You can’t say this week has been boring in the Executive Branch. Yeah, maybe the 110th Congress opened with its first female Speaker of the House, but how can you top the military’s takeover of the Intelligence Community?
OK. Perhaps I’m overstating the case, but the rearranging of deck chairs in the Intelligence Community and Defense Department has been nothing short of intriguing, amazing, and downright fun. I think. Only time will tell.
Yes, only time will tell. What does all this mean? Readers of “The Forum” are certainly encouraged to add their .02 (that’s two cents for those not mathematically inclined).
For background, check these two articles from yesterday’s Washington Post. One discussed Negroponte’s departure and his likely successor – a military man – Admiral Mike McConnell, while the other mentioned General Clapper as heir apparent to the main Intel job at the Department of Defense.
If you read these articles, you’ll note that cross-pollination between the military and the Intelligence Community (IC) has been ongoing for some time. This, of course, makes eminent sense. The nation’s protection is everyone’s business and the last thing our country needs is harmful, motivated, personal competitors striving to be the sole saviors of our safety. Therefore, mixing and matching people between military and intelligence disciplines might work just fine.
In fact, the lines between IC and military/defense are fairly blurred and probably should be. All that matters is that those who fight wars or work to prevent them cooperate and coordinate effectively by developing and sharing critical information. If that’s happening, we’re well on our way to being safe and secure, and enjoying the wonderful freedoms for which thousands of men and women sacrificed their lives. Their lasting gift is allowing us to make the very hard choices in life: do I clean the garage or go play a round of golf? Do I opt for a jog or a visit to a beautiful Virginia winery?
I’ve strayed a bit from the topic, although not much, for what occurs within the intelligence community and military-industrial complex, as President Eisenhower dubbed it, has everything to do with our American life, which many worldwide envy, yet others hate and wish to destroy.
Yes, I’m quite interested in all this foderol. I worked at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) immediately before my retirement from federal service. General James Clapper was the agency’s Director. I once had a meeting with him and found the General to be refreshingly candid and straightforward. A true soldier, you might say. Or as an Air Force lifer, perhaps I should say ‘Airman.’
Based on my experience at NGA, I found many there and also at other related agencies, who are working to protect us, to be quite talented and dedicated. We are fortunate that so many people are giving so much of themselves so that we can mindlessly watch the latest TV sit-com each week.
Still, these changes are intriguing, and we’ll have to adopt a wait-and-see approach to assess just in which direction all this shuffling will lead us.
For the sake of the good ol’ U.S. of A., I hope it makes a big difference. This is yet another chilling challenge that Executive Branch employees must face. If the past is any indication, today’s employees will succeed, the United States will remain free, and citizens will continue to enjoy a lifestyle that many others on the planet can only dream of. [I’d appreciate fewer security restrictions so I could enjoy even greater freedoms, but that’s a matter for another column.]
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Fred W. Apelquist, III, M.Ed.
Approximately 590 words.
© January, 2007