As a follow up to A Science of Politics, some of the questions raised find an answer in the book ‘The Assault on Intelligence’ 2018, by Michael V Hayden, former director of NSA and CIA. Taking up the pen to decry the black hole which opened up in civil discourse with the election of Donald Trump, Hayden opines on the failings of the incoming president to heed the advice of the IC(Intelligence Community). Like any person deeply entrenched in his vocation, Hayden fully believes his Christian-leaning views are correct, merit worthy and sanctified. His assertions attempt to ring fence the limits of propriety which were overstepped during the Trump era, by portraying an image of the IC being more 'intelligent' than those they report to. Of course in Trump's case, any intelligence evaluation counts for little, he rolls his own dice.
For Hayden, Trump is the bad guy, deluded, deceitful, and in cahoots with Russia. To be fair he probably is a lot of that. With his mouth in gear, and his brain in neutral, his presidency was iconoclastic for all the wrong reasons and lowered the bar on statesmanship from a commonly accepted fairytale façade, sending it into the gutter where a drooling well-dressed bar-fly could now meet the entry criteria for American political office. Conversely Hayden rates Obama for the most part a good guy cos he treated the IC with mutual respect, whilst Bush was bad because he was not able to process the information they fed him. Again, the question arises as to what sort of so-called democracy allows candidates of such poor character anywhere near the levers of political power?
The Assault On Intelligence attempts to paint Russia (and other ‘messianic’ nations like Iran or Afghanistan which must be brought ‘under control’) as evil empires brutally rogering the apple pie of American virtue. Hayden squeals like a child whose little brother snagged the bigger scoop of ice cream that the interference by foreign nations breaks some kind of holy covenant of international decency. However, in the Spy vs Spy arena, there are no rules - lying, cheating, deceiving, double-crossing and manipulation are the tacit rules of the game, play it how you like. Likewise politics/geopolitics are played with similar sneaky subversiveness. America has been pissing down everybody’s back for the past century and churlishly seems to believe the rules of engagement should be more respectful when applied to itself.
Deception has been the stock and trade of spy agencies for as long as they have existed. At one time their actions happened behind the spooky curtain, only revealing themselves in rare moments which verified an event that was formerly known only as conspiracy theory. Unfortunately covert operations have spilled into public view all too many times, so nowadays the term conspiracy theory is only wielded as a social admonishment to demonize challengers to mainstream thought. Hayden develops some kind of high ground preaching that only he and his agencies are the ‘one source of truth’ (special thanks Jancinda, barfff!). In another clanger, he claims “the ‘Deep State’ simply does not exist”. Perhaps he has trouble with the description, or is simply not able to see his own reflection - a true spook you may say? The Deep State by my reckoning is a term for the good ol boys beavering away out back to destabilize foreign governments, create militias which become terrorist organizations, inflame religious hatred, force third world nations into debt slavery, assassinate communist dictators, run drugs, hide pedophiles and manipulate the media ...ohhh, and to let the president know its all for the best. Hayden assumedly must see his role as the more sophisticated political end of Deep State dirty work judging by his writing, whilst moaning about Trump not kowtowing to their directives. Hayden claims in a boastful manner at the start of the book to applaud an admission in a Congress hearing that they had ‘wire tapped’ Trump, suggesting this unprecedented political intrusion as an acceptable extension of their mandate as secret service agents.
So which is it Mr Hayden, are you a servant of the government, or are you above the government? Are you working for the good of the nation, or do you have your own independent agendas?
In the same book Hayden also goes to great length to malign the Hunter Biden laptop story as some kind of looney conspiracy theory. This is possibly the tacit main aim of his book? Hayden was one of the fifty-one signatories who signed a declaration prior to the 2020 election to say the story was ‘fake news’. We now know Hayden was lying in this testimonial, thanks to the release of all the data from said laptop. There is no more stark an example of fraud, at the highest level, committed by ‘The Deep State’, for political purposes, acting to undermine the sitting president. Trump or not, the actions of those fifty-one high ranking past and present IC leaders are contrary to the principles they purport to uphold.
The concept of ‘truth’ was already buggered n bleeding in the post Trump era, then the pandemic kicked in causing it some kind of identity crisis. Any quack with a political inkling or a major platform was able to represent themselves as an expert so long as the rest of the rabble would back them up. The cross-pollination of ‘fact’ with enforcement saw science bound and gagged in favor of government decree. Any questioning of experts was maligned as antisocial at best, but more often viewed as treasonous usurping of authority. Views which didn't align with the big brother narrative parroted to the masses was to be tamped down and labelled conspiracy theory, or anti...(vax, mask, science). This is the type of rhetoric Hayden summons to push his views, and likewise as cover for his falsifications.
In ‘Laptop From Hell’, Miranda Devine details the exploits of Joe Biden’s trainwreck son, Hunter. From the life of privilege set up by Joe Biden, a Delaware senator, on the take for over half a century, to the debauchery of a dimwitted drug addict son, Laptop From Hell is a non-stop tale of shady offshore shell companies with money laundered via Hunter who just happened to gain high-paying appointments to the boards of foreign entities which needed daddy’s help. The hapless Hunter has been the patsy bag holder for Sleepy Joe’s influence peddling from the moment he finished university with immediate appointment to a faux role paying double his fathers salary. High earnings, low responsibility and no talent meant Hunter could indulge in endless partying. A constant supply of booze, hookers and drugs eventually led to a crack habit which he finds hard to kick. At one stage Hunter was paid $4M to sit on the board of Burisma (Ukrainian energy company) a role which required him to show up to a few meetings and little more. (no surprises why the Biden administration is so keen to support Ukraine) Perhaps a little more surprising is the other notable kickback scheme involving the Bidens buddying up with China, supposedly a sworn enemy to the US economy. If there is one thing which transcends politics, it is wealth opportunism.
So we have two opposing narratives here. One is hearsay from a proven liar who attempts to distort the mainstream belief to cover for political shenanigans, and the other taken from actual hard proof in the form of Hunter Bidens laptop, linking both Hunter and Joe Biden to hundreds of felonies, yet barely a single charge is levelled upon them. Seem a little one sided? (full content of the laptop and breaches of law is also documented here)
The perfect storm is now brewing as election time approaches. If you are prepared to believe that a barely mobile, blank-eyed, demented kiddy-fiddler is potentially electable as team captain for another four years, then you are the perfect voting citizen, and I have a bridge to sell you. Likewise, if you believe a divisive cretin more concerned with his personal brand than political responsibility is befitting of the presidency, then democracy itself has little further to fall. This is a tale of two party strategies, one united behind a pantomime of self debasement, and the other so desperate to hold the reins of power that they must promote someone they despise. One party so blatantly corrupt they must prop up 'Weekend at Bidees', hoping the curtain won't drop, and if it does they will likely bury him deep along with their sins. The other party will shrink from their maniacal master, working at opposite agendas believing their own actions to be in the better interests of democracy. One party united in collusion, the other fragmented by internal dissent. These are institutions which rely on the people's belief that the political structure is sufficient to maintain order. If that order falters or it comes under pressure, decisive and credible leadership delivered with poise will be the last gasp opportunity to pacify the mob. Lets suppose another financial crisis hits, another 'pandemic' spontaneously arises, dubious election vote counting causes civil unrest, or the promised internet failure hits, will the half baked pleas of decrepit idiots fronting for vapid institutions be likely to pacify the deplorables?
So what’s my point? Considering once more the question of how much power does the US President have, and how is it distributed beyond that position, Hayden makes a clear argument in favor of his beloved Intelligence Community. His narrative suggests there are multiple channels feeding information, instructions and creating distortions which can be absorbed by the President, then acted upon, or not. Within the past two US Presidential administrations have been two opposing mechanisms of action - Trump, who would not take instruction, and Biden who has no idea what instructions he is being handed. Or is it worse than that?
Does the IC drive the whole show? The ‘intelligence’ itself is political, the aim is to influence, the players are partisan, their actions are tribal, the targets are subjective, the code of conduct is contradictory, and the mission creep is unbounded. Why maintain these agencies at all? …because they fulfil the role of storm bringers to the fertile arena of fear porn. A more likely unfortunate spectre is possibly one layer deeper than this. The greed of super-elite wealth is known by its lust for chaos as it drives profits their way, irrespective of the the dancing monkeys fronting the show, or the expendables being torn apart in the streets. "Give me control of the money and I care not who makes the rules" as Mayer Amschel Rothschild is noted for saying. Wrestling with the phony façade of politics is a fools errand if attempting to view it from the infinite greed of those who have practically infinite wealth. Could there be a better way?
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