December 6, 2017
Secret Spy Network created to protect and report directly to President Trump and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Will this network serve America or an individual?
Is there a danger of this network going rogue and loyal to President Trump only?
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The scary answer to the above questions is "possibly."
There was a recent article written in The Intercept by Matthew Cole and renowned war reporter Jeremy Scahill, who wrote a book on private security firm Blackwater (since disbanded). It makes sense that Scahill would be involved with this article. He is a self-pronounced expert on the former Blackwater firm and its founder, former Navy Seal Erik Prince (whose sister is the current Department of Education Secretary in the Trump cabinet). Mr. Prince now runs a consulting firm from Hong Kong, with a Chinese firm providing a partial equity stake in the company. Additionally, the former intelligence official, and disgraced Reagan administration official Oliver North is a consultant for this plan, which makes me believe this is more than a benign idea. This network would not be required to share their information with the wider U.S. intelligence community. I would hope this new group is not going to move forward with regard to this type of selfishness, because not sharing information between law enforcement and spy services led to a collapse of necessary information which eventually led to Al Qaeda operatives attacked the United States on September 11th. It would be very sad for this secret unchecked network to form and operate, which would mean as a country, those elected to serve and protect the nation have not learned a single thing. Additionally, this secret network would not adhere to the Constitution and serve an individual rather than the nation.
This new idea by White House staff is a dangerous path that the country is being led down to. I am not sure why Republicans would want to go along with this. What happens when a Democrat retakes the White House? Will the GOP go along with this now that the opposition has access to its own secret intelligence group? The authors at The Intercept sought on the record affirmation, but sources told the authors that there is no concrete support for this plan, although investigative questions asked to the National Security Council denied any such plan. There is no real definitive proof either way that this plan is going forward. Although, with the involvement of Erik Prince (and his former associate and CIA veteran John McGuire), who has operated a private security force since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, my hunch is that he would run the secret intelligence group.
The Trump White House does not operate under the parameters of previous administrations. This idea would seem to have merit, once one looks back on the previous year of President Trump's policies and methods.
I am very troubled by this issue. Since America is a very divided country, and conspiracy theorists on both sides of the political spectrum create wildly inaccurate ideas that have no merit, there is no way to determine how this secret group will function. I am worried that this secret group will spy on Americans and members of the "official" intelligence community. Since President Trump is a paranoid and insecure man, the idea of this rogue intelligence group is something I feel he will get behind. No telling what this group, and the intelligence apparatus that serves in a legitimate capacity for Congress and the White House do if there are two different conclusions regarding a serious foreign policy crisis. If the White House tells the press that there was no rendition of a suspected terrorist in a country that will not allow extraction and the secret intelligence group that is authorized by Trump administration to go ahead and gets that individual out of that country. That could cause a massive crisis, and might affect serious blowback that will harm Americans throughout the world and inside the United States.
The Intercept article goes on to state countries where Erik Prince's security firm already operates, which include Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, Egypt and part of the African continent. Prince prefers to operate with vague contracts that include plausible deniability, according to the authors (Cole and Scahill). If there are two intelligence services operating throughout the world, one official and the other rogue, it will lead to massive problems for the reputation of the United States with its allies and will be used against it by its enemies, notably Russia and China's intelligence operations.
This idea is not going to be a good initiative for the foreign policy of the United States. The country is already divided, and this will exacerbate tensions between Democrats and Republicans, and members of the State Department, the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. I sincerely hope that Congress does its job and investigate whether this plan is just a pipe dream or a dangerous idea that is taking flight. It will cause problems and expedite the dangerous tensions that are simmering within the populace. If the Mueller investigation does not yield the results that Democrats are hoping for, the Republicans will feel that it was nothing more than a political witch hunt, and they might be open to having President Trump to operate outside the parameters of Congress. The future of the country hangs in the balance. I pray President Trump does not move forward with this dangerous idea.
This new idea by White House staff is a dangerous path that the country is being led down to. I am not sure why Republicans would want to go along with this. What happens when a Democrat retakes the White House? Will the GOP go along with this now that the opposition has access to its own secret intelligence group? The authors at The Intercept sought on the record affirmation, but sources told the authors that there is no concrete support for this plan, although investigative questions asked to the National Security Council denied any such plan. There is no real definitive proof either way that this plan is going forward. Although, with the involvement of Erik Prince (and his former associate and CIA veteran John McGuire), who has operated a private security force since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, my hunch is that he would run the secret intelligence group.
The Trump White House does not operate under the parameters of previous administrations. This idea would seem to have merit, once one looks back on the previous year of President Trump's policies and methods.
I am very troubled by this issue. Since America is a very divided country, and conspiracy theorists on both sides of the political spectrum create wildly inaccurate ideas that have no merit, there is no way to determine how this secret group will function. I am worried that this secret group will spy on Americans and members of the "official" intelligence community. Since President Trump is a paranoid and insecure man, the idea of this rogue intelligence group is something I feel he will get behind. No telling what this group, and the intelligence apparatus that serves in a legitimate capacity for Congress and the White House do if there are two different conclusions regarding a serious foreign policy crisis. If the White House tells the press that there was no rendition of a suspected terrorist in a country that will not allow extraction and the secret intelligence group that is authorized by Trump administration to go ahead and gets that individual out of that country. That could cause a massive crisis, and might affect serious blowback that will harm Americans throughout the world and inside the United States.
The Intercept article goes on to state countries where Erik Prince's security firm already operates, which include Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, Egypt and part of the African continent. Prince prefers to operate with vague contracts that include plausible deniability, according to the authors (Cole and Scahill). If there are two intelligence services operating throughout the world, one official and the other rogue, it will lead to massive problems for the reputation of the United States with its allies and will be used against it by its enemies, notably Russia and China's intelligence operations.
This idea is not going to be a good initiative for the foreign policy of the United States. The country is already divided, and this will exacerbate tensions between Democrats and Republicans, and members of the State Department, the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. I sincerely hope that Congress does its job and investigate whether this plan is just a pipe dream or a dangerous idea that is taking flight. It will cause problems and expedite the dangerous tensions that are simmering within the populace. If the Mueller investigation does not yield the results that Democrats are hoping for, the Republicans will feel that it was nothing more than a political witch hunt, and they might be open to having President Trump to operate outside the parameters of Congress. The future of the country hangs in the balance. I pray President Trump does not move forward with this dangerous idea.
