24 hour news cycle proves to be far behind the curve

Lately I have found myself quite bothered by the cable news group and those who are depended on to give us the full story giving us only speculation or flat out lies.  Then this article crossed my path.  It was written by the CNN Wire Staff titled Source CIA operating in Libya, in consultation with opposition.

In it they reported that “CIA operatives are providing intelligence from Libya, where opposition forces are on the run and the defiant government suffered the embarrassing defection of its foreign minister Wednesday.  According to the Reuters report, Obama signed the covert aid order, or "finding," within the past few weeks. Such findings are required for the CIA to conduct secret operations, the report said.”  My most trusted information source, MSNBC, made it sound like breaking news and even called it such.  For some who may read this, I am sure you question would be why this is not breaking news?  Simply, it is not breaking news because it is and always has been a part of how information is gathered.  How would we know that Gadhafi’s closely linked team was beginning to crack?  How would we know that it’s safe to bomb a target without civilian casualties?  How would we know if these rebels are not al-Quada instead of young Libyans with a dream of being free?

We know these things because CIA is the intelligence arm of our government and is in the business of doing just that.  Without that arm of this government we would have probably never learned that the “Libya's foreign minister resigns which was called "huge news."  I guess we could always depend on journalist to tell us what is really going on even though many of them have been captured or taken on a tour which is slanted by their host to tell us what we really need to know.  No military operation is conducted without intelligence because the last thing you want to do is sending in your aircraft blind.

As reported “a U.S. intelligence source told CNN the CIA is in the country to increase the "military and political understanding" of the situation.  "Yes, we are gathering intel firsthand and we are in contact with some opposition entities," said the source.”  Because no one should expect for any country to depend on unbiased reporting from Libya’s state owned television.