http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes...cs-sawyer/?src=twrhp
Gen. James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, is the person charged with coordinating what the nation knows about terrorism and national security.
But Mr. Clapper appeared to know less than even the casual television viewer during an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, the anchor of World News Tonight.
Hours earlier, reports flooded cable news shows about arrests of 12 people in London suspected of being part of a potential terrorist plot. In the interview, Ms. Sawyer turned to Mr. Clapper and made an indirect reference to the still-developing incident.
“First of all, London,” she said. “How serious is it? Any implication that it was coming here? Director Clapper?”
The look on Mr. Clapper’s face, and his temporary silence, suggested that he had no idea what she was talking about. He hesitated before saying, “London?”
After a moment or two, he was saved by John Brennan, the White House homeland security adviser, who was also part of the interview, along with Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the department of homeland security. Mr. Brennan explained that Ms. Sawyer was referring to the London arrests.
A few minutes later, Ms. Sawyer returned to Mr. Clapper. “I was a little surprised you didn’t know about London,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t,” he said, shaking his head.
A spokesperson for Mr. Clapper said in a statement Tuesday night that, “the question about this specific news development was ambiguous. The DNI’s knowledge of the threat streams in Europe is profound and multi-dimensional, and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate.”
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