National Intelligence Director James Clapper should be fired for his prediction that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi‘s “regime will prevail” in its struggle with rebel forces. Sen.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the remarks undercut U.S. efforts.
Clapper’s remarks before the Senate Armed Services Committee came as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would meet with leaders of the Libyan rebellion and after President Barack Obama said that Gadhafi no longer had a legitimate claim to power. The White House scrambled to distance themselves from Clapper’s comments, calling them a “static and one-dimensional assessment,”
The Washington Post reports.
Graham said the comments “will make the situation more difficult for those opposing Gadhafi” and that it “also undercuts our national efforts to bring about the desired result of Libya moving from dictator to democracy.” Graham called on Obama to fire Clapper, the Post said.
Nonetheless, Graham acknowledged that the analysis by Clapper made indeed turn out to be correct but noted it “should not have been made in such a public forum,” the Post reported.
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