Hill reported last week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would cancel 83% of the US International Development Agency (5,200 contracts in total). Rubio also explicitly thanked the government's efficiency and “his staff who “worked very long hours” to achieve USAID reforms.”
Like the Watergate scandal that ended the Nixon administration, it often requires pursuing money to uncover corruption. To borrow a phrase that Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein uses frequently, “This is much worse than Watergate.”
Cutting, trimming and rebuilding the CIA is off to a good start, but not perfect.
In my recent book, “Twilight of Shadow Government: How Transparency Kills a Nation,” co-authored by a former CIA officer with whistleblower Kevin Shipp, we look into the malignant effects of institutional politics. From manipulating economic benefits to shaping media narratives, the CIA reach goes far beyond collecting intelligence. We explore recent efforts such as historical programs like Operation Mockingbird, which paid journalists to plant stories in journalists, and the seemingly benign “Global Engagement Centre.”
USAID has long been operating as a CIA clipping, providing cover for the institution to expand its influence overseas. Through USAID, institutions build what is known as “capacity” abroad by establishing managed media outlets or funding so-called charities. A reduction of 83% in USAID's budget would systematically dismantle the institution's capabilities to expand its reach to these countries.
Ultimately, we propose 12 steps to reform the CIA. It starts with an important first move. It's about breaking through the agency's secret secret shield and taking control of hidden budgets.
The origins of the CIA shadow
When President Harry Truman created the CIA in 1947, he intended to make it function as an intelligence reporting agency – essentially a daily briefing service for the president. But Allen Dulles, the agency's first director, had a much broader vision. During World War II, Dulles tried to negotiate another peace with Nazi Germany, aiming to establish SS chief Heinrich Himmler as Adolf Hitler's successor. Luckily, the plan was never successful.
But Dulles' plot continued. He sidelined the concerns of presidents like Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Even Truman became famously worried OP-ED release In the Washington PostIn December 1963, he urged President Lyndon Johnson to eliminate his ability to engage in the CIA's secret operations.
What once had leftist status in the 1960s and 1970s now forms the core philosophy of the Trump administration, bringing together figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tarcigabad, and Elon Musk. The key to understanding today's crisis is not only exposing corrupt individuals, such as Allen Dulles, John Brennan, and James Clapper, but dismantling systems that allow them to gain power and act.
Reducing corruption
Musk plays an important role in this effort. Corruption and misconduct exist in every group, but the real challenge is to minimize harm. The solution is transparency. Information must be made public so that the public can make an informed decision whether to reject information or accept people in power.
The Daily News Cycle offers a variety of examples of transparency promised by Trump and Musk, whether Musk accidentally attempts to sell secret CIA facilities in northern Virginia or a purge of recently hired CIA executives.
Cutting, trimming and rebuilding the CIA is off to a good start, but not perfect.
To solidify these interests against fraudulent institutions, Congress must establish effective oversight of the CIA for the first time. Lawmakers who pass strict security investigations must be allowed to dig into the agency's operations and the CIA must stop overclassifying relevant information based on “national secrets” excuses.
To provide trustworthy information to the president, you need strong intelligence services. But we also need intelligence agencies that are subordinate to private governments and not so. President John Quincy Adams once warnedventure “International search for monsters to destroy.”
We must stop eternal wars abroad and attacks on personal freedoms at home. Transparency is the only answer.
