Annual US Intelligence Bill Tops $80 Billion

Ponca City writes "The LA Times reports that the US government has disclosed its annual intel budget for the first time in more than a decade: $80.1 billion on intelligence gathering, representing about 12% of the nation's $664-billion defense budget. The government revealed the total intelligence budget twice before, in 1997 and 1998, in response to a lawsuit. It was $26.6 billion and $26.7 billion, respectively, meaning the budget has tripled in 12 years. 'It is clear that the overall spending on intelligence has blossomed to an unacceptable level in the past decade,' says Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. Dana Priest reported that more than 1,200 government agencies or offices and almost 2,000 outside contractors are involved in counter-terrorism activities, producing about 50,000 intelligence reports each year, far more than the government can effectively digest. The US is running so many secret programs that James R. Clapper Jr., director of national intelligence, said during his confirmation hearings that 'only one entity in the entire universe' knows what they're all doing, and 'that's God.'"

Re:Why not just scarp US Intelligence

[hedwards]

Intelligence is expensive to get. It's not like compiling a list of the best Pizzarias in the US, there's a lot of guesswork and probably bribery and extortion involved. Not to mention the cost of maintaining GITMO for however long it is before the Republicans acknowledge that we have to accept at least a few detainees if we want to be rid of the rest.

Re:Why not just scarp US Intelligence

[Sleepy]

Unlike the previous president, Obama does not self-grant extra-Constitutional powers to the Executive branch. Bush (or Cheney, really) may have done MANY things "with a stroke of the pen" but Congress has the real power (when it wants to, anyways).

The fact is that many in Congress can not approach Gitmo rationally, because there's a large group of people who *believe* that closing Gitmo means "letting terrorists run through our towns and schools". You can't say you're not aware of the phenomenon. In America there are (unfortunately) WAY too many unemployed ex-middle class who are too sick of politics to watch the news. If someone they identifies with SAYS Obama is going to "release" the terrorists into our cities and towns, then it MUST be true.

Just like how it must be true that by ending pre-existing condition restrictions in healthcare, that Obama will be killing grandmas and retarded babies. Just like how it must be true that Cuba gave China permission to drill in both US and Cuban waters. Just like Obama spent more money in his first year than ALL the Bush years combined. And of course, just like how Obama's a radical Muslim (except when he is a radical Christian). Just like how Obama is "raising taxes" when he wants to end the tax break given when a company replaces US workers with outsourced labor. Just like how Obama has appointed "Russian dictators" and Czars to take over the government (and how he is the first president to ever do this).

The elite of the extreme right know they can take a small unwieldy fact and wrap it in 15 layers of lies, and the outrage is VERY effective at scaring Congress. That's why Gitmo is still open.

I'm not saying all right-wingers hate America (except the ones who want to blow up DC), but they hate Obama more than they love America and that's why why we are sinking. Through the lies they spread, they're even managing to get people on Medicaid disability to protest -against- healthcare reform.

Re:Why not just scarp US Intelligence

[Buelldozer]

Please enlighten me as to the meaning of this:

http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/177/close-the-guantanamo-bay-detention-center/ [politifact.com]

I know, those evil Republican websites and their LIES.

How about this?

President Obama - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32ePb4X6JNQ [youtube.com]

Candidate Obama - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7h12a_obama-promises-to-close-guantanamo_news [dailymotion.com]

So please explain how I am a "Total Idiot". There is President Obama AND Candidate Obama promising to close GITMO.

It's still open.

So answer the question, how do you know that anything has changed at GITMO?

Re:Why not just scarp US Intelligence

[Buelldozer]

I need to stop replying on this thread. It's obvious that most people don't want to listen, regardless of their party affiliation.

I'm sorry that you think that those evil Republicans filibustered the closing of GITMO.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/20/close-guantanamo-funding-senate-obama [guardian.co.uk]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124234679032521923.html [wsj.com]