Shift from strategic collection and analysis

Subordinating Intelligence: The DoD/CIA Post-Cold War Relationship 

This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo bragged about bringing “swagger” to State. But, considering the anemic 2020 budget proposal and vacant diplomatic postings, “bluster” might be a more apt word. For the third year in a row, the Trump administration has recommended significant cuts to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. In the same budget proposal, the administration recommends a 5 percent increase for the Department of Defense. If Congress adopts the proposed budget, this will be the third consecutive year military spending has increased, resulting in defense consuming 57 percent of the discretionary budget. In response to the budget proposal, James Stavridis, a retired admiral and military chief of NATO, warns that excessive defense spending highlights America’s problematic foreign policy approach. Stavridis argues that diplomacy is preventive medicine that will help avoid costly surgical procedures (i.e., military operations) in the future. In Stavridis’ view, the United States has avoided the “ounce of prevention” and instead adopted a “pound of flesh” approach towards the world.

During a recent speech at Auburn University, the director of the CIA, Gina Haspel, argued that her agency has neglected state adversaries over the last 17 years to focus on the counter-terrorism fight. This was the second public speech where the director argued that a shift in CIA priorities toward adversarial nation-states is required and in America’s interest. Although seemingly two separate issues, Stavridis’ comments about excessive use of the military as a foreign policy tool and Haspel’s statements on the CIA’s need to focus more on adversarial states are actually intertwined.