Intelligence Failure—From Listening to the Wrong People?

Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq have both been partially blamed on bad intelligence. It came as no surprise to this World News and Prophecy writer.

by Melvin Rhodes

It comes as no surprise to my wife and me that there are fundamental weaknesses in American intelligence.

A little over 25 years ago we were residents in the West African nation of Ghana. At the time we were living under a military government known as the Supreme Military Council II (Reconstituted). The complicated name was to distinguish it from an earlier SMC that was in power at the time we arrived in Ghana in May of 1978.

The first SMC was led by General Ignatius Acheampong. He was removed from office in a palace coup six weeks after we arrived in the country. We first heard about the change on the BBC World Service from London, England. Another military leader replaced him, Major-General Fred Akuffo.

At the time the country was in rapid economic decline. You could say the economy was in free fall. With inflation estimated at about 600 percent a year (estimated because there was no government department trying to keep track of it) and worsening shortages of food, detergents, toiletries and other essentials, there were constant rumors of coups and countercoups. Such is life in the Third World.

Although we were faced with our own very real challenges just trying to survive it all, we did try to keep up with what was happening elsewhere. In January of that fateful year, 1979, the shah of Iran was overthrown. Looking back now 25 years, we can see how fateful a year it was, for subsequent events have plainly shown that the overthrow of the shah was the first victory for Islamic fundamentalism and a defeat for the U.S.-led West.

For months the U.S. State Department had been receiving intelligence reports from Iran that said the pro-American shah was stable and that the demonstrations occurring daily in different parts of the country were put on by a few rabble-rousers.

Intel turned out to be wrong. Very wrong. And we are living with the consequences to this day.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0408/wrongpeople.htm

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