Where is Our Nation’s Intelligence?

If our national security is only as good as our intelligence reports, then we’re in big trouble. Our first big clue for this was when we invaded Iraq because our intelligence reports confirmed WMDs there.   More recently, intelligence gurus were gathering information from a person thought to be a terrorist, only to discover that he was just a prankster.  With such poor intelligence, Presidents Reagan and Bush (41) wouldn’t have been able to end the Cold War. 

Now we find out that we are not only inept at finding reliable information, but even when we do, we can’t keep a secret.  We entrust the information to people who are only too eager to leak it to WikiLeaks, which, in turn, leaks it to the whole world.  It doesn’t help the situation to have men like Leon Panetta (with no background in intelligence) as the Director of the CIA. 

Imagine being the President of the U.S. as the military officer enters the Oval Office each morning with the latest “intelligence” report.  The first thing I would ask is, “Why should I believe this information?”  Then my next question would be, “Who already knows about this?”  How can the President possibly keep our country safe under these conditions? 

This is not just an embarrassment for our country.  It’s a serious danger to national security.  Unfortunately, in both senses of the word, we do seem to no longer have any background in intelligence.

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