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30 Apr

Trump Takes His War on Intelligence to a New Level

We’ve witnessed the removal of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI); the inspector general (IG) for the entire intelligence community; and the acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). The office of the DNI currently has no official with confirmation from the U.S. Senate, a blatant circumscription of the congressional power of “advice and consent.” The DNI was removed, moreover, for allowing his deputy to brief the congressional intelligence committees on Russian interference in U.S. elections; the IG was removed for forwarding a whistleblower complaint from an analyst from the Central lntelligence Agency as the law required; and the director of NCTC, an intelligence professional with several decades of experience, was replaced by a Trump loyalist.

13 Apr

The President and His Mob: the Autopsy of Governance

The campaign against government Inspector Generals (IG) is merely the latest phase of a war against governance that has been waged for the past three years. The campaign initially was against the Department of Justice and the justice system itself, undermining the foundations of our rule of law. Trump’s war against the intelligence community was designed to politicize intelligence, which will compromise our national security.

08 Apr

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Body Politic

As the international community is consumed by the impact of Covid-19, there are signs of the impact of the pandemic on the body politic. There is change throughout the international community, particularly the decline of the influence and power of the United States; the fragmentation of the European Community; the weakening of the transatlantic system; the increased influence of China; and the dire impact on Third World countries and their refugee problems. At home, the Trump administration’s “destruction of the administrative state” has made the battle against the virus far more difficult.

07 Apr

Interview with Ian Masters

Not only has Trump fired the IG of the IC Michael Atkinson and trashed him in public, he also fired the captain of the aircraft carrier the Theodore Roosevelt for expressing concerns about a coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship. But more insidious is the move to bottle up embarrassing revelations of willful ignorance and serial incompetence by placing Grenell in as the head of the Directorate of National Intelligence with Devin Nunes’s protege Patel as his deputy. We will also discuss the warnings by the recently-fired Michael Atkinson issued in his heartfelt statement on Sunday urging potential whistleblowers inside the government that the American people are …”counting on you to use the authorized channels to bravely speak up – there is no disgrace in doing so. Please do not allow recent events to silence your voices”.

02 Apr

BBC World News Interview 10 PM TONIGHT

BBC World News would like to discuss the implications of the COVID-19 outbreak for the US military and any resulting implications for global geopolitics

02 Apr

The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen – 7 pm Tonight

I was Interviewed by Arnie Arnesen on April 1st for air on April 2nd, 2020 – streaming live at wnhnfm.org at noon and 7pm EST (M-F). Discussing “The Coronavirus and the Urgent Need to Redefine National Security” article I wrote on counterpunch.com.