POLITICAL WARFARE: Damage Control?
The following is the prologue to the latest edition of THE INTELLIGENCER: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies, written by the President of the ASSOCIATION FOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS (AFIO), S. Eugene Poteat, a retired CIA intelligence officer. At least one more post (article) will follow.
There are several issues that the author could have covered in this prologue, but then it would not be a preface but rather a contributed article or essay. However, he could have commented on the role of mainstream media in shaping public opinion by providing subjective manipulation and passing off personal beliefs and agendas as objective news and bonafide editorial commentary. Be that as it may, the following gives serious readers and patriots pause for serious thought.
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ASSESSMENTS
As a child, sitting on the family's front porch in the evening darkness, I listened to my father and his friends talking about world events in places far away. My father, a former WW-I Navy man, had seen more of the world than most, and I was intrigued by his stories of Bolsheviks, Archangel, the Balkans, the Middle East, and of Muslims who called the sailors "Christian dogs." He would often say that democracy has within it the seeds of its own destruction. Looking at where we are today and what we are doing to ourselves and the planet, I think I know what he meant.
In past wars, we were a fairly homogenous and united country of peoples with common goals and interests. This was coupled with the will, resources, tools and techniques to win against a foe.
SABOTAGING OURSELVES
Here we are in the most critical, undeclared war in our history, yet we cannot even agree on what to call it. We are under attack by ubiquitous, non-state enemies who have promised publicly to convert, subjugate, or kill us. They are eager to die in the process. Yet we seem unwilling or unable to counter them, nor to keep the worst of them out of our country, for fear of offending them. Worse, we are hesitant to use the needed surveillance methods to track enemy cells, or to permit our intelligence services to use CI [Counter-Intelligence] and CT [Counter-Terrorism] tools to neutralize terrorists before they strike. Even on these acts of self-defense we are polarized. Pogo had it right: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
Perhaps I am not describing people you know. Yet these days there are some everywhere we turn in Congress, the White House, Universities, and even within the Intelligence Community itself. Many have eagerly or carelessly leaked secrets to a hungry press about the latest counterterrorism tools and techniques, thus causing invaluable sources to evaporate or enemy tactics to change. There are those in Congress and in the public more concerned about minor personal privacy anxieties than our nation's safety, as well as policymakers who would cause crippling complications in implementing these tools and techniques. The Congress has also meddled in foreign policy, and not so covert action, by sending Iranian Americans to introduce democracy into Iran. All were promptly arrested. A few were later released on bond and sent home.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers are quick to respond, caviling at the proposed use of almost any effective counterterrorism technique, being willing to sue for the most frivolous of reasons. For example, they recently sued the Jeppesen Company, which develops flight plans for every segment of aviation in the world, for knowingly producing flight plans and charts for CIA flights which might have been used for White House authorized renditions. The ACLU legal sniping impedes timely counterterrorism strategies and only serves the interests of terrorists. They, along with some professors, lawyers and journalists, challenged the Administration on the constitutionality of the National Security Agency's 'warrantless' wiretapping surveillance. The courts have yet to rule on the constitutionality of this surveillance, only that the plaintiffs did not have the standing to sue. Misplaced legal assaults on this important counterterrorism tool are sure to continue, with the effect of keeping us from protecting ourselves from future surprise attacks. Where will these lawyers be when that happens? Hiding to protect a lot more than their privacy, I think.
One of the worst security breaches in this war was the leak that disclosed that much of the world's communication, including foreign traffic over the Internet, goes through American controlled facilities and communication hubs. Our intelligence community had been taking advantage of this, but such a disclosure made it useless.
EVEN UP THE PLAYING FIELD? WHY?
For reasons that escape me, we keep putting ourselves on a path to lose by undercutting ourselves with mindless, almost suicidal disclosures. Why? Do we feel so invincible that we leak to make 'the game' more exciting? Are we so incapable of seeing the seriousness of our actions-and what the consequences would be if we lose-that we have forgotten what it is like to not be the victor?
False stories continue to appear that CIA counter terrorism tactics include harsh, illegal torture techniques, though our Justice Department has ruled it untrue, and that nothing has been withheld from Congressional oversight committees. In fact, Congress knows of some of the invaluable intelligence gained from detained terrorist interrogations that have saved lives, disrupted plots, and provided priceless insights into terrorist networks and activities. But with a Congressional climate calling for frequent opinion polling to ensure re-election viability, few Congressional leaders are willing to stand up publicly to set the record straight and put an end to these false accounts. Congress - behind closed doors - fully authorizes and appreciates these secret actions, yet later, on a public stage, will feign surprise, consternation, and, if near an election, outrage.
'FIRST, HARM ONLY INNOCENTS'
As the war has run on beyond the political will of some, our traditional European allies have started folding their tents. The chief of Europe's human rights agency is seeking tougher oversight of European intelligence services found to be cooperating with American agencies. Iran has openly declared war on the U.S., while our State Department seeks to negotiate the issue through games of semantics rather than take the statements for what they are. At usurious prices, the Russians are selling advanced weaponry and equipment to Iranians under a business-as-usual mindset, enjoying the international mischief-making as a side dish.
THE COMING NUCLEAR SOLUTION
When or if Iran does get the bomb, it seems likely that they will donate it to the terrorist arsenal. And there is virtually no foolproof countermeasure that can stop them from bringing suitcase or dirty bombs (or larger) into this country, and then detonating them, to the tune of several million dead Americans. Such dire predictions come from the FBI, Homeland Security, National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency and many other qualified officials and agencies. If the Iranians continue to ignore a toothless United Nations, and actually develop the bomb, they will have given the U.S. no option but to excise this threat. Yet the Iranians appear to have little idea of the consequences of their actions. There are those, however, that believe that sanctions alone will do the trick, and influence the Iranians to do the right thing. Perhaps it is they, not the Iranians, who are the more deluded.
While the world waits, things are going the Islamic terrorist way. And the dirty job that has to be done falls to our counterterrorism, intelligence and counterintelligence communities to insure that the country remains safe, so that our allies are not recipients of a WMD demonstration strike by a religiously bellicose Iran.
The Constitution gives the President sole authority to conduct foreign intelligence. All three branches of Government have understood this since 1803. Congress passed the first wiretap statute in 1968 that declared that nothing shall impair the President's right to collect foreign intelligence. Every President since 1940 has used warrantless wiretapping, and every court agreed that nothing shall take away the President's Constitutional powers.
It is imperative that our members of Congress understand the nature of the current threat and act with courage to enhance our intelligence capabilities. At the very least, they need to avoid impeding the effort by placing partisan concerns ahead of enhancing the effectiveness of all the tools that we have.
The quality and effectiveness of our Congress is something over which we have at least some measure of control. It is our duty to inform ourselves of the views of each Senator and Representative in these crucial matters and support, with our time, money, and our votes, only those who may be counted on to be effective supporters of this crucial national effort.
In past wars, we were a fairly homogenous and united country of peoples with common goals and interests. This was coupled with the will, resources, tools and techniques to win against a foe.
SABOTAGING OURSELVES
Here we are in the most critical, undeclared war in our history, yet we cannot even agree on what to call it. We are under attack by ubiquitous, non-state enemies who have promised publicly to convert, subjugate, or kill us. They are eager to die in the process. Yet we seem unwilling or unable to counter them, nor to keep the worst of them out of our country, for fear of offending them. Worse, we are hesitant to use the needed surveillance methods to track enemy cells, or to permit our intelligence services to use CI [Counter-Intelligence] and CT [Counter-Terrorism] tools to neutralize terrorists before they strike. Even on these acts of self-defense we are polarized. Pogo had it right: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
Perhaps I am not describing people you know. Yet these days there are some everywhere we turn in Congress, the White House, Universities, and even within the Intelligence Community itself. Many have eagerly or carelessly leaked secrets to a hungry press about the latest counterterrorism tools and techniques, thus causing invaluable sources to evaporate or enemy tactics to change. There are those in Congress and in the public more concerned about minor personal privacy anxieties than our nation's safety, as well as policymakers who would cause crippling complications in implementing these tools and techniques. The Congress has also meddled in foreign policy, and not so covert action, by sending Iranian Americans to introduce democracy into Iran. All were promptly arrested. A few were later released on bond and sent home.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers are quick to respond, caviling at the proposed use of almost any effective counterterrorism technique, being willing to sue for the most frivolous of reasons. For example, they recently sued the Jeppesen Company, which develops flight plans for every segment of aviation in the world, for knowingly producing flight plans and charts for CIA flights which might have been used for White House authorized renditions. The ACLU legal sniping impedes timely counterterrorism strategies and only serves the interests of terrorists. They, along with some professors, lawyers and journalists, challenged the Administration on the constitutionality of the National Security Agency's 'warrantless' wiretapping surveillance. The courts have yet to rule on the constitutionality of this surveillance, only that the plaintiffs did not have the standing to sue. Misplaced legal assaults on this important counterterrorism tool are sure to continue, with the effect of keeping us from protecting ourselves from future surprise attacks. Where will these lawyers be when that happens? Hiding to protect a lot more than their privacy, I think.
One of the worst security breaches in this war was the leak that disclosed that much of the world's communication, including foreign traffic over the Internet, goes through American controlled facilities and communication hubs. Our intelligence community had been taking advantage of this, but such a disclosure made it useless.
EVEN UP THE PLAYING FIELD? WHY?
For reasons that escape me, we keep putting ourselves on a path to lose by undercutting ourselves with mindless, almost suicidal disclosures. Why? Do we feel so invincible that we leak to make 'the game' more exciting? Are we so incapable of seeing the seriousness of our actions-and what the consequences would be if we lose-that we have forgotten what it is like to not be the victor?
False stories continue to appear that CIA counter terrorism tactics include harsh, illegal torture techniques, though our Justice Department has ruled it untrue, and that nothing has been withheld from Congressional oversight committees. In fact, Congress knows of some of the invaluable intelligence gained from detained terrorist interrogations that have saved lives, disrupted plots, and provided priceless insights into terrorist networks and activities. But with a Congressional climate calling for frequent opinion polling to ensure re-election viability, few Congressional leaders are willing to stand up publicly to set the record straight and put an end to these false accounts. Congress - behind closed doors - fully authorizes and appreciates these secret actions, yet later, on a public stage, will feign surprise, consternation, and, if near an election, outrage.
'FIRST, HARM ONLY INNOCENTS'
As the war has run on beyond the political will of some, our traditional European allies have started folding their tents. The chief of Europe's human rights agency is seeking tougher oversight of European intelligence services found to be cooperating with American agencies. Iran has openly declared war on the U.S., while our State Department seeks to negotiate the issue through games of semantics rather than take the statements for what they are. At usurious prices, the Russians are selling advanced weaponry and equipment to Iranians under a business-as-usual mindset, enjoying the international mischief-making as a side dish.
THE COMING NUCLEAR SOLUTION
When or if Iran does get the bomb, it seems likely that they will donate it to the terrorist arsenal. And there is virtually no foolproof countermeasure that can stop them from bringing suitcase or dirty bombs (or larger) into this country, and then detonating them, to the tune of several million dead Americans. Such dire predictions come from the FBI, Homeland Security, National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency and many other qualified officials and agencies. If the Iranians continue to ignore a toothless United Nations, and actually develop the bomb, they will have given the U.S. no option but to excise this threat. Yet the Iranians appear to have little idea of the consequences of their actions. There are those, however, that believe that sanctions alone will do the trick, and influence the Iranians to do the right thing. Perhaps it is they, not the Iranians, who are the more deluded.
While the world waits, things are going the Islamic terrorist way. And the dirty job that has to be done falls to our counterterrorism, intelligence and counterintelligence communities to insure that the country remains safe, so that our allies are not recipients of a WMD demonstration strike by a religiously bellicose Iran.
The Constitution gives the President sole authority to conduct foreign intelligence. All three branches of Government have understood this since 1803. Congress passed the first wiretap statute in 1968 that declared that nothing shall impair the President's right to collect foreign intelligence. Every President since 1940 has used warrantless wiretapping, and every court agreed that nothing shall take away the President's Constitutional powers.
It is imperative that our members of Congress understand the nature of the current threat and act with courage to enhance our intelligence capabilities. At the very least, they need to avoid impeding the effort by placing partisan concerns ahead of enhancing the effectiveness of all the tools that we have.
The quality and effectiveness of our Congress is something over which we have at least some measure of control. It is our duty to inform ourselves of the views of each Senator and Representative in these crucial matters and support, with our time, money, and our votes, only those who may be counted on to be effective supporters of this crucial national effort.
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