Trump’s Soviet Approach to Intelligence
Stalin ignored his spies when their findings contradicted his assumptions. Now the president is making the same mistake.
A national intelligence apparatus is only as effective as those who act on its findings.
Ample money and resources, scientific and analytical expertise, and networks of sources around the world are useless in a post-truth environment—a world in which personal preference, tribal loyalty, and feeling count for more than data, proof, and facts.
As a case in point, look no further than our new friends, the Russians.
For a good portion of the past 80 years, Soviet and Russian intelligence collection and subversion efforts were superior to those of the U.S. In the early years of the Cold War, the Soviets had infiltrated almost every critical institution in the U.S. and Europe, while we didn’t have a single agent
