44 Americans were killed by Hamas, amongst 1,200 Israelis. Hostages remain. Including Americans. In my old world of counterterrorism, this is why u go to work each day/night. With relentless indefatigable resolve. Terrorist groups and their state sponsor must not prevail.
I'm a moderate. I own guns for self defense. I dislike the NRA, as they dont represent my views. I'm for UBCs (obvious), an assault weapons ban (zero reason for any citizen to have one), and 21 year old age req to purchase (no drink, no gun). I bet big % of America supports this.
I worked 26 yrs at CIA and retired as a four star general equivalent. I never, not once, saw any partisanship from career US officials get in the way of implementing formal USG policy. This charge is bs. And I was involved in every hot spot across the 🌎. There is no deep state.
Perspective from someone who actually lived in places in the third world that had real shortages of food and other goods: stop the politicized nonsense on “empty shelves.” We sound like a bunch of hysterical spoiled children.
This will dominate headlines in Europe for days. As an American, I’m embarrassed and appalled. This is not who we are. Imagine being a US diplomat posted in Europe right now. Don’t forget – NATO militaries suffered significant casualties – fighting with us after 9/11.
Sad but true article. I worked 26 years at CIA, and met fantastic GOP foreign policy officials. I can’t think of anyone I know from the GOP, zero, with any experience, who will touch this toxic administration. Result is not a JV team- we talkin Little League. Playin in pro ball.
It’s getting ridiculous at this point. I have no f-ing idea what the IC or DoD is thinking dealing with this guy. He could not pass even a basic background check for a new employee in the intelligence community. Congressional oversight is silent. Pathetic.
Scenario likely happening overseas: An agent braces his case officer "ok, so you're telling me that the info that I'm giving you all, that can get me killed, can be just taken home by a former president? And your vaunted justice system is tied in knots? This is nuts. I quit."
Israeli intel has sophisticated technology, plus HUMINT and SIGINT coverage, that blankets the West Bank/Gaza. It's their raison d'etre. How this happened-the colossal intel failure-is incomprehensible. Having worked with Israelis, plus time in West Bank and Gaza, I'm stunned.
Zawahiri apparently the target of the successful strike. There will be many smart pieces of analysis for what this means in the global counterterrorist fight. For many of us, however, it is personal-justice finally served, as many of our friends died trying to get to this day.
The House GOP leadership (plus Trump) 's stunning failure to aid Ukraine-right now- is a moral, ethical, and national security disaster of epic proportions for the US. If this keeps up, it will take decades before anyone trusts the US again.
We should send a case of champagne over to the Israelis for this one. Aqil was directly responsible for killing US Marines, CIA officers, State Dept diplomats. The Israelis did us a solid here. Good riddance to a very bad individual.
@ghelt
I’ve been asked quite a bit over the last several hours my personal thoughts: Well, here it is. Gail is right. Assange is a Russian asset, a traitor, a rapist, who probably should’ve rotted in jail forever. Glad he served at least some time.
Correct
@Scaramucci
...What I saw my entire career at CIA in the third world....has landed right here on our shores. For those of us who lived in-and worked against-despotic autocratic regimes, it defies belief that we are now them. Only way out of this descent is to vote 11/3.
I agree, you can’t make it up. Plotting to kidnap Democratic governors. Storming government buildings with automatic weapons. Attempting to run opposition campaign buses off the road. To say it’s 3rd world country behavior would be insulting to 3rd world countries.
Dear Ron. As a former fed (someone whose throat u apparently want to slit), I for years risked my life on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and protected u and all Americans from terrorists who actually did slit throats. U r a fascist madman. Drop out and go home.
No different than Trump…except he’s got the personality of a doormat. Slitting throats of federal employees on day one? Is that a threat DeSantis? This is atrocious.
Trump: Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way. She was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country.
Ed Bogan, a former senior CIA operations officer, who follows Ukraine closely,
…told New Lines “Now would be a good time to lift the remaining restrictions and let Ukraine move towards finishing this thing on their terms.”
Repulsive BS. 1000 plus NATO died fighting in Afghanistan. For us. We had CAS from the French Air Force in eastern Afghanistan. Recall-86 members of the French military died there; over 450 Brits. I damn well appreciated their sacrifice. Does Fox not fact check Tulsi’s crap?
Tulsi on NATO: They expect us to put up the lives of my brothers and sisters in uniform to protect them when they are not even willing to do that for themselves.
Last-The top floor suites at my old employer as well as ODNI are going to find themselves very soon at a seminal moment that will cement their legacies-the need to protect the IC whistleblower. Pompeo lost State due to his disgraceful inaction. IC leadership must do far better.
Talk like this not only disqualifies u immediately from a security clearance during any USG agency hiring process, it gets you fired immediately if u have one. Say this overseas at an embassy, u r booked on next flight home. Security and the psychologist waiting for u at Dulles.
Trump says Russia is not a threat, our greatest threat is our American representatives, we need to reevaluate the purpose of NATO, and most of the people in the State Dept, DOD and Intel Services need to be fired so he can put the right people in.
I spent six weeks on this beach in OBX summer ‘12 after serving a year in eastern Afghanistan. Was my decompression time, after an intense year hunting HVTs. I returned tonite to this same beach to reflect on what occurred last night. My former agency colleagues are heroes.
To be very clear: Russian intelligence meddled in our election. It was (unfortunately) the covert action for the ages. And yes, they wanted chaos, and for Trump to win. End of story. Anyone who thinks this is bogus is an idiot. Goodnight.
The illegal actions that Trump pursued re Ukraine-well the USG officials who became alarmed, they did the right thing thru proper channels. No deep state there either.
To all on Tik Tok pushing this disgusting UBL letter narrative: me and my friends in the IC saved your spoiled rotten privileged lives from this monster. He was coming for you and your families, to gut you into pieces. So I say two things: You are welcome. And grow the F up.
You know what’s really maddening about this bin Laden letter fad?
It’s a slap in the face to folks who dedicate their lives to our security. My friends.
The average citizen doesn’t understand how fucking privileged they are to be able to live a life mostly insulated from terror
Amen. I was born in Greece. My wife in Lebanon. We worked combined 53 years for the CIA defending this country. That is the immigrant experience that I know.
AQ, ISIS and Hizballah watched stunned today as they saw how easy it was to breach the Capitol. We hav spent trillions post 9/11 on security. What an epic security fail.
I never knew the politics of 99 percent of my colleagues. Who cared, we were too busy. Did I personally agree with everything we did? Surely not. But that didn’t mater a lick. We execute as we are instructed, period. As for the Ukraine fiasco, that is far different....
As Balloonapolooza winds down, it's noteworthy how utterly stupid many were acting on twitter. Politicians posing with AR-15s pointed at the sky are just not serious people. Performative theater, deep seated insecurities, I don't know, but it frankly was embarassing. Do better.
@JoeNBC
Make no mistake-in a second Trump admin, our most critical foreign intel partners (UK, France, Jordan, etc) will shut off most info sharing. As there is simply no way they will trust us with any classified info that would endanger their own sources. And we will be less safe.
The vaccine should be mandatory for all members of the military. Period. Covid hurts military readiness, we cannot hav spreads on ships, subs, bases, etc. This is a national security issue. Same for the IC. No tdy/pcs travel without a shot. End of story.
The video-which is being celebrated on Russian telegram-is revolting. I’ve seen some awful stuff in war zones. This video disturbed me greatly. But it must be seen by every member of Congress. Every NSC staffer. By everyone at State, DoD, and the IC involved in Russia-Ukraine.
In grisly video, Russian soldier pins down Ukrainian soldier who writhes & screams. Russian then pulls out a knife saws thru Ukrainian man’s neck. Blood streams as he lets out horrible scream, then stops moving. Voice off camera cheers on the Russian who holds up the man’s head.
❗“All I wanted was to see a doctor”: Ex-CIA officer tells all about his battle with Havana Syndrome — and his former agency
@Mpolymer
speaks to The Insider.
The debate on Pelosi to Taiwan is like the original panic over arms to Ukraine. So much worry over angering our enemies. Instead, try this. Let’s show some spine against our adversaries. Show strength. 🌰 up America! My God we spend too much time hand wringing.
💯!!! We were right on Patriots. On tanks. On F-16s. On ATACMs. And we are right, again, now, on need for Ukraine to use US kit to strike targets in Russia. The admin refused each of these initially, strongly at times, and then agreed eventually. Stop this cycle of stupidity.
You don’t get to start a war then demand you’re territory be off limits.
@potus
needs to allow Ukraine to strike military or war related targets with American weapons…. In Russia.
Failure to do this prolongs this war indefinitely
Thinking this is falling under the radar today....perhaps it should not....from DOJ: Iran recruiting Hells Angels for assassination ops in the US (yes you read that right).
@KahlonRav
@dannagal
👍What I taught my kids from a young age. U c someone alone at school, or worse being purposefully isolated-u hav only one thing to do-engage and inspire with kindness. Cool thing- they still do this in their college cafeterias. When I hear these stories, I realize there is hope.
Just a quick reminder, that the Speaker of the House is a member of the gang of eight. They receive access to the most classified information in the United States government. From covert action, to our most sensitive collection. It is an extraordinary responsibility.
🚨JUST IN:
Liz Cheney warns against electing Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House:
"If they were to decide that, there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected Republicans could be counted on to defend the Constitution."
Speaking to a packed crowd at
Through most of US history, the president raising even the possibility of military deployments to overturn his election defeat would be grounds for rapid impeachment and removal.
That Congress is *not* meeting immediately about this shows how ahistorical our times have become.
I look at this is from an espionage angle: the Egyptians penetrated Congress, and had in their pocket a powerful member of Congress. Yes, Menendez should be prosecuted, but will there be any sanction on Egypt? When assets are caught, PNGs usually follow, even with allies.
If the allegations are true then Menendez is and has been a national security risk: He was giving Egyptian officials like ?s his colleagues planned to ask them in hearings, undisclosed staffing info on the embassy, and even ghostwriting their letters *to his own colleagues*
US must change course, and now …. Our current policy is grossly immoral, as Ukrainians are dying because of it, on top of being militarily stupid, allowing for Russian gains. This is a no brainer. Do it quietly, no need to announce anything, but just do it FFS.
There is now a chorus of Western officials saying Ukraine has every right to hit Russian targets inside of Russia, including with Western-provided kit.
Everyone in my informal group of former intel officials (all with experience working in the region on kinetic ops) responded, essentially, with a "whoaa." The scope of this operation was extraordinary.
BREAKING: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces on alert, raising the threat that tensions with the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
The ? of progressives supporting Biden or not-b/c of Gaza-is absurd. Clearly they will do soooo well under Trump 2 😳. I’ve never heard anything so counterproductive in my life. Biden is with them on nearly all domestic issues. Trump opposed. My goodness-grow the F up. Juvenile.
Gaza is very bad news for Biden’s re-election prospects. Young voters and progressives are a key part of the Democratic coalition. Many are furious about the administration’s support for Israel. If they stay home or vote for Cornel West, Biden is in big trouble
Glad he does. It is a life saver. FWIW, at Walter Reed, they give CPAPs out like candy. For good reason. Sleep apnea is bad news. Also, the toughest agency dude I know, former Force Recon Marine, carried one for years in Afghanistan. No shame. Biden will live much longer.
Scoop: Biden has begun using a CPAP machine, per sources. The device is to treat longstanding sleep apnea, one of the people said. As Biden departed the White House this morning for Chicago, indentations from the CPAP straps could be seen on his face. Story by
@jendeben
and me.
This caused us huge consternation at CIA...was akin to George W meeting UBL after 9/11 in the oval and sayin “my bad.” It was a terrible time for those of us working on Russia. I had sleepless nights. That there was not more outrage from the 🇺🇸 people has always been a mystery.
Notice that no one in Israel is blaming what has happened over the past 48 hours on “Biden funding the Iranians”
Nor is anyone in Israel claiming that this is good for Netanyahu politically.
These takes from abroad are way off.
My sense is that nuance on this issue is critical. Israeli intelligence is going to have to make the following call. The difference between “directing” the attack and giving the actual green light (as stated here) vs “coordinating” may be difference between war with Iran or not.
What just occurred tonite is an earthquake in the Middle East of staggering magnitude. Staggering. Any Middle East hand is sitting back right now and thinking deeply on what occurs. A seminal event. What comes next?
Friends/family on the left are asking me to tone down criticism of the admin’s handling of Afgh. That’s missing the point. For me to be credible, I need to call it like it is. Like I did under Trump. Especially when I supported Biden during the election. Integrity is all we got.
Thank you
@AdamKinzinger
, you are a great American, with ethics, honor and integrity. You have the guts to speak the truth, something that so many other GOP members who privately despise Trump are simply too scared to do..ie, the right thing. History will judge you kindly.🙏🇺🇸
I can now report that I will be speaking Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.
True conservatism has been replaced with a cult. I’ll be making that clear.
Hard to think of a time since 9/11 when the world has reacted in such fury to an international event. Putin has made a truly historic error. He is now (finally) an international pariah.
WATCH: Ukrainian President
@ZelenskyyUa
tells
@kwelkernbc
Ukraine is "not ready" to give up its "freedom to this f---ing terrorist Putin."
"That's it. That's why we are fighting."
NEW
At Trump Tower, former President Trump praises President Zelenskyy of Ukraine for not “playing cute,” during his first impeachment.
Trump says that Zelenskyy could have thrown him under the bus but didn’t and that he hasn’t forgotten that.
Sigh. I raise Aleppo once again. If I was Syrian, I’d be pretty upset at the outrage today. Where was this all when the Russian Air Force killed thousands? Fully documented btw..NY Times has transcripts of Russian pilots…
I have seen atrocities in war, committed by terrorist against others.
I’ve never seen what we’re all seeing now…a large-scale campaign of criminal acts & wanted destruction, ordered by Putin & relentlessly executed by his military.
Hell yes, these are war crimes.
As we wait for an Israeli move to Gaza, a quick pause to recognize that Ukraine has been fighting on, even as the world shifted their attention ...so DO NOT forget about Ukraine, and the urgent reqs they need to similarly prevail against evil. On that note, where are the ATACMs?
Thank u
@juliaioffe
for telling my story and raising awareness of others who r affected. This was a very difficult decision to speak out; I only wish for the USG to do the right thing and provide proper medical care for patriots who hav suffered what is no doubt a combat injury.
Remember that thing where someone was zapping diplomats' brains with an invisble weapon? What if I told you these attacks were happening on U.S. soil, including children hit in Philadelphia and a White House staffer walking her dog in the DC suburbs.
💯. The US is a world power. No one else with our military, economic and political might combined. So YES, we do both-support Ukraine and Israel, simultaneously. We stand with our allies, period. This will define who we r.
Initial reaction to Putin's speech predictable-we are falling right into his trap. An increasing tone of ominous end of days from the twitter foreign policy class. Pls stop. The only course of action is to continue/increase support to Ukraine. No hand wringing. Don't get wobbly.
I rest my case. Epic fail from the US in not providing ATACMs. The Biden administration must reverse course, this is about Ukrainians dying. There’s a moral argument here.
Yet another night of Russian strikes on Odesa, with Onyx missiles launched in plain view from Sevastopol. They wouldn’t be doing it if Ukraine had ATACMS to fire back at the launch sites.
Afghanistan will fade from the news, but process of integrating thousands of our heroic Afghan allies and their families into America is enormous. A massive grass roots effort is required. Navigating a new land. Learning English. Jobs. Schools. The hardest part is yet to come.
The US must return to our embassy in Kyiv soonest, even with just a small staff. Would send a tremendous message of support to Ukraine. Other countries now starting to head back. It is time.
@john_sipher
The idea that Zelensky should be more “thankful” borders from insulting to the absurd. We have collectively attrited 50% of the Russian military. Not a single US casualty. Russia is an enemy of the United States. Should we not, then, thank Zelensky? Profusely even.
“If Zelensky’s smart, he’d also say thank you," says a source on the Hill. "I think he had to be reminded that he had to say thank you last time.”
My latest.
Hugely important film. Pls note that there are many many of us who worked in the🇺🇸 IC, military and diplomatic corps who were repulsed by what occurred, furious at the Saudis for their stupidity and barbarism, and in the end embarrassed and ashamed at the tepid US response.
I admire Fanone. He’s out there speaking the F’in truth, cause he knows he’s right. He’s puttin himself out there, and I hope he continues to do so. It’s not easy being in the spotlight, huge anxiety and self doubt crop up. But his cause is righteous and I’m in his corner💪
😡Galactic stupidity. “Officials in certain corners of the admin., particularly inside the White House, have told the Ukrainians that the U.S. will eventually want to reset relations with Moscow and lifting the restrictions could upend those efforts.”
This is some psychotic shit. The Trump GOP wing delayed aid, for months, and hundreds of Ukrainians died. The deaths are on them. That anyone would give Trump credit for this aid package is repulsive. Graham is out of his mind, saying this.
Stop conversing. Send the ATACMs. Now. Every day costs Ukrainian lives. The DoD argument on inventory is overblown, and worries on escalation unfounded. FFS get this done immediately. Why after the GA? My god the hand wringing…
NEW: The Biden admin is in active conversations about whether to send long-range missiles to Ukraine amid an intense campaign for the U.S. to transfer the weapon, according to two U.S. officials & a person close to the Ukrainian gov
@alexbward
@paulmcleary
If there are truly 50,000 KIA in six months, an army now humiliated and on the run-I don’t care what country it is-that by definition is just a bit destabilizing, no? The notion that all is good in Moscow probably should be red teamed.
Former head of MI6 Richard Dearlove:
“Political threat which I am worried about is Trump's re-election. I think for the UK's national security it is problematic.”
Full transparency from the USG is required. I worked in the IC for 26 years and I can't remember anything like this. Either we are being invaded by aliens, the Chinese have stealth balloons all over the place, or DoD is crazy trigger happy and shooting anything that looks weird.
Can we now agree that those (few) of us who consistently argued for more/better/quicker security assistance to Ukraine ultimately were right, and the escalation fear-mongerers scared of Putin’s shadow were wrong?
I witnessed the contribution of NATO forces in Afghanistan. Helping protect the US, and our fellow Americans. And, many paid the ultimate price. NATO KIA: UK-456. Poland-40. Dutch-25. France-86. Canada-158. Italy-53. Danes-43. Trump's long standing hatred of NATO is appalling.
Jared was the US govt official in charge of the entire USG relationship with Saudi. He was it. Not the ambo. Not the COS. Not the Defatt. It was all Jared. And the Saudis just gave him 2 billion. With a B. Is that f-ing ok with anyone? Good God this is embarrassing for the US.
Stewart is a national treasure. Every official needs time in the barrel with him. It will actually make our officials better. Not to agree with him, but to be able to explain the “why.” Bring your A game. Hey, here’s an idea-he should be the moderator for presidential debates!
Exchange between
@jonstewart
and
@DepSecDef
Kathleen Hicks on the defense budget: "I can't figure out how $850 billion to a department means that the rank and file still have to be on food stamps. To me, that's fucking corruption."
Let’s review this. Kushner and Flynn suggested to Kysliak that they use Russian embassy comms-yes, u heard it, to communicate to Moscow. From the campaign. Just repeat that. And again. And again. And again. And now think about when the FBI learns of this...
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley is responding to comments by former President Donald Trump suggesting that Milley deserves to be executed for communications the general had with China.
My point: there is a cost to our core business in what has occurred at MAL, and the inexplicable rulings of this judge. She says her decision does not effect national security. Oh my. We are losing the key element in espionage operations-trust. To keep our agents secure.
A professional assessment? Ok. In my old line of work, this is called “providing cover.” A brick and mortar building above ground, that is used to hide the real intel purpose below. The notion that no one in UNRWA knew is ludicrous. Devastating for the UN.
What in the F is he talking about? The Trump admin wanted to invite the Taliban to Camp David FFS. Architect of the disastrous Doha Accords, the most shameful diplomatic agreement possibly in history.
Oh FFS. The negativity. Two things. A) no one gives a hoot about US intelligence analytic military assessments, which r so often historically wrong and b) we can effect the battlefield. And we haven’t done enough. ATACMs and F-16s.
Exclusive: U.S. intelligence says that Ukraine’s counteroffensive will fail to reach the key city of Melitopol, people familiar with the classified forecast told The Post, which would mean Kyiv won’t fulfill its objective of severing Russia’s land bridge.
The GOP war on the FBI is something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. Total lala-land. Can we hav a GOP candidate stand up and say “stop?” Thing is, they all know better. Chris Wray is a federalist society conservative. What is going on? Party of law and order?
Good overview here. What caught my attention-not only the Egyptian covert influence op, but also the Egyptian reqs regarding US staffing at embassy Cairo. That's usually designed for determining the US intel presence. Menendez is in a world of shit.
@tracy_walder
@NoLieWithBTC
He is beyond unqualified and it’s astounding anyone is taking him seriously. Democrats should be thrilled-they will win. Overall I find it just depressing as it’s an embarrassment to America and to those (on both sides) who think politics r for serious people.
If there is a legit real threat to an embassy, ANYWHERE, there is an EAC, amongst either regular or restricted country teams, and likely warden notices. Consular section or embassy may close, ie it is visible. Soooo...This line of ‘4 embassies’ from potus is looking mmm shaky😳
Trump is “totally obsessed with not letting something like Benghazi happen to him,” the official said, referring to the attack that has achieved totemic status among Trump allies.
For what it’s worth, in my circle of former intelligence officers who worked counterterrorism, nearly all believe Israel must strongly hit back at Hamas, including a difficult ground incursion into Gaza. This is not cheerleading-just professional opinions based on experience.