Former CIA Director: We worried arming Ukraine would hand technology to Russian spies

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/former-cia-director-we-worried-arming-ukraine-would-hand-technology-n1089926?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Under Obama the military opposed giving Javelin missiles to Ukraine because of fear Russia would get access to sensitive tech, said ex-CIA chief Brennan.

Nov. 22, 2019, 5:26 PM EST

By Ken Dilanian

WASHINGTON — Republicans made a point of emphasizing during the impeachment hearings that President Donald Trump provided sophisticated weapons to Ukraine to deter Russian aggression, in contrast to the Obama administration, which declined to do so.

President Obama's decision was portrayed as an example of his timidity in foreign policy. But the story is more complicated than that, said former CIA Director John Brennan.

In particular, said Brennan, now an NBC News analyst, the military was opposed to providing Javelin anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainians during the Obama administration "because of fear that the Russians would get access to Javelin's sensitive technology," he said.

"The Russians had deep penetrations of Ukrainian intelligence, security, and military forces in the aftermath" of that country's 2014 revolution that overthrew a pro-Russian government he said, "and it took time to rid those forces of Russian moles, agents, and spies. That was the purpose of my visit to Kiev less than eight weeks after the Revolution of Dignity."

A robust debate ensued within the Obama administration about the provision of lethal aid, he said, and there were some who argued it would escalate the situation and provoke Russia. That's how Russian expert Fiona Hill described the Obama administration's thinking in her testimony.

"Some [officials] argued strenuously to provide lethal assistance, but the ultimate decision made by [Obama] was to provide only non-lethal military and economic assistance," Brennan said. "It was a tough decision. The Javelin issue is being misrepresented as a simple decision devoid of other considerations, and that was not the case."

Brennan points out that the Javelins are currently "under lock and key in Ukrainian rear areas, not on the front lines. Their presence in Ukraine, however, does send a strong deterrent signal to Moscow, which is good."

</snip>

[kentuck]

1. In that context...

...considering who now sits in the Oval Office, it may not have been the best idea?

[gab13by13]

2. It's different now

because Ukraine's government isn't as corrupt.

I wonder why no Democrat on the committee offered up this defense for president Obama? Republicans hammered Obama for not giving lethal aid like Trump did.

[SayItLoud]

4. Totally agree with you. nt

[uncle ray]

11. that is, a less corrupt Ukrainian Gov't that was almost pushed to work against Biden.

that doesn't sound like the hands we'd want our sensitive technology in.

I sure hope that our military is securing those Javelins.

[kentuck]

12. It is my understanding that most American military aid has been to help them build an army...

...to defend themselves. Weapons are not of much help if there is no army to use them.

[SayItLoud]

3. NOT one reporter DUG into this during the investigation! (thx for posting this)

I didn't know this for a fact BUT assumed the Obama admin. withheld because of this potential. Why NO journalist dug into it to explain why the Obama did the friggin RIGHT thing is disgusting.

[maxrandb]

9. Much easier for the lazy media to parrot the "he gave blankets" BS

than to actually do their fucking jobs.

Thanks media! This is like just typing "butter emails" in large, bold font on the front page for 1,000 days... and putting the fact that the email story was complete horseshit on page 15 of the entertainment section once.

BTW - anyone know if the editor that approved the BS story that the FBI "agent" who supposedly altered a document in the Carter Page FISA warrant directly worked for Peter Strock been fired yet?

And people say I'm out of line to say that the next time Democrats control all branches of government some media need to go to fucking jail.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. At that level decisions never simple. But to tRumpanzees, all decisions are simple. Me, mine. . nt

[gab13by13]

7. Yes, in other words,

everything Republicans do is political, in their best interests, instead of the best interests of the country.

[certainot]

6. republicans don't do nuance, and linmbaugh leads 1500 radio stations yelling obama gave them no

military assistance!

[mountain grammy]

8. Well to be fair

Our media isn’t.

[Lonestarblue]

10. Our media is so frustrating because they give no context to the news.

When Trump makes ridiculous claims like Ivanka creating 14 million jobs, the media needs to point out the real jobs numbers and why Ivanka had nothing to do with new jobs. People on DU read things like jobs reports and economic data, but I suspect that many people just don’t bother with business data. That’s why so many Trump supporters believe that Obama tanked the economy, and the stock market only started improving under Trump.

This after-the-event revelation of the true facts surrounding the sale of the Javelins should have been brought up by Democrats every time a Republican mentioned them. People were watching and ingesting the Republican lies with no rebuttal on this issue. Schiff did an amazing job of rebutting many lies in his final summaries, but Republicans told so many that he would have needed an hour to give the background and explain why each Republican claim was a lie!