This article is intended as a response to the recent article by Dan Hoffman in the Washington Times entitled “Some Leadership Lessons for New CIA Chief Ratcliffe to Ponder”.
I’m not sure how they got there, but I know a few good Somali Pirates in Minneapolis. Maybe they could help. Seriously though, I hope things get better or they will certainly get a lot worse.
Great assessment. I would add, if our CIA operations are about protecting our country by providing vital and current information about the state of the world, nation by nation, then the CIA needs to revert to that cause, rather than what it has been doing, which it playing fetch for State.
Not nearly as critical but along the same lines is my former profession of firefighting. Working for a large west coast city I watched the steady decline of quality in hiring, training and objectives. But the adim checked all the 'correct' boxes for the politicians. Amazing how brain dead the left is when they can't grasp that the mission suffers when the goal is no longer aimed toward the intended results, whether intel, safety, law enforcement, and more. I'm sure all through civil service it's the few dedicated workers walking the fine line of results over discipline that keep the organization from complete collapse.
With the development of AI, satellite technology, and smartphone programs like Pegasus that hijack your iPhones and androids, the urgency for HUMINT may not be as critical as times past.
But in faraway corners of the globe, the civilized world will depend on CIA officers to infiltrate the enemy, prevent another 9/11, 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting, and Bataclan Theatre massacre.
I wish I had the right words to laud this masterful piece. Suffice to say I had to read it twice just because you were so good at describing the plight of our CIA operatives. I was watching an old episode of “Columbo” while I read your piece and realized that lying and subterfuge were an integral part of the criminal underworld, as well as in the ploys of our enemies. It seems to take more effort to lie than tell the truth.
Clear, concise, and spot on!
I’m not sure how they got there, but I know a few good Somali Pirates in Minneapolis. Maybe they could help. Seriously though, I hope things get better or they will certainly get a lot worse.
Great assessment. I would add, if our CIA operations are about protecting our country by providing vital and current information about the state of the world, nation by nation, then the CIA needs to revert to that cause, rather than what it has been doing, which it playing fetch for State.
Not nearly as critical but along the same lines is my former profession of firefighting. Working for a large west coast city I watched the steady decline of quality in hiring, training and objectives. But the adim checked all the 'correct' boxes for the politicians. Amazing how brain dead the left is when they can't grasp that the mission suffers when the goal is no longer aimed toward the intended results, whether intel, safety, law enforcement, and more. I'm sure all through civil service it's the few dedicated workers walking the fine line of results over discipline that keep the organization from complete collapse.
With the development of AI, satellite technology, and smartphone programs like Pegasus that hijack your iPhones and androids, the urgency for HUMINT may not be as critical as times past.
But in faraway corners of the globe, the civilized world will depend on CIA officers to infiltrate the enemy, prevent another 9/11, 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting, and Bataclan Theatre massacre.
Go back to the past to build the future.
I wish I had the right words to laud this masterful piece. Suffice to say I had to read it twice just because you were so good at describing the plight of our CIA operatives. I was watching an old episode of “Columbo” while I read your piece and realized that lying and subterfuge were an integral part of the criminal underworld, as well as in the ploys of our enemies. It seems to take more effort to lie than tell the truth.