The real national security threat: Intelligence agencies in Washington, not Russian nukes in space
Washington’s Busy Day: Russian Nukes, Ukraine Aid, and Intelligence Reforms
It was a busy day in Washington on Wednesday as the intelligence bureaucracy tried to foment a national security panic over Russian nukes in space in hopes of ramming through the Ukraine aid package and killing reforms designed to curb its power to spy on Americans.
Lest you think that sounds crazy, consider the timing of the panic provocations, which came almost immediately after House Speaker Mike Johnson said he and other Republicans weren’t going to be “rushed” into approving the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. It also came at the precise moment — just coincidentally! — that the House was debating reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to expire in April, that would end warrantless surveillance of Americans, which of course the White House and intelligence agencies oppose.
The Real Threat: Political Class and Intelligence Agencies
All of it just goes to show that the most serious threat facing America isn’t Russian nukes in space or overseas terrorist plots, it’s the political class in Washington and our intelligence agencies that think they’re above the law.
Here’s what happened. On Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner issued a cryptic warning about a “national security threat” related to a “destabilizing foreign military capability” so grave that President Biden should declassify all information about it immediately. Soon thereafter, anonymous sources leaked to the press that the threat was about Russia wanting to put nuclear weapons in space.
This prompted a flood of statements from Republicans and Democrats that the threat was very serious — but not to worry, they have the situation under control. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters he had already scheduled a briefing with congressional leaders on the matter before Turner made his statement, and don’t worry, President Biden “is going to ensure the security of the American people.”
Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a helpful statement clarifying what all this was really about: “The most urgent national security threat facing the American people right now is the possibility that Congress abandons Ukraine and allows Vladimir Putin’s Russia to win.”
Intelligence Agencies vs. FISA Reforms
Meanwhile, Congress was set to take up proposed reforms to Section 702 of FISA that would put an end to warrantless spying on Americans. The intelligence agencies and the White House have been very clear about their opposition to those reforms and that they would very much like to keep spying on Americans without having to obtain a warrant. They’ve been using the press to pressure Congress to scrap the reforms. On Tuesday, the FBI shared newly declassified information with Politico revealing it used Section 702 to foil a terrorist plot on U.S. soil last year — a none-too-subtle suggestion that if they had to bother with getting a warrant, they wouldn’t be able to stop these kind of terrorist plots.
What happened next is telling. Even though the House Republicans who were pushing for the FISA reforms appeared to be winning the debate, in the aftermath of the hysteria over Russia nukes in space, Speaker Johnson pulled the bill and canceled Congress for the rest of the week.
It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to figure out what happened here. Our intelligence agencies don’t want lawmakers getting in the way of their plans. They don’t want any interruption in the flow of U.S. tax dollars to Ukraine, and they don’t want any curbs on their ability to spy on Americans.
The irony here is that the U.S. intelligence community itself has become a far greater threat to our republic than Russia or any other country. As journalists Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, and Alex Gutentag reported Tuesday, the CIA asked foreign intelligence agencies to spy on more than two dozen Trump associates as early as 2015 and share the intelligence they acquired. This surveillance operation would later be used to launch the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and craft the Russia-collusion hoax.
The Real Threat Revealed
“Until now, the official story has been that the FBI’s investigation began after Australian intelligence officials told US officials that a Trump aide had boasted to an Australian diplomat that Russia had damning material about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton,” the report says.
But in fact, the reports alleges, U.S. intelligence agencies tasked the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia — the other members of the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance — to surveil 26 Trump associates identified by President Barack Obama’s CIA director, John Brennan.
The purpose of this surveillance wasn’t to discover whether Trump associates were colluding with Moscow. It was to make contacts and create interactions with those people through the Five Eyes agencies and then report those contacts to the FBI as suspicious, thus establishing a pretext for the FBI Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
And as we all know, Crossfire Hurricane notoriously abused FISA to spy on Trump associates — to say nothing of its ultimate purpose, which was to destroy Trump’s candidacy and, failing that, his presidency.
So please, let’s not get distracted with hysterics about Russian nukes in space. Want to know where the real threat to our country is? It’s not in space or in Moscow. It’s in Washington.
How have intelligence agencies historically used fear and chaos to maintain their power and conduct warrantless surveillance?
The very institutions that are supposed to protect national security — the intelligence agencies — are acting in a way that undermines it. By creating a national security panic over Russian nukes in space, they are trying to divert attention and push their own agenda forward.
This tactic is not new. Whenever there is a threat to their power or their ability to conduct warrantless surveillance, the intelligence agencies have always rallied to create fear and chaos. They use this fear to manipulate lawmakers and the public into believing that they are the only ones capable of keeping the country safe.
But the reality is that the real threat to America lies within the political class and the intelligence agencies themselves. They believe they are above the law and can operate without any checks or balances. This is a dangerous mindset that undermines the principles of democracy and individual privacy.
The timing of this panic is suspicious. It conveniently coincided with a discussion on reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that would put an end to warrantless surveillance of Americans. The intelligence agencies, along with the White House, have made it clear that they oppose these reforms. They want to continue spying on Americans without having to obtain a warrant.
Furthermore, the panic over Russian nukes in space also conveniently occurred after House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed his hesitation in approving a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. It seems that the intelligence agencies are using this panic to pressure lawmakers into approving the aid package without questioning its necessity or effectiveness.
It is telling that Speaker Johnson canceled Congress for the rest of the week following the hysteria over Russia’s alleged nuclear weapons. This move only further solidifies the idea that the intelligence agencies do not want any interference in their plans.
In conclusion, the events that unfolded in Washington on Wednesday only serve to highlight the real threat to America: the political class and the intelligence agencies. They are more interested in protecting their own power and spying on Americans than in safeguarding national security. It is up to lawmakers and the public to remain vigilant and hold these institutions accountable to ensure the protection of our democracy and individual rights.
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