Intelligence: What Is Old Is New Again
June 4, 2021: Back in early 2020 nine of the eleven four-star generals commanding the regional commands (like Centcom for the Middle East and Africom for Africa) sent a joint, and confidential letter to the American intelligence community pleading for evidence of Chinese and Russian misbehavior to be released to them, and the public, more quickly. The delays, or restriction on sharing such evidence had caused serious problems for the regional commanders. This was especially the case when delays involved satellite photos and evidence collected electronically, that the regional commanders could use to expose Russian and Chinese disinformation. Without that, the Chinese and Russians succeed in their media-based efforts to avoid responsibility for lies and bad behavior they are clearly guilty of.
Complaints about the American intelligence agencies refusing to share vital information with the troops, or their commanders, in a timely fashion is nothing new. In the early 1990s commanders of American forces that led a coalition to oust Iraq from Kuwait complained in open testimony before Congress about this problem, which the troops solved themselves a decade later when commercial satellite data became widely available to the public through commercial ventures like Google Earth. Even Islamic terrorists quickly realized how useful photo satellite data could be when they were discovered using it to plan attacks, often on American bases. Those complaints about delays in providing crucial intel information to the troops who needed it never went away and the latest complaint from senior commanders is the most recent example. The confidential letter was recently leaked after the intel community responded to the complaints, after nearly a year, and said they were looking into it.
https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20210604.aspx
