Rep. Barr: Intelligence in the Age of Trump

This is a president who openly and personally attacks the leaders and employees of the agencies in the Intelligence Community. In turn, some of them respond by attacking him, and on it goes.

Despite Henry Stimson’s naïve and dangerous attitude against intelligence gathering, reflected in his pre-World War II statement that “gentlemen don’t read each other’s mail,” intelligence gathering always has been an accepted and vital component of our nation’s conduct of military and foreign affairs. This was recognized clearly by George Washington, who during his service as Commander in Chief of the Colonial forces during our War for Independence, relied often upon secret writings secured by a handful of brave colonial spies in his decision-making. Washington also punished severely those who betrayed that trust.

Four factors more than any other reside at the heart of a country’s successful foreign intelligence apparatus: cunning, training, patience and trust. These are the factors on which a credible intelligence product is built. America’s top policy makers, including ultimately the president himself, rely on these in making choices affecting the lives of the country’s men and women and perhaps the nation’s very survival.

The contemporary world in which massive amounts of data are gathered continually from technology, including from insect-sized drones to phenomenally sophisticated satellites circling the planet, can go only so far in equipping those decision-makers with credible information on which to assess intentions of their foreign counterparts. Technology provides facts; the other half of the equation—intentions—ultimately comes from human intelligence in both collection and analysis.