Killing Dissent
Chas Freeman, President Obama’s appointee as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council has some very disturbing views on how governments should deal with protesters.
I do not believe it is acceptable for any country to allow the heart of its national capital to be occupied by dissidents intent on disrupting the normal functions of government, however appealing to foreigners their propaganda may be. Such folk, whether they represent a veterans’ “Bonus Army” or a “student uprising” on behalf of “the goddess of democracy” should expect to be displaced with dispatch from the ground they occupy. I cannot conceive of any American government behaving with the ill-conceived restraint that the Zhao Ziyang administration did in China, allowing students to occupy zones that are the equivalent of the Washington National Mall and Times Square, combined. while shutting down much of the Chinese government’s normal operations. I thus share the hope of the majority in China that no Chinese government will repeat the mistakes of Zhao Ziyang’s dilatory tactics of appeasement in dealing with domestic protesters in China.
— Chas Freeman
on Foreign Policy Internet Mailing List
Via The Washington Post
Firstly, this was a shocking response to the Tienanmen Square Massacre, and not one that any right thinking American would make. Secondly, Freeman’s response shows that he has no moral foundation at all and is unfit for public life much less public office. Thirdly and finally, the admonition to the government to use lethal force and extreme violence to disperse and silence dissenters and protesters is contrary to the ideals of America and the laws set forth in our Constitution.
Freeman gets a lot more flak for his rampant antisemitism and for his being a lap dog for various Muslim –Wahabists ala Osama Bin Laden mostly – rulers – ironic since Muslims loath dogs in the same way that they and Jews loath pigs – but this endorsement of murdering peaceful protesters is far worse than his bigotry, which could be used to offset Rahm Emanuel’s – the son of an Israeli terrorist and the namesake of another – potentially dangerous Zionism.
As a reminder, the official death toll among the protesters in Tienanmen Square according to the Chinese government was 200 – 300, but Chinese student associations and the Chinese Red Cross reported that the real number of people murdered was 2,000 – 3,000. Chas Freeman says this was ” ill-conceived restraint” on the part of the Communist regime.
One doesn’t really need to guess at what Freeman’s advised response to MLK’s Civil Rights March on Washington, DC would have been, or what he will advise to be done about the next Right to Life March.
Fortunately for the US our military is made up largely of true patriots. They’d be more likely to exterminate any POTUS who listened to Freeman and who ordered such a slaughter of our people than to commit it. Therefor, while Chas Freeman’s views are evil, dangerous, and very un-American, he is unlikely to be proved to be too great a direct threat to the American people.
Tags: Antisemitism | China | Liberals | Obama | Politics | The Constitution | US Military
March 1st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I’m not for sure how I feel about this appointment..I was aware of the buzz on both sides of the left right divide, but my feeling about Mr. Freeman,from the bits I’ve read, is that he is a fiercely independent thinker,who doesn’t fall in either camp easily. Yeah, as a progressive moderate..I find the leaked email a bit scary..he’d really isn’t in charge of who gets to protest in the National Mall, so I’ll just assume we’re safe there. :P,
He just seems to have some good alliances that might be useful in intelligence circles, and he seems to have refused to swallow the neo-cons good guy versus bad guy idealogy. .. In fact, his very honest rhetoric and realism may be his downfall.. But someone with his Chinese background…could be very useful and his Saudi Arabia ties..after all, I kind of believe in the..idea of having someone in the marketplace of ideas who knows how to talk to the heavyweights.
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:16 am
One of the problems with Freeman is that he’s what is known as a “political realist.” That means he approaches things from a strictly amoral viewpoint without the benefit of any morality to guide his actions or advise. That’s a level of pragmatism that has general lead to great harm.
It’s true that we’re somewhat safe from his actions – as I noted. Just remember that the National Intelligence Council also interacts with the NSA and Homeland Security. As a progressive moderate I’m fairly sure you didn’t favor many of the actions of those two agencies over the last few years. I think you should be even more concerned now because of Freeman.
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:53 am
I’m more concerned that he was aligned with Richard Nixon..:) Okay, not really. I rarely run around screaming the Sky is Falling..over anything political, because while I believe in vigilance, watching and doing exactly what we do here and in coffee houses and workplaces..Talk about what is happening, try to be informed, but realize that there are many safeguards in place in the American system of government. I approve of what Obama is doing to roll back some of the drastic changes made during the Bush years, as you mentioned. What did you think of the changes made during those years in regards to the NIA?
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 am
Interesting, writestuff44 – what is Obama doing to roll back some of the drastic changes made during the Bush years? Gitmo – and only Gitmo – may be closed in a year or so, if we can find something to do with the terrorists. The CIA may have to follow the Military standard for interrogation methods – but Obama wants those standards reviewed to see if they need to be given broader scope. FISA – no changes really planned from I can see…
As for the changes made by the Bush administration to the NSA’s procedures and mandate, I approved of the increased surveillance of possibly hostile individuals and groups – but felt that they got caught up in not racial / culture profiling too much; they wasted a lot of effort looking into groups that were no threat in order to show – if needed – that they weren’t targeting Muslims.
On the other hand, I despised and condemned the warrantless wire-taps as being illegal, unconstitutional, and STUPID. When the Feds have “secret” courts that can securely provide warrants as needed, there’s no legitimate reason to abrogate people’s rights.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Interesting post! I just heard about this guy from someone’s blog yesterday. She lives in Saudi Arabia and seemed pretty happy with Obama’s appointing him. His views on the protest in China are disturbing. Hmmmm. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Freeman is heavily tied up with the ?l Su??d (the House of Saud); that may explain why your friend approves of his appointment.
For myself, I’m less sanguine about Freeman’s attachment to the Saudi rulers, but it’s a relatively minor matter to me compared to some of his views regarding acceptable governmental practices.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:35 am
[…] Intelligence Council (NIC) – has recused himself from consideration for the position. The man who endorsed the Tienanmen Square Massacre claimed that he couldn’t perform the duties of the office due to public […]