Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs Page #12

SOMETHING.

Narrator:
ONGOING THREATS,

UNRELENTING PRESSURE-- THE

BURDEN OF PREVENTING THE NEX TERRORIST ATTACK TAKES A

PERSONAL TOLL.

I DON'T THINK YOU CAN GO

THROUGH THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE

OF HAVING TO MAKE LIFE AND DEATH

DECISIONS, HAVING TO EVERY DAY,

EVERY DAY READ INTELLIGENCE

ABOUT ALL OF THE EVIL THAT'S OU THERE IN THE WORLD AND THOSE

THAT WANT TO STRIKE AT US.

I DON'T THINK YOU CAN GO THROUGH

THOSE KINDS OF DAYS AND NOT HAVE

IT AFFECT YOU.

I THINK IT DOES.

IT'S HARD TO HAVE A POSITIVE

VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE.

THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF DARK

FORCES AFOOT IN THE WORLD.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO

LOOK UP AT EVERY PLANE AND WATCH

EVERY TRAIN, AND YOU THINK,

"WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

I NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT WHA CAN GO WRONG."

I DON'T HAVE A HUSBAND

ANYMORE.

I THINK, OVER THE YEARS, I HAD

JUST BECOME SUCH A ROBOT IN MY

APPROACH TO LIFE BECAUSE THA WAS WHAT WAS NEEDED ON THE JOB.

I GOT ALL THE TRAINS OFF ON TIME

AND ALL THAT SORT OF THING WITH

THE FAMILY, BUT THEY DON' NECESSARILY SEE ME AS HAVING

BEEN EMOTIONALLY PRESENT IN

THEIR LIVES.

THAT'S A HARD THING TO TAKE.

THE REASON I'M SO STRONG FOR

C.I.A. IS, I SAW THEIR DEDICATED

MEN AND WOMEN THAT WORK THERE

GET NO CREDIT.

NOT OUT IN THE OPEN AT ALL.

AND I JUST ADMIRED THEIR

PATRIOTISM AND THEIR DEDICATION

TO THIS COUNTRY.

IT WAS VERY, VERY HARD.

YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS NOTICED

SOMETHING-- WIVES OF C.I.A.

DIRECTORS.

THE WIVES ARE, TO A PERSON, OF

THE VIEW THAT THE EXPERIENCE WAS

NOT GOOD FOR THEIR HUSBANDS.

Narrator:
THE SPYMASTERS ARE

ALL TOO HUMAN-- THEIR SUCCESSES

OFTEN SECRET, THEIR MISTAKES

EXPOSED AND MAGNIFIED.

THE SCANDAL COMES AT A

SENSITIVE TIME FOR PETRAEUS AND

THE C.I.A.

DAVID PETRAEUS IS NOT THE

FIRST HIGH-RANKING WASHINGTON

OFFICIAL TO HAVE AN AFFAIR, BU HE IS THE FIRST C.I.A. DIRECTOR

TO RESIGN BECAUSE OF ONE.

THE PETRAEUS INDISCRETIONS CAME

TO THE ATTENTION OF THE F.B.I.

YOU WERE CONFIRMED IN THE JOB

BY A VOTE OF 92-0.

PRECIPITOUS FALL.

HOW TOUGH WAS THAT?

PRECIPITOUS FALLS ARE VERY

TOUGH.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SAYING IN

THE MILITARY, "THE HIGHER YOU GO

UP THE FLAGPOLE, THE MORE CHANCE

YOU HAVE TO SHOW YOUR BACKSIDE."

AND I WAS WELL UP THE FLAGPOLE

AND DID JUST THAT.

Narrator:
SOME DIRECTORS

WORRY THAT THE AGENCY'S MISSION

HAS CHANGED, THAT THE C.I.A.,

ONCE AN INTELLIGENCE AND

ESPIONAGE SERVICE, HAS BECOME

TOO FOCUSED ON LETHAL COVER ACTION.

THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT C.I.A.

TODAY HAS A MUCH LARGER

PARAMILITARY MISSION THAN I EVER HAS, GOING ALL THE WAY BACK

TO ITS ROOTS.

THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT OVER THE

LONG-TERM THAT'S NOT A HEALTHY

THING, BECAUSE THE PRIMARY JOB

OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

AGENCY IS TO COLLECT SECRETS.

LOOK, I'LL BE TOTALLY CANDID

WITH YOU.

AN AWFUL LOT OF WHAT WE NOW CALL

ANALYSIS IN THE AMERICAN

INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY IS REALLY

TARGETING.

WE'RE SAFER BECAUSE OF IT, BU IT HAS NOT BEEN COST-FREE.

I THINK THERE'S TOO MUCH OF A

TENDENCY TO GET SO CAUGHT UP IN

THE SCINTILLATING COVERT WORLD,

THAT WE FORGET THAT IT'S ON THE

ANALYTICAL SIDE AND THE

ESPIONAGE SIDE THAT C.I.A.

ACTUALLY EARNS ITS MONEY.

I MEAN, JUST THINK ABOUT THE

PAST DECADE OR MORE HAD WE NO GONE TO WAR IN IRAQ, WHAT THE

WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE.

SO... AND THAT'S AN ANALYTICAL

FAILURE.

IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU DON' KILL.

IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU DON' PROTECT YOURSELF.

THERE'S JUST A BIGGER ISSUE THA YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR ARMS

AROUND, WHICH IS THE CREATION OF

TERRORISTS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

LOOK, LET'S BE VERY CANDID.

THIS IS ABOUT ISLAM.

NOW, I'M NOT CRITICIZING ONE OF

THE WORLD'S GREAT MONOTHEISMS.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE QURAN, IT'S

NOT ABOUT THE PROPHET, BUT IT IS

ABOUT THE WAY IT IS BEING

MISUSED.

MY VIEW OF THIS, FRANKLY, IS

THAT THIS IS NOT SO MUCH

RELIGION AS JUST EVIL, AND WE'VE

ALWAYS HAD TO DEAL WITH EVIL.

I MEAN, PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO DO

EVIL THINGS, THEY MAY EXCUSE

WHAT THEY DO BASED ON JIHAD,

BASED ON THE POWER OF THE

CHURCH, BUT DEEP DOWN THESE ARE

PEOPLE WHO ARE EVIL.

CIVIL UPRISINGS QUICKLY

BECAME A TSUNAMI OF CITIZENS

ROARING FOR FREEDOM.

THERE'S BEEN A TRANSFORMATION

OF SORTS IN THE MIDDLE EAS BECAUSE THE ARAB SPRING, WHILE

IT HAS REGRESSED IN SOME WAYS,

THEY UNLEASHED A SERIES OF

FORCES THAT BASICALLY SAID, "WE

WANT A BETTER WAY OF LIFE.

WE WANT A FUNCTIONING CIVIL

SOCIETY."

SO, IN PART, THE

MESSAGE HAS TO BE TO ISLAM

ITSELF, IS, YOU HAVE TO CREATE

VIBRANT CIVIL SOCIETIES THA WORK, THAT CREATE EDUCATIONAL

OPPORTUNITIES.

BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THEY HAVE

TO DO FOR THEMSELVES.

DEALING WITH THIS

RADICALIZATION THAT'S TAKING

PLACE AMONG THESE YOUNG MEN AND

YOUNG WOMEN IS THE BIGGER

PROBLEM, AND UNTIL WE GET OUR

ARMS AROUND THAT, THIS WAR IS

NOT GOING AWAY.

THE HARSH TRUTH IS, TERRORISM

IS RIGHT NOW WORSE THAN IT'S

EVER BEEN.

IT'S THE LARGEST SAFE HAVEN

THEY'VE HAD IN MORE THAN A

DECADE WITH MONEY, ACCESS,

NARRATIVE AND TERRITORY.

I'VE COME TO THE VIEW IN DEALING

WITH BAD GUYS THAT GENERALLY YOU

SHOULD BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY.

MOST OF THEM ARE GOING TO TRY

AND DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU

THEY'RE GOING TO DO.

FOR NOW, I WOULD SAY THE ISIS'

OBJECTIVE IS TO CONSOLIDATE

THEIR POSITION IN THIS SO-CALLED

CALIPHATE, BUT UNLESS THEY ARE

STAMPED OUT, THEY'LL COME HERE.

THEY'LL COME HERE. OUR

SENSIBILITIES AND SOULS HAVE

BEEN GERARD BY THE HORRIFIC AND

WONTON VIOLENCE PERPETRATED UPON

THE INNOCENT IN THE STREETS,

CAFES AND CONCERT HALLS

IN THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF PARIS.

TO SAY WE'RE NOT IN THEIR GUN

SIGHTS REMINDS ME A LITTLE BI TOO MUCH OF PRE-9/11, WHERE

FRANKLY THE C.I.A. ENCOUNTERED,

IN MUCH OF THE WORLD, WHAT I

WOULD CALL A CLIMATE OF

DISBELIEF.

I WISH WE WOULD JUST CAPTURE

SOME PEOPLE.

I'VE GOT MORE FINGERS ON THIS

HAND THAN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE

WE'VE CAPTURED SINCE I LEF GOVERNMENT.

WE'VE MADE IT SO LEGALLY

DIFFICULT AND POLITICALLY

DANGEROUS TO CAPTURE THAT WE

DON'T.

WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE RULES

OF ENGAGEMENT ARE.

ARE WE DEALING WITH ENEMY

COMBATANTS?

ARE WE DEALING WITH CRIMINALS?

ARE WE DEALING WITH THUGS?

ARE THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT IS,

WE SHOOT FIRST?

WE ONLY SHOOT IF WE GET SHOT AT?

I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE...

THE REMEDY TO TERRORISM IS USING

THE POINTY END OF THE SPEAR,

KICKING DOWN THE DOORS, TAKING

ACTION AGAINST THE TERRORIS ORGANIZATIONS.

THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE WE CAN

KILL OUR WAY OUT OF.

YOU CANNOT KILL YOUR WAY OU OF THIS.

YOU CANNOT KILL YOUR WAY OUT.

YOU CAN'T KILL YOUR WAY OU OF THIS.

THAT'S A MISTAKE.

IT'S A MUCH BIGGER ISSUE THAN

JUST KILLING PEOPLE.

IT'S MUCH MORE COMPLICATED.

NOW WE CAN LIVE IN A WORLD

WHERE WE ALL TRY TO SEE WHO

COULD BE THE TOUGHEST, THE

MEANEST AND SO FORTH, BUT I ISN'T GOING TO BE THE KIND OF

WORLD THAT WE BELIEVE WE WAN FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FOR THEIR

CHILDREN.

I MAY BE A BIT OF A HERETIC

BECAUSE I DON'T REALLY SEE

TERRORISTS OR TERRORISM AS A

THREAT TO U.S. NATIONAL

SECURITY.

TO ME, OUR NATION'S SECURITY IS

ONLY THREATENED BY US IF WE

CHOOSE TO CHANGE COURSE AND

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