Wither the CIA?

The recent resignation and replacement of the head of the Central Intelligence Agency brings into focus once again the Battle of the Bureaucrats. This battle has been going on for at least the past 60 years within the U.S. intelligence, military, and diplomatic community. Once contained primarily to the State Department, this war broke out into several fronts during that time. These front include the Department of Defense and the CIA.

The course of the war illustrates the term "status quo". To American Apparatchiks status quo means safe and comfortable. To the inaction orientated and risk abhorrent men and women in the gray flannel suits that means they can go about their personal business of moving up to the next rung in their organizations pyramid.

Connecting the dots over time shows how damaging to this country it can be when civil servants become apparatchiks. Whether it is Alger Hiss, Iran intelligence failures in the Carter Adminstration, or failure to fully prosecute the war against Islamic jihadists in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, or other countries, whole organizations lose credibility at home and the respect of our allies and enemies abroad.

Whether the former director of the CIA was defeated or demoralized by the current bureaucracy the result is the same. Another victory is notched by those who, if not actually wishing to see the USA go down in battle, don't really care about anything but their own personal agenda. Those who wish to move up in rank will watch what is happening and will likely become the next generation of "do nothings". We will all continue to suffer these fools.