Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Photo Credit: Public Domain/Department of Defense)

Those who had hoped Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would become the first female U.S. president may have reason for disappointment, reports CBS News. As she has done in recent months, Clinton reiterated that she will not run for president in 2012, citing the strain of holding the position. But what is perhaps shocking is that she told the press that her current position as secretary of state will be “my last public position.”

Hillary Clinton was rumored as next secretary of defense

While Hillary Clinton has denied that she is interested in running for either president or vice president next election – reports indicate that she was notably out of the country during the midterm elections when Democrats lost the House – some experts believed that with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ retirement coming up next year, Clinton was a fine candidate.Yet even that rumor appears to have been squashed by her recent pronouncement that secretary of state is “my last public position.”

There has been no indication that the recent WikiLeaks embarrassment to the Obama administration (and Secretary Clinton’s office in particular) factored into her decision.

What’s next for Hillary Clinton

While government work sounds like it will be in Hillary Clinton’s rear-view mirror after her term as secretary of state ends, Clinton did say that she “would like to continue working to improve lives for others” on a global scale, as her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, has done with his Clinton Foundation. Clinton explained that advocacy work for women and children worldwide appeals to her. Reuters reports that Clinton says she had a “fascinating and rewarding” career before politics as a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund, which assists abused and neglected kids. Thus, it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see her return to these fields.

“I feel very lucky because of my parents, my education and the opportunities I’ve had,” Clinton said.

Sources

CBS News

Hillary Clinton on WikiLeaks embarrassment

Julius Caesar didn't have a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy in the Roman Legion. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

A Pentagon study revealed that most service members don’t care if the DADT policy is repealed or not. Partial findings of the report indicated that a majority of active duty military personnel thought repealing DADT would have no effect. Most polls have indicated most Americans are for repealing the policy.

Study says service personnel don’t ask, tell or care

A study begun by the Pentagon several months ago, at the behest of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, has revealed that most service personnel don’t think about the controversial “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, according to ABC. The finding from the study was leaked some time ago by the Washington Post, much to the consternation of Gates, though it seems the government has been having a problem with leaked documents lately. The leaked portion of the study included the finding that 70 percent of respondents did not believe that DADT repeal would actually have any effect on anything in the military. The survey was sent to 400,000 service members and 150,000 spouses of military personnel. Of those, less than 30 percent responded.

Most Americans back repeal of DADT

Polls and surveys from the last few years have been indicating that more Americans are for the repeal of the DADT policy. A CNN poll indicated that more than 70 percent of Americans embrace repealing DADT, and a recently released Pew Research poll said 58 percent of Americans were for repealing DADT policy according to CNN. Surveys, polls and statistics only ultimately indicate something about the subjects of the surveys and polls that actually respond, and the country’s true opinion may be different. However, it does appear that more people are for getting rid of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Issue likely to be settled soon

This issue will likely be settled in the next legislative session. Debate raged over “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and allowing homosexuals to serve for years. Homosexuality was grounds for discharge for decades. The military was also segregated until an executive order from President Truman ended racial discrimination in the service.

Sources

ABC

CNN

Screenshot of the Washingtonpost.com Top Secret America page

On Monday, July 19, The Washington Post published a report concerning the state of the Intelligence Community, both public and private, in the U.S.  The report is titled Top Secret America, and it has created a huge stir. Intelligence heavyweights have started to take umbrage with some of the report’s findings. Among Top Secret America’s many claims is that the Intelligence Community, first receives the status of a proper noun and second is becoming rapidly disconnected, petty, inefficient and ineffective.

Top Secret America makes unflattering claims

The Washington Post investigation into the report Top Secret America was two years in the making. The number of new agencies, bureaus, and contractors working on intelligence gathering and analysis has exploded since September, 2001. Because the Intelligence Community relies on secrecy and non-transparency, the total cost of all these new agencies and contracts cannot be calculated. The report also claims that the explosively growing intelligence community is grossly inefficient and is ill-equipped to find consensus. The piece references an interview with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who lamented the barriers in the way of cooperation and focus in the intelligence apparatus.

Intelligence Community fires back

The Intelligence Community responded quickly after the publication of the report.  David Gompert, Director of Intelligence, issued a press release in which he stated that the report was not reflective of the Intelligence Community as a whole, and the intelligence field was constantly working on improving itself.

What the results of the report will be

It is hard to tell what effect the report will have. Part of the work that intelligence agencies and operatives do is that most of their victories are clandestine. If a spy operation is successful, no one will know about it until decades later, if at all. However, the U.S. Intelligence Community has had some spectacular failures. The Bay of Pigs invasion, WMDs that were never discovered in Iraq, etc. Last year, the Christmas bomber almost succeeded, and authorities had been tipped off about him. The Fort Hood shooter, a U.S. Army Major, had been communicating with anti-American groups. However public the failures may be, it would perhaps be better if we could see a victory to appreciate.

Sources

Top Secret America

Press Release from David C. Gompert (PDF)