CIA Yanks 19 Docs ‘Compromised’ By Leftist Activism

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe ordered the retraction of 19 intelligence products following an independent review that found the documents failed to meet regulatory standards of tradecraft and quality, the agency announced Friday.

Redacted versions of three documents obtained by The Federalist showed that the analyses promoted left-wing ideology, took sides on domestic political disagreements in foreign countries, fell outside of the CIA’s official role, and were sourced to left-wing media, nongovernmental organizations, and nonprofit groups. This commitment to advancing leftist activism appears to span at least three presidential administrations beginning in 2015.

“There is absolutely no room for bias in our work and when we identify instances where analytic rigor has been compromised, we have a responsibility to correct the record,” Ratcliffe said in a statement. “These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis.”

In one 15-page intelligence assessment published in October 2021, the CIA dubs organizations that have historically “lauded motherhood and homemaking as women’s most important responsibility” as suspect, especially because those groups reportedly “recorded an increased number of female recruits.”

Another document — a World Intelligence Review (WIRes), bulletins that are often distributed to “several hundred senior Executive and legislative branch policymakers” on a daily basis — raised concerns that too many children would be born in countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, and Pakistan if Covid disrupted the distribution of condoms and other contraceptives. That particular review relied on data provided by abortion giants and activist groups such as International Planned Parenthood Federation, Guttmacher Institute, and Marie Stopes International to draw such conclusions. 

A third document, published in January 2015, advocated the launch of LGBT academic programs in North African and Middle Eastern universities. The WIRe also asserted that Middle Eastern and North African governments’ “tough stance” on LGBT people and issues is “driven by conservative public opinion and domestic political competition from Islamists, and is hindering US initiatives in support of LGBT rights.” 

The decision to remove 17 intelligence documents and substantially revise two more comes after the nonpartisan President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) audited 300 analyses spanning the last decade to ensure they met the agency’s standards. It is unclear how the 300 documents were selected for the audit. Intelligence Directive 203 requires the CIA to produce intelligence products that are accurate, objective, impartial, and “independent of political consideration.” The CIA declined to answer whether the individuals who created and distributed the flawed documents faced any disciplinary action. 

The intelligence assessment about female involvement in “white racially and ethnically motivated violent extremist” (REMVE) groups defined its targets as women who “may not openly advocate violence” but “amplify” narratives regarding perceptions of racial hierarchy. Admitting its assessment was limited by “minimal reporting” and reliant on “open-source reporting,” it listed “traditional motherhood” as a “white REMVE goal” and said females were emerging as “key players” to advance that goal.

The assessment also suggests that “white REMVE-sympathetic women” use “blogs, videos, or other online content under the guise of cooking tutorials” to facilitate conversations or promote content the CIA deems alarming. These videos, the document claims, “feature discussions about the importance of organic food alongside subtle narratives about racial purity and the defense of white European heritage.”

The file titled “Women Advancing White Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist (REMVE) Radicalization and Recruitment” does not list evidence of any violence attributed to the women considered by the CIA to be “perceived threats.”

The CIA relied on reporting from The Atlantic, owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, a major Democrat donor, and encouraged others to use similar “strategic messaging campaigns” that focused on “limits to [female] authority” in targeted groups. A senior CIA official said the assessment was a prime example of how analysts should not spend their time.

“The intelligence products we released to the American people today — produced before my tenure as DCIA — fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned,” stated Director Ratcliffe.