On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy
by Ron Paul
I have often spoken about the excessive size of government, and most recently how waste and inefficiency needs to be eliminated from our military budget. Our foreign policy is not only bankrupting us, but actively creating and antagonizing enemies of the United States, and compromising our national security. Spending more and adding more programs and initiatives does not improve things for us; it makes them much much worse. This applies to more than just the military budget.
Recently the Washington Post ran an extensive report by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin on the bloated intelligence community. They found that an estimated 854,000 people hold top-secret security clearances. Just what are all these people up to? By my calculation this is about 11,000 intelligence workers per al Qaeda member in Afghanistan. This also begs the question – if close to 1 million people are authorized to know top secrets, how closely guarded are these secrets?
They also found that since the September 11 attacks, some 17 million square feet of building space has been built or is being built to accommodate the 250 percent expansion of intelligence organizations. Intelligence work is now done by some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private contracting companies in about 10,000 locations in the United States.
The former Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, has asserted that US intelligence now has the authority to target American citizens for assassination without charge or trial. How many of these resources are being devoted to spying on American citizens for nefarious reasons at home rather than targeting foreign enemies abroad?
It has been pointed out how much information we had about the impending attacks on 9/11, but because of layers upon layers of bureaucratic inefficiencies, our intelligence community was unable to act meaningfully on that information. Obviously we needed drastic change. But it was pretty clear that we did not need more bureaucracy, more confusion, more expenditures and more government.
It is even claimed by some leaders that the intelligence community has grown this way by design; that it is advantageous to have more than one set of eyes looking at the same information. With this logic, is there any number of intelligence employees at which we achieve diminishing returns? Can there ever be too many cooks in the kitchen, in their view?
Are there any problems at all that the government wouldn’t attempt to solve by throwing more money at them? Even now, the government is trying to solve our economic problems related to too much government spending and debt, with more government spending and debt.
The problem with our intelligence community before 9/11 was not an inability to collect information. Therefore, the post-September 11 build-up of the surveillance state does nothing to enhance safety. Instead what Americans have gotten in return for the billions of tax dollars spent on security is a surveillance state that reads our e-mails, wiretaps us without warrants, and strip searches grandmothers at airports. This is yet another instance in which Americans would be safer, richer and freer if our government would simply look to the Constitution and respect the boundaries it has set.
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Thanks Ron Paul
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if I was an american I would vote for you =)
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RON PAUL 2012 THE MAN OF REVOLUTION A TRUE PATRIOT!
»crosslinked«
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Ron Paul is awesome but I have to go with Stefan Molyneux’s philosophy. The people in power are not going to give it up. The people who make their money off the theft of those who work hard will violently defend this corrupt system, and that’s half the country.
Our Constitution was a bold and great experiment at limited government that has failed miserably and in a relatively short period of time.
If Ron Paul was president he would not be able to turn back the clock to limited government. Even if he could would we really want to? It failed once. Even businesses scrape failed business plans.
If libertarians try to take away any part of this nanny state there will be protests and riots. This empire is going to collapse anyway. Why fight it? After this government is gone maybe we can rise up and truly be free.
There is no government like NO government!
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AndyWright68,
Government is essential and fundamental for the Rule of Law and National Protection. But THIS government has gone far beyond the Constitutional LIMITS proscribed.
A TOTALITARIAN Government needs a “Clandestine Security” system to spy on every citizen because every citizen is now a threat!
The recent 9 thousand pages of legislation are now being decoded and written into REGULATIONS that will effectively turn every American citizen into a current or potential criminal element that must be survaled, monitored and controlled via Agency Enforcements, i.e. IRS.
This administration refuses to manage the borders, but has the unmitigated audacity to expand an already unmanageable three sided Security Agency system. Just Spend More!
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Government is not essential, it is the cause of our problems.
Rule of law? Which laws? The tens of thousands of laws that make all of us criminals? We would be much better off without any of them. They do not keep us safe.
National protection? You mean our department of offense? Not needed.
The laws you fear are expected. Power corrupts and these psychopaths will continue to gain power until the system collapses. I just wish it would collapse sooner.
If you want freedom then you have to stop supporting government. Government is violence and those in government are thieves and tyrants. You nor Ron Paul and all of his supporters are going to change those in power and those dependent on government.
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Government is a necessary evil, that We the People must restrain and control.
DEFENSE and LAW ENFORCEMENT are the two principal duties. I agree that our current government is Out of Control, but Anarchy is equally dangerous where civil chaos would wreck havoc if unchecked.
We still have the power of the vote and freedom of press, those two Liberties are our greatest weapons against the tyranny.
Freedom is never so precious as when it is lost of nearly extinguished.
Vote your best Libertarian Ideals, they will never be realized in this generation, but perhaps the knowledge of Liberty and Freedom will infect our children and they will fight to secure those freedoms.
Not all is lost….yet
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agreed Citizen, but a lot of the big government supporters will have you believe that without large government, necessarily everything will degrade into anarchy.
From what I’ve read, the war on alcohol (Prohibition) was anarchy, with the gang wars.
The war on drugs is similar, Mexico is pretty close to anarchy.
Removing unreasonable restrictions on private firearms ownership does not degrade society into anarchy. DC. and Chicago haven’t become less safe since Heller and McDonald were decided respectively.
I have to say though, although the Tea Partier’s are being displayed as ‘grassroots’ conservatives (and sometimes linked to Libertarians) I feel more that they are right wing populists, which wouldn’t be good either, since they still want big government, just their brand of big government.
I had an interesting discussion the other day with someone who was saying, if we don’t pay taxes, how will roads be funded and built? To which I wonder, if our taxes are paying for those roads, why then do we have toll booths on (public, state owned) roads? Am I not being taxed twice?
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Keep them Anarchists in line, Anarchist-lites.
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I must say we DO need a government – a government that is for the people and by the people.
It does looks more harmful to have one when it is hijacked by foreign bankers, foreign interest and individuals like Obama, Bush and the Clintons who are more interested for the banksters then the people of this nation.
I understand your frustration – Just because a vehicles can crash and can be stolen and can be hijacked it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t drive one at all. If our government wasn’t hijacked, you would’ve loved it.
I just spoke to a family member of mine who lives in Europe. He told me that the tuition for their universities are all free. not only free but the government give away 5,000 euro’s for every students annually for their expense. I know they are socialist government but at least they are not socialist for foreign entity.
Ron Paul 2012
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Anarchy is not chaos. All it means is without government.
No one deserves power over another.
We do not need leaders.
Power corrupts and that is a fact.
Pieces of paper have never stopped men from gaining power, oppressing the people or waging war
Governments have never reigned in power or reduced in size. It is not going to happen.
Empires collapse and that is just a fact.
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Help Peter Schiff win the Republican Primary in Connecticut August 10th. He was Ron Paul’s economic advisor and we need him just as bad so please visit his website shiffforsenate and make phone calls and donate on Thursday the 29th of July for a moneybomb!
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Amazing state of affairs! The US intelligence has now the authority to assasinate Americans without charge or trial. Does this not chill the blood? This is the kind of situation that Americans would have deemed was possible only in a country like Russia. If this is not fascism then what is? Hell! We are really screwed!
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Thank you,Dr.Paul….
For all you have done.
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This is not a criticism of the American people, but of the American government. I did mention before that while you have presidents preaching about exporting democracy as an excuse for further wars, you have now reached the point that democracy is being lost at home and you will have no excuse to talk about exporting democracy. JFK precisely warned about the dangers of too much secrecy which will take away civil freedoms. This is the big brother is watching you scenario, this is fascism at home.
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Thank you Congressman Paul for telling it like it is again.
I’ll have to agree that the freedoms and liberties dreamed by our founding fathers are long gone and will never return.
I too cannot understand why the people in this country cannot see or believe what is happening right in front of their own eyes.
Everyone needs to get on the “support Ron Paul” list.
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I am glad that WikiLeaks exposed the truth in Afghanistan since most wars involving the US have extremely questionable merit. Just listen to Smedley Butler and President Eisenhower here on you tube about war and corporations.
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the ZOG, zionist occupied government of America is using FLUORIDE to deactivate your Pineal Gland to close your third eye- the light of truth, so that you arent able to differientate the truth from all the garbage they pour our into the controlled media. perhpas DMT will make things right and ZOG will crumple.
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The Army Tragedy
Search For
“BUSH OBAMA DESTROYED”
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Sorry, I know this isn’t the right place to put this but can anybody tell me where I can watch this weeks freedom watch. I don’t have the fox business channel and this is the first week it hasn’t been on youtube. In fact I think it was on and then taken down. That’s what disturbs me the most actually. Why would it be taken down?
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http://freedomwatchonfox.com/
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thanks
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I’ve been waiting for him to address these problems.
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Ron Paul = a beacon of light
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Ron paul has help me define who i am.
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Thank You for your weekly adress to us. The Federal Government is violating the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 10th amendments in about every aspect of our lives. They haven’t done a great job in protecting our rights as citizens of the United States.
We need more brave people like you to speak out!
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We will continue to be in pain until we listen to this man…then we will be in worse pain when we do but it will be better in the long run – you can’t kick junk without withdrawal.
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patriot act
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Please run in 2012!
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Send a link of this video to all of your friends, family, etc…
Its time for people to come out of comas and if they are out
of them then to prove it!
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comedy relief
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I will vote for you once again in 2012 if you run. Why no one listens to you is beyond me. Too bad that you talked too much when asking Bernanke about things recently which qualified him not to answer your question.
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Ron Paul i loved seeing you grill ben bercracky you made a complete fool of him stay with the hard hitting questions.
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please please please run Dr. Ron Paul for president in 2012 i second third and forth that motion!!!!!
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Please, please wake up, people are dying and it’s going to spread!! Listen to this -
blogtalkradio(dot)com/show.aspx?userurl=freedomlink-radio&year=2010&month=07&day=26&url=bridging-the-gap-with-joe-joseph-and-john-king
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The U.S.A as we knew it is finished. Gone.
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Perhaps… but I’m not ready to roll over and play dead just yet. Ron Paul cured my apathy!
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God bless Ron Paul. Let’s remove Barry Soetoro. History repeats itself as long as we play ignorant to our past. The revolution has never ended. We must realize the enemy has always been Europe and the Central Banks. Imperialist are playing us like a game. Playing one country off of another like chess pieces. They want to end free enterprise. The human being is what manifest great things not money. End the empire. Ron Paul 2012
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Ron Paul, the voice of reason and intelligence.
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Let us move forward ever boldly and patiently in this great, relatively new experiment known as FREEDOM!
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THANK YOU DR.RON PAUL.
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End the FED.
We beg of you Ron Paul, The American people need you.
With your help, we can most definitely end the Fed.
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RON PAUL GO RON PAUL GO!!!!!
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Ron Paul 2012
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Please run in 2012
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