorroborated. Take it with as many grains of salt as you find appropriate.

However, it does fit the pattern of a POTUS more comfortable voting “present” than actually making a decision… like Obama.

Will The Democrats Demand The Return Of These Earnings?

Looks like it’s not just AIG executives and employees who’ve been raking in the big bucks:

Lawrence Summers, the chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, collected roughly $5.2 million in compensation from hedge fund D.E. Shaw over the past year and was paid more than $2.7 million in speaking fees from several troubled Wall Street firms and other organizations.

Financial disclosure forms released late Friday by the White House show that many of Obama’s top aides earned generous salaries, investment income and fees for delivering speeches and serving on corporate boards. National Security Adviser James L. Jones, for example, earned $1.1 million last year board compensation from five corporations, including Boeing Corp.

Two of Obama’s closest advisers from Chicago earned large sums as well. David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political strategist, received $1.55 million in compensation from the public affairs firms he co-owned and agreed to sell his ownership stake for $3 million over five years, his form shows. Senior adviser Valerie Jarrett earned $850,000 in salary and deferred compensation from Habitat Executive Services, Inc., as well as $346,687 in directors’ fees from groups including Navigant Consulting and manufacturing firm USG Corp., according to the documents.

But Summers, a leading architect of the administration’s economic policies and response to the global recession, appears to have collected the most income. Financial institutions including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch paid Summers for speaking appearances in 2008. Fees ranged from $45,000 for a Nov. 12 Merrill Lynch appearance to $135,000 for an April 16 visit to Goldman Sachs, according to his disclosure form.

Will we see Obama inveigh against such exorbitant fees? Will Pelosi’s House vote on a bill to tax these earnings at 90%? Will we see leftymedia outlets lining up to denounce the greed of these people?

Don’t hold your breath.