The director of the CIA, Haspel, is working hard (and intelligently) to keep us safe from threats to national...
The director of the CIA, Haspel, is working hard (and intelligently) to keep us safe from threats to national security
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CIA Director Gina Haspel addresses the audience as part of the distinguished speaker series at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville on Monday, September 24, 2018, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo / Timothy D. Easley)
In silence, without receiving much attention in the media, CIA Director Gina Haspel is working to increase the number of intelligence officers stationed abroad to provide the United States with a vital product known in commerce as HUMINT (human intelligence).
This is an intelligent move by a talented director of the CIA, someone I worked with for many years before retiring as the CIA's chief officer in 2017.
You will not hear much about Haspel, a 33-year veteran of the CIA, in the news. But you can bet that she will face some of the most important foreign challenges that the United States faces worldwide in the coming years, as a firm hand to protect our nation.
Haspel, who assumed the lead role at the CIA in May, made a rare public speech recently at the University of Louisville, his alma mater, in his home state of Kentucky.
In his speech, Haspel emphasized the crucial importance of HUMINT.
"Within the Intelligence Community, the CIA is in charge of the human intelligence mission," Haspel said, according to his written comments. posted on the CIA website. "The technical forms of collection are vital, but a good human source is unique and can deliver decisive intelligence about the secrets of our adversaries, even their intention."
The director said he is pushing "to constantly increase the number of intelligence officers stationed overseas." That's where our mission lies, as a foreign intelligence agency, and having a broader foreign footprint allows for a more robust stance. "
Haspel worked for more than three decades in the Operations Directorate of the CIA, the arm of the agency responsible for collecting HUMINT. So, she understands the extraordinary impact of HUMINT, both because of her first-hand experience as a line officer and years of senior management abroad, as well as at the CIA headquarters.
Haspel's focus on the central mission of the CIA contrasts with his predecessor, CIA Director John Brennan. He assiduously avoided the term "espionage" and was uncomfortable with HUMINT, which involves recruiting spies and stealing secrets.
In November 2015, Brennan told NPR that "we do not steal secrets, we discover, we discover, we reveal, we get, we demand - all of that."
When Brennan made these comments, which were completely separated from his predecessors, I served as CIA station chief in South Asia. The intelligence officers under my command were incredulous that our director would show such disdain for our work in defense of our country.
Brennan's comment reminded me a declaration by the US Secretary of State, Henry Stimson, in 1929, when he abolished the department's code-breaking agency, which successfully intercepted telegraphic messages from foreign governments and deciphered secret codes to know what those governments were doing.
"Gentlemen do not read the mail of others," said Stimson.
Brennan's statement sounded almost as shocking. Fortunately, it had absolutely no impact on our work.
I told my team that we would be better served if we focused on our mission in the combat zone, because the US military. The US Department of State and the president needed our intelligence to make the best possible decisions to improve our national security.
We understood, in spite of Brennan's deliberate obfuscation, that the foreign spies in our service were, in fact, "theft of secrets" in our name. And we were well aware that other nations were participating in the same type of espionage operations against the United States.
Spying is a necessity today for nations around the world. And the CIA needs to deploy its best operational trade to ensure that foreigners who spy on us are not caught in violation of the laws of their countries of origin. If they are, they would face prison, or worse.
It could be said that America faces more complex and serious threats to our national security today than at any other time in our history. Intelligence is essential to understand these threats and to present policymakers with the options to face the challenges: Iran; nuclear proliferation; cyber security; Russia; China; North Korea; and transnational terrorism.
Focusing correctly on addressing the most serious challenges of today, the CIA under Haspel's leadership must also devote its considerable talent to face the challenges of tomorrow.
This process begins with HUMINT collected abroad in the most difficult circumstances.
During his speech in Louisville, Haspel recalled his first operational act for the CIA: obtain information from a key source in Africa.
There was no doubt that Haspel's source had stolen the secrets. But our national security benefited greatly as a result.
Haspel also spoke in Louisville about the CIA's workforce. She emphasized that "our global mission in the CIA requires that we recruit and retain the best and brightest in the United States, regardless of gender, race or cultural background. And I want all officers to have the same opportunities to succeed. "
The art of intelligence is to foster an inclusive environment, which means actively incorporating different ideas, points of view and background to understand these threats and present policy makers with the best options to address them. More enlightened leaders, such as Haspel, embrace this approach and spin their judgments based on the information they actively seek.
Haspel clearly recognizes that the rich and unique melting pot of our country is an exceptional competitive advantage and a multiplier of forces for our intelligence community. Socially and ethnically diverse groups improve creativity, innovation and performance.
Haspel's approach to HUMINT and its dedication to the intelligence officers responsible for its collection reflect the effectiveness with which it is establishing a course with a strategy to manage the talented CIA workforce and its challenging mission.
When I worked at the CIA with Haspel, I witnessed his integrity, intellectual honesty and substantial experience. She focused relentlessly on ensuring that our officers received the best training in operational skills and foreign languages.
Having served so many years in the shadows, Haspel can find a transformer to deliver a speech like he gave in his alma mater. But in doing so, he lifts the veil over his commander's intention for the CIA's mission and workforce, which should be both an inspiration to our citizens and allies and a warning to our enemies.
SOURCE LINK ERESVIRAL.COM https://www.beviral.online
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