In The Trump “White” House: No Spies Matter.

How Trump’s Attack on US Intelligence, Defense and Investigative Agencies May Kill Us

Photo: This portrait of Virginia Hall, the one legged WW2 OSS officer who spied behind German lines in occupied France, adorns the walls of the CIA HQ building. Or does it? (Photo: CIA)

One of the proudest moments in my multi-decade career in US intelligence came when I was just 25 years old. A terrorist attack had taken dozens of US citizens hostage and left one dead on the runway of a Middle Eastern airport. He was killed simply because he was an American citizen in the Armed Forces. By sure, happenstance, I was on duty when this operation started, and for the next two weeks, I would spend 16 hours per day collecting every scrap of intelligence I could. Along with my army, Air Force, and Marine Corps brothers and sisters, we dedicated every waking moment to ensuring that the other hostages would be freed. Most importantly, we believed that getting accurate and timely intelligence to the person sitting in the seat of the presidency of the United States was our sworn duty. In doing so…