The President, and all policy makers should have the unvarnished truth as best as the intelligence community can serve it up.
A BETTER PEACE welcomes former Director of National Intelligence (DNI), James Clapper to discuss the role of the ODNI and the current state of the position. Clapper joins guest host Genevieve Lester, Chair of Strategic Intelligence at the U.S. Army War College. They examine the strategic importance of the DNI position, the individual chosen to fill it, and the impact on the intelligence community.
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James Clapper is the former Director of National Intelligence. Genevieve Lester is the DeSerio Chair of Strategic Intelligence at the U.S. Army War College. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Honorable James R. Clapper (left), prepares to speak during a town hall with members of the intelligence community and U.S. Strategic Commander’s (USSTRATCOM) intelligence staff at USSTRATCOM Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., Aug. 23, 2016.
Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady
Other Posts in the “Intelligence” series:
- THE ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE TODAY
- POLICY SUCCESS VS. INTEL FAILURE?
- IMPACT (OR NOT) OF INTEL ON STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING
- STRATEGIC ATTACKS AND THEIR FALLOUT
- NEEDLES IN HAYSTACKS: ANALYZING TODAY’S FLOOD OF INFORMATION
- WHERE DOES INTELLIGENCE GO FROM HERE? AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES CLAPPER
- THE DOD-CIA RELATIONSHIP: ARE WE MILITARIZING STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE?
- THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ODNI: AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES CLAPPER
- AFGHANISTAN: WHERE WAS THE INTEL?
- TRUE SPIES: STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING MODERN ESPIONAGE
Given Mr. Clapper’s performance failures over the last decade+, couldn’t we have done better than him?
Having spent years in Army intel (including Vietnam), I find Clapper being rather disingenuous, as he was responsible for a lot of the “turbulence” that he spoke of.
A purge was necessary for precisely the reasons he spoke of because the previous occupant of the White House cast a blind eye on who and what was going on, especially the politicized CIA Director.
Generals are political, especially those not trained in intel who pass judgement on intel (e.g.,CENTCOM reporting of a few years ago) or those who have a cavalier attitude towards classified material, as Gen. Petraeus proved.
Blaming the president for the faulty intel he was getting on Iran when we were obviously paying them off also signaled that the U.S. wasn’t going to ignore them.
I do agree, however, that a person with an intel background would make a better choice for DNI, most times.