Follow-up on the National Intelligence Estimate Leak
At The Corner on National Review Online there is a post by Mario Loyola that looks at the suspicious timing of the most recent leak from the CIA. It has gotten to the point that almost no one believes these leaks are just giving away critical information that the public needs - no, has a right - to know. The attempt at political influence in these leaks raises the issue of CIA meddling in politics as a national security issue. I wonder why the Department of Justice hasn’t started more investigations into the torrent of leaks at least in part simply to defend the American political process.
And, on a parallel topic - who can believe that this naked political agenda in an intelligence agency will help that agency provide sound advice and warning to national policy makers in a time of war? With such an agenda, whether a Democrat or a Republican is elected President, how can one believe that the intelligence product provided that administration hasn’t been cooked one way or the other? If a political opponent to these people is in office, wouldn’t the partisans tend to want to cause the opponent to fail - at the cost of American lives and property? If the partisans’ favorite is in office, wouldn’t the estimates and reporting be molded to show them in the best light, regardless of the true nature of the intelligence? A politically biased intelligence agency would be much like a politically biased polling agency in politics, only on a much more serious and dangerous level. We’re not dealing with winning and losing a political race. We’re dealing with winning and losing a war - a clash of significantly different cultural views of the world.
This inside influence operation has to stop and soon to protect the American people!
