Obama is putting the blame for this selection on Dennis Blair, but Obama did not say a word or do a thing about this appointment until the stink became so great that Chas Freeman was asked to drop out.

If Obama had in mind changing America’s policies to be anti-Israel, he would consider that the main obstacle to doing so would be Congress. And how could Congress be persuaded? By a National Intelligence Estimate that is leaked to Congress that blasts Israel and applauds its enemies. Because the NIE is highly regarded and can hardly be questioned, certainly not easily. And yet this position of Director of the National Intelligence Council would provide vast influence over the NIE: deciding what intelligence reports go into it, what are omitted, summarizing all of the body of intelligence, and interpreting it. Putting this paranoid anti-Israel and antisemitic paid puppet of Saudi Arabia in this position would have been a very important step for Obama, in order to push Congress in the anti-Israel direction. This would remove the only significant obstacle to Obama pushing hard for an anti-Israel policy.