"Obama Nominee Admiral Dennis Blair Aided Perpetrators of 1999 Church Killings in East Timor (Part II)" (with audio and video)

Democracy Now with audio and video:

Part II of our conversation with investigative journalist Allan Nairn who reveals Admiral Dennis Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general, Wiranto, of unwavering US support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing.

President-elect Barack Obama is facing a political challenge over his choice to run the Central Intelligence Agency. Obama has tapped Leon Panetta, a former Congressmember and White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton. Many observers call him a surprise pick because of limited intelligence experience and his public opposition to the Bush administration’s policies on torture. Obama defended Panetta’s nomination at a news conference in Washington.

Top Democrats have chided Obama for not consulting with them before announcing the pick and have suggested they might oppose Panetta. In a brief statement, the new chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein of California, said: “My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.” The outgoing intelligence committee chair, Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, says he shares Feinstein’s concerns.

It’s interesting to compare that to how lawmakers are greeting Obama’s other top intelligence pick. While members of Obama’s own party vow a tough confirmation hearing for a torture opponent, they’ve expressed no reservations about another nominee accused of supporting torture and murder abroad.

The former commander of US military forces in the Pacific, Admiral Dennis Blair, has been tapped to become the Director of National Intelligence. It”s the nation”s top intelligence job, overseeing sixteen agencies.

Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general Wiranto of unwavering U.S. support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing.

Yesterday we began our discussion on Dennis Blair with Allan Nairn, an award-winning investigative journalist who’s reported from Indonesia for years. In 1999, he broke the story on Blair’s secret meeting backing the Indonesian military. Today, Allan Nairn is back in the firehouse for part two of this discussion.

We invited Admiral Blair to come on the broadcast but he declined our request through a spokesperson.

Howie P.S.: One of the sixteen agencies Blair would oversee is the CIA. The audio and video (link above) is for the whole show. The Blair story comes about twenty minutes in.

P.P.S.: Click here for VIRUS ALERT from Snopes.com: "Virus threat--Obama acceptance speech."

Barack Obama