Brennan, Trump, and Russia: Bloody Noses

By Stephen BryenJuly 22, 2017

Former CIA Director John Brennan has given an interview in which he made three points about the Russians and President Donald Trump. In reverse order:

• Mr. Trump is a very selective consumer of U.S. intelligence and rejects what he does not like or support. This creates problems within the U.S. intelligence establishment and, to some degree undermines the CIA’s credibility abroad.
• Regarding cyber operations to respond to Russian attacks on the U.S. electoral system, he noted that it was important in the Obama administration to avoid a cycle of actions and retaliation that in the end would just be disruptive.
• Russia’s intention in attacking Hillary Clinton’s campaign, in Brennan’s view, was to bloody Mrs. Clinton before she was elected in the hope of making her a weaker President. Though unstated, it appears that Director Brennan, who says the Russian operation was directly ordered by Vladimir Putin, believes that Putin regarded Trump as much less of a threat to Russian interests than Mrs. Clinton.

It is a rather odd conclusion, but one that has merit nonetheless. It is odd because unlike Mrs. Clinton, Donald Trump favored a very strong U.S. military and significant increases in U.S. defense spending. That was not a position of Mrs. Clinton or of the Obama administration, though she claimed she wanted to do more than Obama. Why is it, then, that Putin would favor a president leading a reinvigorated U.S. military?.......... Read more

My Take - Since the intelligence agencies have demonstrated their outright corruption is there some reason why any President would accept their reports without question?