Ray McGovern

11 April 2008, Phoenix, AZ

For the New York politician, see J. Raymond McGovern.

Raymond McGovern (born 1939) is a retired CIA officer turned political activist. McGovern was a Federal employee under seven U.S. presidents over 27 years, presenting the morning intelligence briefings at the White House for many of them.

Early life

McGovern was born and raised in the Bronx. He graduated summa cum laude of Fordham University. A "Distinguished Military Graduate", he served in the US Army from 1962-64 as an intelligence officer. McGovern also received an M.A. in Russian Studies from Fordham University; a certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown University; and was a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.

Career

McGovern was a mid-level officer in the CIA in the 1960s where his focus was analysis of Soviet policy toward Vietnam. McGovern was one of President Ronald Reagan's intelligence briefers from 1981–85; he was in charge of preparing daily security briefs for Reagan, Vice President George H.W. Bush, the National Security Advisor, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Cabinet. Later, McGovern was one of several senior CIA analysts who prepared the President's Daily Brief (PDB) during the first Bush administration.

Upon retirement, McGovern was awarded the Intelligence Commendation Medal from Bush (which he later returned, see below and worked for Washington-based non-profits before becoming co-director of the Servant Leadership School in Washington. Now, McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C.

Post-retirement career and views

Intelligence activism

McGovern has been an outspoken commentator on intelligence-related issues since the late 1990s. He was heavily critical of the government's handling of the Wen Ho Lee case in 2000. In 2002 he was publicly critical of President George W. Bush's use of government intelligence in the lead-up to the war in Iraq.

In 2003, together with other former CIA employees, McGovern founded the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity or VIPS. The organization is dedicated to analyzing and criticizing the use of intelligence, specifically relating to the War in Iraq. In January 2006, McGovern began speaking out on behalf of the anti-war group Not in Our Name. According to the group's press release, McGovern served symbolic "war crimes indictments" on the Bush White House from a "people's tribunal."

Rumsfeld

In May 2006, McGovern attended a speech by then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and, during the question-and-answer session, accused him of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence. McGovern challenged Rumsfeld on several statements which Rumsfeld was on the record for saying. McGovern asked him;

• "Why did you lie to get us into a war, which was not necessary and has caused these kinds of casualties?"
• "You said you knew where they [weapons of mass destruction] were."

• Rumsfeld: "I did not...I said I knew where suspect sites were."

• McGovern "You said you knew where they were: 'Near Tikrit, near Baghdad, and East, West, South and North somewhat'" (Rumsfeld denied using this language, despite having stated precisely this on March 30, 2003, on ABC's This Week). Rumsfeld had added in the original statement in reference to one particular facility, "we saw from the air that there were dozens of trucks that went into that facility after the existence of it became public in the press and they moved things out. They dispersed them and took them away. So there may be nothing left. I don't know that. But it's way too soon to know."
• "Your allegation that 'there was bullet proof evidence' of ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq (Rumsfeld stated this on September 27, 2002 to the Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta, Georgia). Was that a lie or were you misled?"

• Rumsfeld "Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the prewar period...that is a fact."

• McGovern: "Zarqawi...he was in the North of Iraq in a place where Saddam Hussein had no rule. That's where he was."

• Rumsfeld "He was also in Baghdad."

• McGovern "Yeah, when he needed to go to the hospital...come on, these people [the surrounding press] aren't idiots."

"O.I.L."

In a television interview with Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, McGovern said: "I‘ve been using the acronym O.I.L. for many — for two years now: O for oil; I for Israel; and L for logistics, logistics being the permanent — now we say “enduring” — military bases that the U.S. wants to keep in Iraq."

McGovern testified at a Democratic National Headquarters forum in 2005 that had been convened by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) of the House Judiciary Committee on the Downing Street Memo.

The Washington Post reported that, in his testimony, McGovern "declared that the United States went to war in Iraq for oil, Israel and military bases craved by administration 'neocons' so 'the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the world.' He said that Israel should not be considered an ally and that Bush was doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. 'Israel is not allowed to be brought up in polite conversation,' McGovern said. Genuine criticism of official Israeli policy is often portrayed as if it were anti-Semite bigotry: 'The last time I did this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me anti-Semitic.'"

McGovern described the incident with former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey in an article in CounterPunch:

I thought of the debate I had on Iraq with arch-neoconservative and former CIA Director James Woolsey on PBS' Charlie Rose Show on August 20, when I broke the taboo on mentioning Israel and was immediately branded "anti-Semitic" by Woolsey. Reflecting later on his accusation, it seemed almost OK since it was so blatantly ad hominem. And his attack was all the more transparent, coming from the self-described "anchor of the Presbyterian wing of JINSA" — the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a strong advocate of war to eliminate all perceived enemies of Israel — like Iraq.

Assaulted, Arrested for Silent Protest at Clinton Speech

During a speech on February 16, 2011, at George Washington University by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton he stood silently with his back turned during her remarks, leading to his arrest, after requests that he be seated and that he leave were ignored.

On Julian Assange

When asked on TVNZ whether Julian Assange was a hero or villain, he replied "Hero", and has co-written an open letter of support for WikiLeaks and Assange.

When asked whether Julian Assange was a journalist, he replied "Yeah, actually, with all due respect, I think you (the mainstream media) should be following his example.", to the CNN reporter.

Personal life

McGovern has been married to Rita Kennedy for 42 years. Together they have five children and six grandchildren.

Articles

• Ray McGovern, Mullen Wary of Israeli Attack on Iran, Antiwar.com, March 8, 2010.
• Ray McGovern, "Case Closed", Tom Paine, February 19, 2004.
• Ray McGovern, "Proof Bush Fixed The Facts," Tom Paine, May 4, 2005.
• Ray McGovern, Archive of McGovern's articles for Alternet, Alternet, 06/03-04/06.

Video

• Ray McGovern speaks at Peace Action National Congress (July 2004) - 23 minutes
• Ray McGovern speaks at the John Marshall Law School In Chicago, IL (April 2006) - 52 minutes
• Ray McGovern speaks to TVNZ about WikiLeaks and Assange (Dec 2010) - 5 minutes

See also

• Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

External links

• Interview on TVNZ about Julian Assange
• Downloadable audio interview with Scott Horton
• The-war-at-home The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Audio and Transcript of Brad Show interview, June 11, 2005
• Truthdigger of the Week: Ray McGovern
• "Retired CIA Official Says Bush Is A War Criminal" (audio interview)
• Are U.S. Presidents Afraid of the CIA? by Ray McGovern, December 29, 2009
• "McGovern: Forged 'yellowcake' memo 'leads right back to' Cheney" (MSNBC Tucker Carlson Video)
• "Retired CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Takes on Rumsfeld Over Justification for Iraq Invasion" May 5, 2006 Democracy Now
• "Q&A sessions with Ray McGovern" (News Video)
• "So Who's Afraid of the Israel Lobby?" October 5, 2007
• [1] February 17, 2011