Ever wonder why U.S. diplomacy fails? Or why the U’S; gets into such geopolitical messes worldwide? The answer seems obvious. Bad intelligence, doctored up intelligence and simply lack of reliable information.

During the Cold War, the U.S. had the CIA, one of the world’s premier intelligence organizations only second to the somewhat more efficient KGB.

Presently, the CIA has been reduced to the status of a bureaucracy weakly struggling for survival. No KGB master spy could have dreamed of achieving such a success.

After the end of the Cold War, Russia reorganized its intelligence services. It split the KGB into two organizations: The SVR in charge of foreign intelligence and the FSB, responsible for internal security. The smaller GRU (Military intelligence) remained the same.

In the U.S. ,little by little, intelligence organizations proliferated  to fifteen. Yes! Fifteen  bureaucracies fighting for turf out to destroy each other. The main enemy target being the CIA.

Why the CIA?

It all started with gadgetry and great advances in electronic surveillance. Officers in the field who cultivated, recruited and ran spies, often at great risk to themselves were replaced by gizmos. The organization became more bureaucratic with more people working in headquarters. Humint (human intelligence )  was frowned upon and neglected.  On 9/11, the FBI had more agents in New York City than the CIA had in the whole world.

After 9/11 the great attack on the CIA began. It wasn’t the SVR, nor Bin Ladin, nor other enemies of the United States. The attack was led by the White House and the Pentagon where entrenched Neocons like Chenney, Wolfowitz Rumsfeldt and others took advantage of the CIA’s weakness to decapitate it. A massive exodus of experienced intelligence professionals were either forced out or left voluntarily. The White House wanted a pliant CIA  that would provide the Administration with convenient information to provoke a war with Iraq.

The decapitation of the CIA has been largely successful. At the moment less than 30% 0f analysts and field officers are proficient in foreign languages. It makes one wonder what else are they deficient in.

To complete the inability to gather intelligence, there is a proposal to replace the CIA chiefs of station with members of other intelligence organizations. Thus, a case officer working for the CIA could be reporting to ATF or NSA, Pentagon, or State Department.

How can an institution operate like that is anyone’s guess.

At the moment, the U.S. is a blind giant. For its gathering of HUMINT it has to rely on what other intelligence services tell it. Euphemistically calling it liaison operations.

The fact that this is all happening is scary not only to Americans but to other responsible nations who rely on the stability of the United States.