Reference: John Brennan’s Opening Statement — Extreme Fluff + CIA Meta-RECAP

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PDF 8 Pages: Statement for the Record to the SSCI of 7 Feb 2013 (John Brennan)

One useful insight: “Trust deficit” between Congress and CIA has never been greater.

One questionable rah rah: 103 stars on the wall. Counting Khost Kathy, at least half and probably more like two thirds are deaths that resulted from bad judgment on the part of CIA managers with more hubris than common sense.

First major promise, no chance of being honored: “If confirmed, I would make it my mission — in partnership with the Congress — to ensure that the men and women of the CIA have the training, tradecraft, linguistic skills, technical tools, guidance, supervision, and leadership they need to do their jobs. That's seven current failures, there is ZERO prospect of his getting CIA to anything better than a C- in the next three years, and much more likely he will float at a D+.

Second and final promise, no chance of being honored: “And if given the honor to serve as the 21st Director of the CIA, I would take it as a sacred obligation to do everything in my ability to make sure the Central Intelligence Agency is the absolute best intelligence service it can be and one that makes all Americans proud. Never. Ever. He does not know what he needs to know and he does not have the juice he needs to actually fix the place.

Strike One: 80% Fluff, draconian inflation and overstatement of CIA service and risk

Strike Two: Nothing wrong with CIA

Strike Three: Nothing wrong with DNI

Bottom line: Like Chuck Hagel, he has blown a chance to give his prospective fiefdom a fresh start. If he had come in all substance, leading with “drones go to the military, we are out of the drone business from the day I arrive,” and then had something serious to say about each of the CIA's mission areas, he might have mustered a tiny bit of gravitas. If he is confirmed, it is because CIA does not matter and no one cares about its future.

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