First, the National Intelligence Community is filled with type B introverts who were, in all likelihood, picked on in high school but now that they are inside the Intelligence Community they feel like they have POWER! If you look at how the military is structured, say in a Battalion or Brigade, the S-2 (Intelligence) is NEVER the same or higher rank than the S-3 (Operations) or in higher commands, the S-5 (Plans). The reason for this is that intelligence is subordinated to Operations and Plans. In fact on a Combatant Command Staff, the J-3, J-4, J-5 and J-7 all outrank the J-2. Intelligence exists to serve the needs of the Commander and the Operations and Plans Staff because Intelligence DOES NOT make decisions, but ONLY provides information to support the decision-making process. After 9/11/2001 and the passage of the Patriot Act and the creation of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Intelligence Community was promoted on par with those departments and agencies which are charged with decision-making and the execution of national policy. This was a BIG MISTAKE!
When I was the Director of Deep Operations in a US Army Corps and later the Director of Targeting in two Combatant Commands, I would hand pick intelligence officers from the disparate intelligence departments/sections to brief me daily on enemy intent and actions. I would NOT allow any of the three to hear the others' assessments. In almost every daily briefing I received three different assessments. I found there was some truth in each assessment but I also found there were some significant flaws in each assessment. As the head of PLANS AND OPERATIONS, it was my job to determine which parts of these assessments were correct and which were not so that I could put together a winning plan. This is an example of how the Intelligence Community worked prior to 2001, but after, it became a power that usurped the authorities of those who should have always been the decision-makers.
President Trump, among all of the other things he needs to fix, needs to restructure and DEMOTE the Intelligence Community back into its appropriate role!
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When I was the Director of Deep Operations in a US Army Corps and later the Director of Targeting in two Combatant Commands, I would hand pick intelligence officers from the disparate intelligence departments/sections to brief me daily on enemy intent and actions. I would NOT allow any of the three to hear the others' assessments. In almost every daily briefing I received three different assessments. I found there was some truth in each assessment but I also found there were some significant flaws in each assessment. As the head of PLANS AND OPERATIONS, it was my job to determine which parts of these assessments were correct and which were not so that I could put together a winning plan. This is an example of how the Intelligence Community worked prior to 2001, but after, it became a power that usurped the authorities of those who should have always been the decision-makers.
President Trump, among all of the other things he needs to fix, needs to restructure and DEMOTE the Intelligence Community back into its appropriate role!