The prospect of a second Trump presidency has the intelligence community on edge

[Social Media]

 

The prospect of a second Trump presidency is sending shockwaves through the intelligence community, with concerns mounting over the potential for unprecedented politicization of intelligence agencies. Former officials from Donald Trump's administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, warn that a second term for Trump could see a renewed effort to overhaul the nation's spy agencies, with far-reaching consequences for the credibility and independence of American intelligence.

 

During his first term, Trump made no secret of his desire to reshape intelligence agencies to better align with his political agenda. Now, with the possibility of a second term on the horizon, there are fears that Trump will double down on these efforts, purging agencies of perceived adversaries and installing loyalists who may lack the necessary experience for their roles.

 

 

The implications of such a move are profound. An intelligence community beholden to political interests rather than objective analysis could undermine the credibility of American intelligence, particularly at a time when the U.S. and its allies face complex challenges in regions like Ukraine and the Middle East. Moreover, it could compromise the ability of intelligence agencies to provide impartial assessments and dissuade the president from making decisions that put the country at risk.

 

Trump's contentious relationship with the intelligence community has been a hallmark of his presidency. From publicly questioning their findings to seeking to downplay their assessments, Trump has often clashed with intelligence officials, undermining their work and eroding trust in their conclusions.

 

If re-elected, Trump could wield even greater influence over intelligence agencies, reshaping them in his image and marginalizing dissenting voices. This could have far-reaching implications for national security, with potentially dire consequences for the safety and well-being of Americans.

 

Despite the risks, some former officials argue that the intelligence community is in need of reform to adapt to evolving threats. However, they caution that any changes must be carried out with careful consideration for the integrity and independence of intelligence agencies.

 

As the possibility of a second Trump presidency looms large, the intelligence community finds itself at a crossroads. With the stakes higher than ever, the need to safeguard the integrity of American intelligence has never been more urgent. Only time will tell whether the lessons of the past will guide future decisions, or whether the pursuit of political expediency will trump the imperative of national security.

 

27.02.24

Source

 

[Tug]

That concern and his public in your face admiration fawning subservient attitude towards Putin his threats to pull out of nato his demonstrated ignorance of and inability to grasp world affairs his cut and run (surrender) his squandering of years of sanctions and diplomacy in regards to N Korea …..concern is probably a much to light a term most likely hair afire close all important intel with the USA and all the potential problems that entails not a reassuring thing 

[Walker88]

As a former case officer, I know first hand what it takes to do the job and what sort of intelligence COs gain access to. One such thing is terrorist threats, most of which are rolled up and prevented before they occur, the public none the wiser. Many times such terrorist plans are credible threats against the President, as getting so public a figure is a major coup for an organization such as al Qaeda.

 

I also know the general feelings of those on the front lines of the intel community toward despots and tyrants, such as the kind of person trump fantasizes about being.

 

Put the two together, and I doubt any case officer would report a credible threat against trump. Take some of that built up R&R time or Home Leave. Let al Qaeda or Jama'ah Islamiya or the Haqqani Network or whomever has a plan do the needful and rid the world of a major threat. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

 

I also would be willing to bet that should trump travel internationally, not a single host nation or their security would bend over backwards to protect trump. Nobody likes him (save perhaps for putin and Kim Jong-un), and nobody respects him. Take him out in London or Berlin or Paris or Tokyo---oh well, stuff happens. All host governments and all liaison intelligence services are of the same view: a world without trump is instantly a better world.

 

Now donny could try to stuff the agency with lackeys, but none of them has either the brains or courage to walk alone into the dens of al Qaeda or any terror group and do what case officers do. Similarly, I know none of the trumpers on this site have the brains or cojones to do the job.

 

The bloated one would quickly learn that no one who could save him is on his side. He will shudder himself in the WH cocoon and do what he did whenever even a Code Pink protest showed up on PA Ave: run to the WH bunker, coward that he is.

Edited February 27 by Walker88

[nauseus]

Politico - leading the way in propaganda.

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, Walker88 said:

As a former case officer, I know first hand what it takes to do the job and what sort of intelligence COs gain access to. One such thing is terrorist threats, most of which are rolled up and prevented before they occur, the public none the wiser. Many times such terrorist plans are credible threats against the President, as getting so public a figure is a major coup for an organization such as al Qaeda.

 

I also know the general feelings of those on the front lines of the intel community toward despots and tyrants, such as the kind of person trump fantasizes about being.

 

Put the two together, and I doubt any case officer would report a credible threat against trump. Take some of that built up R&R time or Home Leave. Let al Qaeda or Jama'ah Islamiya or the Haqqani Network or whomever has a plan do the needful and rid the world of a major threat. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

 

I also would be willing to bet that should trump travel internationally, not a single host nation or their security would bend over backwards to protect trump. Nobody likes him (save perhaps for putin and Kim Jong-un), and nobody respects him. Take him out in London or Berlin or Paris or Tokyo---oh well, stuff happens. All host governments and all liaison intelligence services are of the same view: a world without trump is instantly a better world.

 

Now donny could try to stuff the agency with lackeys, but none of them has either the brains or courage to walk alone into the dens of al Qaeda or any terror group and do what case officers do. Similarly, I know none of the trumpers on this site have the brains or cojones to do the job.

 

The bloated one would quickly learn that no one who could save him is on his side. He will shudder himself in the WH cocoon and do what he did whenever even a Code Pink protest showed up on PA Ave: run to the WH bunker, coward that he is.

It's ironic how when one retires his prior employment becomes so much more exciting than what reality really was. I'll bet you're a hero in all your afternoon naps.

[Tug]

3 hours ago, Walker88 said:

As a former case officer, I know first hand what it takes to do the job and what sort of intelligence COs gain access to. One such thing is terrorist threats, most of which are rolled up and prevented before they occur, the public none the wiser. Many times such terrorist plans are credible threats against the President, as getting so public a figure is a major coup for an organization such as al Qaeda.

 

I also know the general feelings of those on the front lines of the intel community toward despots and tyrants, such as the kind of person trump fantasizes about being.

 

Put the two together, and I doubt any case officer would report a credible threat against trump. Take some of that built up R&R time or Home Leave. Let al Qaeda or Jama'ah Islamiya or the Haqqani Network or whomever has a plan do the needful and rid the world of a major threat. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

 

I also would be willing to bet that should trump travel internationally, not a single host nation or their security would bend over backwards to protect trump. Nobody likes him (save perhaps for putin and Kim Jong-un), and nobody respects him. Take him out in London or Berlin or Paris or Tokyo---oh well, stuff happens. All host governments and all liaison intelligence services are of the same view: a world without trump is instantly a better world.

 

Now donny could try to stuff the agency with lackeys, but none of them has either the brains or courage to walk alone into the dens of al Qaeda or any terror group and do what case officers do. Similarly, I know none of the trumpers on this site have the brains or cojones to do the job.

 

The bloated one would quickly learn that no one who could save him is on his side. He will shudder himself in the WH cocoon and do what he did whenever even a Code Pink protest showed up on PA Ave: run to the WH bunker, coward that he is.

Thankyou for your service and most especially your clear concise precise articulate posts 

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's ironic how when one retires his prior employment becomes so much more exciting than what reality really was. I'll bet you're a hero in all your afternoon naps.

Just sad……..

[G_Money]

Sounds like a great plan!

 

Anyone is better than the. clown’s presently in the agency. 
 

Along with the DOJ.

 

Time to drain those swamps.

[Walker88]

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's ironic how when one retires his prior employment becomes so much more exciting than what reality really was. I'll bet you're a hero in all your afternoon naps.

It is a weak person who makes a comment such as yours, as well as being made out of ignorance.

 

It says much about your own inadequacies and need to project. Your life is likely quite near the end, yet you are so dissatisfied with what it has been, that you feel compelled to attack those who have lived more fully.

 

Maybe time to climb in the box, because it's too late to make up for what never was.

 

 

[Walker88]

34 minutes ago, Tug said:

Thankyou for your service and most especially your clear concise precise articulate posts 

Just sad……..

The job was quite fun, so if any thanks are due it is to the folks who brought me into the field, trained and mentored me.

 

What most agency officers develop is a real appreciation of what the US is all about (on its best day), as well as a frank awareness of what its errors have been. Part of the latter is why people are so against trump. He is everything that makes the world and any nation's citizens worse off and oppressed.

 

Three things come to mind:

 

1) on 21 Jan 2017 trump came to Langley and spoke at length...about how great he thinks he is. He buses in dozens of lackeys from his new WH and gave them the front three rows in the agency's entry hall. After a quick introduction from then ExDir Meroy Park, he stood in front of a wall containing stars memorializing agency folks who died in service...and just spoke of himself, his "massive" crowd size for the Inauguration (a lie), how he had more TIME covers than Tom Brady, and how he was "like...really really smart". It was disgusting.

 

2) trump sent Jared and Bannon to Langley on Monday 23 Jan 2017 to find out how extensive agency capabilities were and to ask how they can be used against domestic opponents and critics. Both had to be reminded by agency legal staff that the agency cannot go after any US person, and certainly not for political reasons.

 

3) In December of 2016 trump sent Jared to the Russian Embassy in DC to ask Amb Kislyak how a secret back channel could be set up to trump's paymaster and blackmailer putin, so that FBI or NSA could not pick it up. Kislyak was so excited he used an open phone to call Moscow, which the NSA picked up. There was talk of charging Jared with 'conspiracy to commit espionage', a capital offense and the offense that had gotten the Rosenbergs a date with Sparky at Sing Sing. trump's DoJ obviously decided against pursuing the charges.

[Walker88]

28 minutes ago, G_Money said:

Sounds like a great plan!

 

Anyone is better than the. clown’s presently in the agency. 
 

Along with the DOJ.

 

Time to drain those swamps.

No doubt you are extremely well versed on what the agency does and what the DoJ does....LOL

 

Apparently you take exception to the DoJ enforcing the law?

 

If trump wanted to stay out of legal trouble, he would have refrained from his crime spree. He didn't refrain, and now is paying the price.

[EVENKEEL]

35 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

It is a weak person who makes a comment such as yours, as well as being made out of ignorance.

 

It says much about your own inadequacies and need to project. Your life is likely quite near the end, yet you are so dissatisfied with what it has been, that you feel compelled to attack those who have lived more fully.

 

Maybe time to climb in the box, because it's too late to make up for what never was.

 

 

Seems I struck a nerve. Rule No. 1  When you tell stories of your glory days on an anonymous forum be prepared for comments such as mine. You think because you had a gov job you had a better life, thanks for the laugh.

[transam]

3 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's ironic how when one retires his prior employment becomes so much more exciting than what reality really was. I'll bet you're a hero in all your afternoon naps.

How do you come to that conclusion....?

[transam]

3 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Seems I struck a nerve. Rule No. 1  When you tell stories of your glory days on an anonymous forum be prepared for comments such as mine. You think because you had a gov job you had a better life, thanks for the laugh.

You obviously had neither............😢

[transam]

53 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

It is a weak person who makes a comment such as yours, as well as being made out of ignorance.

 

It says much about your own inadequacies and need to project. Your life is likely quite near the end, yet you are so dissatisfied with what it has been, that you feel compelled to attack those who have lived more fully.

 

Maybe time to climb in the box, because it's too late to make up for what never was.

 

 

Well said, a few on here like him...........Sadly..........

[EVENKEEL]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

You obviously had neither............😢

Neither of what? Is this going to be a my job was better than yours routine? You first.

[transam]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

Neither of what? Is this going to be a my job was better than yours routine? You first.

Well it won't be about your job, for sure..............😂

Your post was well below the belt, perhaps lay off the whacky baccy, eh ............😋

 

 

[paul1804]

Who do you think arranged and covered up the assassination of JFK and the reasons why are exactly why Trump  would reshape US intelligence agencies. Who do you think was behind the invasion of Iraq knowing the lie that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction?

What do you really believe happened in the 9/11 tragedy, 3,000 plus US citizens killed?? 

 

Lets hope Trump gets reelected so the world can be a better place!

[Roo Island]

1 hour ago, G_Money said:

Sounds like a great plan!

 

Anyone is better than the. clown’s presently in the agency. 
 

Along with the DOJ.

 

Time to drain those swamps.

Classic mantra from the MAGA crowd. Drain the swamp. Didn't happen during Trump's first presidency, definitely won't happen if he gets elected. God help us.

[Roo Island]

3 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

Who do you think arranged and covered up the assassination of JFK and the reasons why are exactly why Trump  would reshape US intelligence agencies. Who do you think was behind the invasion of Iraq knowing the lie that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction?

What do you really believe happened in the 9/11 tragedy, 3,000 plus US citizens killed?? 

 

Lets hope Trump gets reelected so the world can be a better place!

9/11? I watched the buildings fall from my condo and lived with the aftermath for months. Horrible how some suggest conspiracy theories.

[scottiejohn]

19 minutes ago, Roo Island said:

9/11? I watched the buildings fall from my condo and lived with the aftermath for months. Horrible how some suggest conspiracy theories.

He better renew his tin foil asap!

[HuaHinNew]

"During his first term, Trump made no secret of his desire to reshape intelligence agencies to better align with his political agenda."

 

Well, I thought it was already aligned with a political agenda now, liberal leftists at the top of most of the agencies.

 

Based on the all the skulduggery that has gone on under the Biden administration.  

 

Please it ok to be Trump haters, but stick to facts not your feelings.........

 

 

[animalmagic]

36 minutes ago, Roo Island said:

Classic mantra from the MAGA crowd. Drain the swamp. Didn't happen during Trump's first presidency, definitely won't happen if he gets elected. God help us.

They want to drain the swamp so they can convert it into a sewer!

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, Social Media said:

The prospect of a second Trump presidency is sending shockwaves through the intelligence community, with concerns mounting over the potential for unprecedented politicization of intelligence agencies. Former officials from Donald Trump's administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, warn that a second term for Trump could see a renewed effort to overhaul the nation's spy agencies, with far-reaching consequences for the credibility and independence of American intelligence.

Speaking of American intelligence how is Uncle Joe these days?

[Cory1848]

43 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

Who do you think arranged and covered up the assassination of JFK and the reasons why are exactly why Trump  would reshape US intelligence agencies. Who do you think was behind the invasion of Iraq knowing the lie that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction?

What do you really believe happened in the 9/11 tragedy, 3,000 plus US citizens killed?? 

 

Lets hope Trump gets reelected so the world can be a better place!

Conspiracy theory much? To imply that what happened on 9/11 was propagated by anyone other than those who actually did it, al-Qaeda, is to spit on the graves of the 3,000+ Americans and others who died on that day. Shame on you.

[ThailandYoda]

5 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's ironic how when one retires his prior employment becomes so much more exciting than what reality really was. I'll bet you're a hero in all your afternoon naps.

And every expat is ex-CIA or Navy SEAL. There were 500 Navy Seals in Vietnam & I've met all 10,000 of them in SEA

[digger70]

The prospect of a second Trump presidency has the intelligence community on edge.

 

Probably they are scared that DT find some more Wrongdoings in their community.

I hope DT comes Back and Sort it out .He's got the guts to do that, Not   Zombie JB.

[Roo Island]

55 minutes ago, HuaHinNew said:

"During his first term, Trump made no secret of his desire to reshape intelligence agencies to better align with his political agenda."

 

Well, I thought it was already aligned with a political agenda now, liberal leftists at the top of most of the agencies.

 

Based on the all the skulduggery that has gone on under the Biden administration.  

 

Please it ok to be Trump haters, but stick to facts not your feelings.........

 

 

Most of the leaders of the military are Republicans. Like Mueller.

[Roo Island]

1 minute ago, digger70 said:

The prospect of a second Trump presidency has the intelligence community on edge.

 

Probably they are scared that DT find some more Wrongdoings in their community.

I hope DT comes Back and Sort it out .He's got the guts to do that, Not   Zombie JB.

Drank the kool-aid

[herfiehandbag]

Frankly it has the "perhaps less intelligent community" (including myself) somewhat on edge.

 

If he becomes President I suspect that it will result in a United States of America which simply will not be trusted by much of the word.

 

For some of the later part of my long (if inglorious) military career I worked closely, at times very closely, with US forces. What was noticeable if you thought about it then, and in retrospect is much clearer, is that whilst they pushed for complete access to the "chain of command" within their allies, they were reluctant to open themselves in the same way to their allies. 

 

With Trump in charge I suspect that will become much more evident.

Edited February 27 by herfiehandbag

[Wrwest]

35 minutes ago, ThailandYoda said:

And every expat is ex-CIA or Navy SEAL. There were 500 Navy Seals in Vietnam & I've met all 10,000 of them I SEA.

When first retiring to Thailand I was told that most, if not all were either mercenaries, missionaries or misfits. Nothing in my background of the first two so I am figuring I am a misfit.