Nothing To See Here

As the dust settles on the intelligence gaff by the current administration and the ongoing spin cycle, let's address what this truly is and what it signifies. Beyond being a significant violation of established protocols for handling classified information, it demonstrates either a complete disregard or a lack of understanding of these long-standing protocols. The "above the law" culture of this administration is evident in their handling of the situation. Initially, they denied it ever occurred, then shifted the blame to someone else, and finally claimed that no classified information was even discussed on the chat. In essence, they suggest there's nothing to see here!

Gathering, processing, and disseminating intelligence is a complex task. It incorporates advanced systems such as satellites and various sensors. However, the most crucial element of the process is the people involved—those who collect the information and those impacted by it. This intelligence breach by the administration exposes people on both ends of the intelligence cycle as well as our allies. I am certain that the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) is highly concerned about the careless handling of classified information by those involved, as it may likely compromise some of their assets. Nobody should know how important it is to properly handle classified information than the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Yet, in their testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, both appeared completely incompetent and unprepared for their roles. Unsurprisingly, some of their responses were even combative. A few weeks ago, the DNI essentially stated that anyone leaking classified information would face full legal prosecution. Now, there's an intelligence leak by the SecDef, who shared operational details of upcoming strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen on an unsecured platform. We'll have to wait and see if her remarks were intended only for the rank and file while excluding those in leadership.

This intelligence breach was a major mistake and cannot be spun differently. Classified or highly sensitive data was shared on an unsecured platform. However, the administration will try to minimize it by highlighting the operation's success. The current Secretary of Defense and Director of National Intelligence lack the necessary background, experience, and qualifications for their positions--they are simply unqualified! Their roles are too critical for on-the-job training due to the high stakes of national security. I worry that we will face more of these mistakes in the future and can only hope they are not catastrophic for US in general. But more specifically, I am concerned about how these errors may impact the dedicated intelligence professionals and those directly responsible for executing the operations. The lack of competent and experienced leadership will cost them the most and they deserve better!