Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released the new National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) last Tuesday, the 22nd. The NIS steers the course of action for the many different elements of the U.S. Intelligence Community. It will be in effect through the end of 1922. They should call it a four-year plan, but I suppose that might bring about unpleasant retrospection in some quarters.
Dan Coats, a former Republican Senator, was appointed by Cadet Bone Spurs. And yet, he gives a couple of gentle slaps to Trump in this NIS document.
For one, Coats himself says directly: "This strategy is based on the core principle of seeking the truth and
speaking the truth to our policymakers...”. Truth from the Intel Community is what our current policymaker-in-chief has never wanted to hear. And also what one of his predecessors, President (snark) Cheney, never wanted to hear either. I'll be interested if Coats follows through on this.
For the other slap, again Coats himself says: “As a Community, we must become more agile, build and leverage partnerships,...". By this I take it to mean Five-Eyes plus other intel partnerships such as NATO's JISD, the various intel agencies of Germany, Japan, South Korea, and many others. Later in the document partnership is stressed as one of four core lodestars that our intel strategy should focus on: "Partnerships - leveraging strong, unique, and valuable partnerships to support and enable national security outcomes." And again this is in direct contradiction of Hair Furor's beliefs.
Other than the slaps, the remainder seems to be boilerplate. I would have liked to see more emphasis on cyber. ODNI does have a Cyber Threat Intel Integration Center, but there was no mention of it in the NIS.
https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/item/1941-strategy-promotes-integration-innovation-partnerships-and-transparency-for-the-17-intelligence-elements
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_National_Intelligence#Core_mission
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes
https://www.nato.int/docu/review/2017/also-in-2017/adapting-nato-intelligence-in-support-of-one-nato-security-military-terrorism/en/index.htm
Worth noting that pretty much the entire US intel organization from the DNI on down went to Capitol Hill and shot the Trumpkins dead square in the ass for being a bunch of ignorant yahoos who are making policy based on the little voices singing in their heads and not any actual, y'know, intelligence.
ReplyDeleteWith the caveat the US snoop-and-poop outfits have earned every single atom of skepticism they deserve for their judgement and general fucktardry, this is pretty damning. From the Islamic State to caravans, Trump and his people are, well, wrong about everything.
And Orange Foolius, of course...proceeds to just shart out nonsense - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/go-back-school-trump-assails-u-s-intel-chiefs-after-n964516