Gingrich takes to Fox News to attack Obama over Blair's resignation

Gingrich: “I suspect the president got tired of being told things he didn't want to hear.” On the May 20 edition of On the Record, Gingrich stated that Blair's departure “should worry the American people a great deal.” When host Greta Van Susteren asked why, Gingrich responded, “The Obama administration since last October has allowed major gaps in our intelligence and has refused to go to the Congress to ask for the fixes necessary for us to be able to reopen certain capabilities that are very, very powerful and very important and that literally were closed down in October.” Gingrich subsequently said:

GINGRICH: Blair is a true professional. I suspect Blair was telling the president stuff he didn't want to hear. I suspect that Blair was going in and saying, “You know, you ought to go and fix this particular problem that they have with their intelligence gathering. You ought to be aware how dangerous the radical wing of Islam is. You should not have these kind of fanciful ideas.” And I suspect the president got tired of being told things he didn't want to hear.

Gingrich: “What if the president,” who has “a fantasy view of the world,” “doesn't want somebody who comes in and tells him the truth?” On the May 21 edition of Fox & Friends, Gingrich said that Blair's resignation was “a loss for the country” and that Blair “is the fall guy for a series of problems that aren't his problem.” After co-host Brian Kilmeade said that the intelligence director position “requires, I understand, the backing of the president to tie in all 16 agencies. It doesn't seem as though Dennis Blair had it. Also, if you look at the remarks that Dennis Blair wrote, he didn't do any of those things that -- 'I have -- need personal time. I enjoyed my service. It was an honor serving for this president.' Nothing. 'I regret to say, I'm out of here. I got to go.' That was stunning to me.” In his reply, Gingrich noted that he “knew Blair when he was the commander in the Pacific,” but did not mention their membership in the nonprofit defense group:

GINGRICH: Well, I think you can clearly see that Blair -- I'm guessing Blair's pretty angry and that the president basically fired him. And the -- you're right. The president has to back somebody. But here's the question: What if the president, who once -- who has a very, very optimistic view -- I think a fantasy view -- of the world -- what if the president doesn't want somebody who comes in and tells him the truth?

And so, Blair, in my -- I knew Blair when he was the commander in the Pacific. Blair is a very tough, very intelligent man who didn't hold back any punches, and I suspect that he was making the president very uncomfortable by telling him things he didn't want to hear.

Gingrich: Blair “lost out in the power struggle with ... an appeasement wing of this administration. And I think it's a bad sign for America's national security.” On the May 21 edition of America's Newsroom, Gingrich said, “I think that Admiral Blair, who I respect a great deal, who's a very bright, professional man, lost out on a power struggle with some people like John Brennan in the White House and the attorney general, who have a totally different view of the world.” He subsequently said:

GINGRICH: I think if you look at it, Admiral Blair represented the tough wing of the administration, and he lost out in a power struggle with John Brennan and with the attorney general, who represent an appeasement wing of this administration. And I think it's a bad sign for America's national security.

Gingrich, Blair were reportedly part of a defense nonprofit when it won a $2.4 million contract from the Pentagon

Project on National Security Reform reportedly got "$2.4 million from the Pentagon" for study. In a March 6, 2008, article, the newsletter Inside the Pentagon reported (from the Nexis database):

The Defense Department has tapped the Project on National Security Reform to develop proposals for improving cooperation between federal agencies working on national security projects.

Panel members finalized a cooperative agreement with the Pentagon's Washington Headquarters Services, acting on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, on Feb. 22, Job Henning, the group's director for political affairs and outreach, told InsideDefense.com.

Pentagon officials chose this type of agreement because it would ensure the group's independence from the Defense Department, Henning said. “It's more a grant than a contract,” Henning explained.

The FY-08 National Defense Authorization Act, which also called for the study, authorized the Pentagon to spend up to $3 million on it.

He said the group will get $2.4 million from the Pentagon for the study. The funds were set aside in the fiscal year 2008 Defense Appropriations Act, signed by President Bush on Nov. 13, 2007.

Inside the Pentagon: "[M]embers include" Gingrich and Blair. From the Inside the Pentagon article (from Nexis):

The Project on National Security Reform is a loose-knit, bipartisan group of former government leaders and think tank scholars whose members include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), former Institute for Defense Analyses President and retired Adm. Dennis Blair, retired Air Force Gen. Charles Boyd, who now runs Business Executives for National Security, and former State Department Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization Carlos Pascual.

The group plans to draft legislation that would put into law what many government leaders and lawmakers have demanded for decades: Closer cooperation between all federal agencies in matters of national security, and reform of the congressional committee structure that oversees them. The group's goal is to craft a new National Security Act -- which dates back to 1947 -- and have it passed by Congress before a new president takes office in early 2009, James Locher, PNSR's executive director, told Inside the Pentagon last year.

Gingrich still listed as a member

Gingrich listed as member of group's “Guiding Coalition.” On its website, the group describes its “Guiding Coalition”:

PNSR's Guiding Coalition is comprised of former senior federal officials and others with extensive national security experience. The bipartisan group sets the strategic direction for the Project, examines progress, discusses objectives, and reviews findings and recommendations resulting from PNSR research and analysis. Members of the Guiding Coalition are helping to communicate the final findings and recommendations of PNSR to officials in government, the policy community and the public.

Gingrich's profile is listed on the page of active members of the “Guiding Coalition.” On a page listing “Distinguished Alumni,” Blair is included under “Guiding Coalition.”