Rolling Stome by Daniel Boguslaw 11/29/2024
THE DEEP STATETrump’s top intel picks, John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard, are on a collision course as Republicans plot a political takeover of U.S. intelligence agencies Political interference, mind control, domestic spying, and generally speaking, making America worse (again). These are just some of the many grievances Donald Trump and his allies have leveled against the intelligence community in recent months. They have been repeated on podcasts, on YouTube shows, and at rallies since Trump began a vendetta against spy agencies he says colluded to destroy his 2016 campaign and presidency.
Now, the full scope of Trump’s planned war on the deep state is coming into focus thanks to the president-elect’s nomination of John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard to top intelligence posts.
Taken together, interviews with current and former intelligence officers, a close read of the Project 2025 intelligence playbook, and the biographies of Trump’s top two intel picks reveal a radical, if confused, agenda for member agencies of the U.S. intelligence community. Among the proposals likely to be attempted inside the Central Intelligence Agency are a centralization of control over other agencies, an expansion of covert operations, and a shift from the War on Terror to competition with China.
Intelligence officers who spoke with Rolling Stone say that proposals like centralizing control of intelligence agencies known for infighting, scaling back zombie programs operating with little effect since the Cold War, and tamping down the War on Terror are all logical policies that would streamline agencies’ ability to advance national security.
But given Trump’s steadfast demand for total loyalty over all else, reforms that appear sound on their face have already provoked and enraged agencies bristling at the prospect of the incoming president yanking tight on their leash. “Everyone just wants to be left alone to keep running their operations without interference,” one intelligence officer said.
One way or another, interference looms on the horizon.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump sought to distance himself from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led policy and personnel program, after its highly detailed agenda drew scrutiny for its extreme proposals. Now that he’s won the presidency again, Trump has had no problem hiring several people involved with Project 2025 to serve senior roles. That includes his choice for CIA director, Ratcliffe, who was listed as a contributor to Project 2025’s right-wing policy guidebook.
More:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-cia-gabbard-ratcliffe-project-2025-1235184208/
