Donald Trump Plans Revamp of Top U.S. Spy Agency

[Amaryllis]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Wall Street Journal

President-elect works on restructuring Office of the Director of National Intelligence, tweets again his doubts that Russia hacked Democrats
By Damian Paletta and
Julian E. Barnes
Updated Jan. 4, 2017 9:48 p.m. ET

WASHINGTONPresident-elect Donald Trump, a harsh critic of U.S. intelligence agencies, is working with top advisers on a plan that would restructure and pare back the nations top spy agency, people familiar with the planning said.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-officials-frown-on-donald-trumps-dismissal-of-u-s-intelligence-1483554450

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[Trust Buster]

1. Nixon resented the CIA at his own peril as well. They will amass much damaging info on Trump.

[TeamPooka]

2. Exactly what Putin would do. nt

[TomCADem]

3. I Can Understand Streamline, But Pare Back?

After 9/11, the U.S. has not had a major foreign planned terrorist attack during the past 8 years. The most prominent attacks have been home grown, lone wolf type attacks. Indeed, in light of foreign cyber-attacks, there is an argument that U.S. cyberwarfare capabilities should be improved, as well as the U.S. cyber-infra structure. This "proposal" seems more like a pretext for covering-up and retaliating for disclosures that Russia helped Trump win the Presidency.

Worse, if a terrorist attack were to occur, rather than trying to figure out who planned it, I can see Trump simply using such an attack as a pretext for oppressing minorities.

[world wide wally]

13. It's never talked about so I am wondering how many terrorist plots Obama has foiled.

I think quite a few.

[olddad56]

4. maybe Tramp's boss will just replace the CIA with the KGB.

I would imagine that most of them will be former KGB agents soon anyway.

[Amimnoch]

19. KGB? More like the Sicherheitsdienst.

Even the KGB was setup by a government effort, but let's see... What historical intel service was designed, setup, and implemented as a matter of will of a singular, cult of personality leader? The Sicherheitsdienst is the only one I can think of right offhand.

I'm sure it's just paranoia though. Surely such an altruistic, and bipartisan team player like Trump wouldn't dismantle US intel solely for intel that he could control and manipulate. It's not like he has any tendencies towards megalomania.

[yuiyoshida]

20. Exactly what I said...

two great minds, yada yada yada..

[GP6971]

5. To put it midly

this country is in a world of hurt with trump at the helm.

[Hekate]

6. Isn't this the agency that fired Flynn for cause? So now he's putting Flynn in charge of it?

Trump has an unbelievably chilling way of exacting petty vengeance on behalf of himself and his friends. So far every proposed appointment is of someone long-devoted to the idea of destroying the department or agency they are supposed to run.

[ffr]

7. Rookie move. This is after all a spy agency, dealing in covert operations.

dRumpf would be well advised to watch his back from now on. Garbage trucks in front of your tower will do little.

[TomCADem]

16. No Different from Proposal to Bar NASA from Ciimate Research

Sometimes, you do not want to know the truth.

[keithbvadu2]

25. " Garbage trucks in front of your tower" - Good one!

NYC should do that for 'security' that Trump does not want to pay for.

[Zambero]

8. Let's have Charlie Manson revamp the U.S. prison system

After all, he must have serious doubts that he actually ordered his followers to murder all those people.

[Historic NY]

9. If he was a target, perhaps he wants them to be mute..

screw with them at your own peril Donald.

[OldRedneck]

10. QUICK!!! Someone call Trump . . .

Macy's closing 100 stores, laying off 10,000!!!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/01/04/macys-delivers-disappointing-holiday-season-plans-to-cut-6200-jobs/

Sears closing 150 stores, laying off ??????
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sears-closing-150-stores-213148758.html

Where's The Trumpster when we need him to save American jobs???

[ffr]

15. ha-ha-ha

[C Moon]

11. Why is Trump a harsh critic of US Spy Angencies?

Because we haven't had another 911 yet?
I hate this fucker, and he isn't even officially president.
I sure hope smart people are keeping count of his actions.

[GoCubsGo]

26. It's called "gaslighting."

Instead of owning up to the circumstances that are making his upcoming presidency illegitimate, Comrade Trump is trying to delegitiimize those who exposed those circumstances. This is his M.O., as well as that of the vast majority of the others in his ratfucker party. They did it with the media, as well. Don't like the news? Shoot the messenger.

[Kablooie]

12. I keep saying, Trump WANTS the US to be attacked by terrorists.

He wants a 9-11 kind of disaster so he can play the hero and be given free reign to curtail all American freedoms and wield the military without oversight.

It would be the beginning of him consolidating his power over the country just as his idol Putin did in Russia.

Sure he would be blamed by a segment of society but in the middle of a crisis no one could do anything about it.
By the time the crisis simmers down he will have the ability to shut down any of his enemies.

He has to be put down soon or we will find ourselves trapped in a real Orwellian 1984 world.
We are headed that way right now anyway with the GOP propaganda machine controlling so much of our media.
Trump just needs one good, terrifying catastrophe to implement a total coup.

[Sunlei]

18. I agree, Republicans want to group up with Russia and attract terrorist 'revenge' attacks on the USA

I personally do NOT want Republicans to make America hated again because of our military mass crushing other countries.

Republicans don't let Russia/Assad scrape off their horrific slaughter of thousands of innocents in Syria on the USA

[world wide wally]

14. It makes me wonder why Comey and the FBI wanted Trump in so bad

[kentuck]

17. One more attempt to distract and divert our attention from something very important

Nobody knows what it is??

But Donald seems to have an idea?

Did someone find out how much he has invested in Russia? Is it really as "disproportionate" as Don Jr said?

Or is it something much more subversive?

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Here's some re-reporting of it, not behind a firewall:

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Trump's advisers are working on restructuring the CIA, cutting back its headquarter's staff and pushing more agents into posts around the world. The CIA has declined to comment on Trump's plan.

"The view from the Trump team is the intelligence world has become completely politicised," an individual close to the Trump transition told the WSJ. "They all need to be slimmed down. The focus will be on restructuring the agencies and how they interact."

Lt Gen Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, and Representative Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick for CIA director, are reportedly helping him draft the proposed changes. Pompeo is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee next week, The Hill noted.

Trump also allegedly wants to tap former Indiana Senator Dan Coats as his director of national intelligence. Coats, who was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, did not seek reelection in November. According to The Hill, it is the director of national intelligence's job to help facilitate the sharing of information between the US' 16 intelligence agencies.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-administration-plans-overhaul-top-us-intelligence-agencies-amid-russia-hacking-standoff-1599375

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the ODNI "has played a crucial role in coordinating and integrating intelligence and breaking down stove-pipes."

He said in a statement that while it is "appropriate" to continue to ensure the office is running properly, "any move to arbitrarily slash the office will diminish its effectiveness and reverse many of the important gains we had made since 9/11."

"Moreover, to propose changing the CIA's operational structure because of loose allegations of politicization -- claims based on nothing more than the Agency's willingness to contradict the President-elect's preferred version of events -- would be a mistake of the highest order," he said.

Trump earlier Wednesday sided with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s claim his organization did not obtain stolen documents it released during the 2016 race from Russia.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/intelligence/312759-trump-to-revamp-intelligence-agencies-report

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. Go in through Google News. You can bypass the paywall that way. NT

[OnlinePoker]

23. A new slogan for a new era - from a poster on Reddit.

"Loose Tweets Sink Fleets"

[keithbvadu2]

24. "pare back" - Putin is getting his money's worth out of his investment in Trump.

[tavernier]

27. The new KGOP

Run by professionals.

[Augiedog]

28. Just a part of the Russian wish list. More coming, like the rest of the Ukraine as starters.

[DonViejo]

29. Locking...

Duplicate of http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141655791