[Goose]

 We get satellite images and intercepted communications from which we try to piece things together and guess what Russia will do next. Little reliable human intelligence. 2) Russia fell of the table as an intelligence target in the mid 90s and hit the floor in the Obama administration. No priority, no money, and all the Russian experts retired. We know much less today than we did during the Cold War.

I could say something, but I think it violates the Terry Rule.  So, I’ll keep my thought hidden in my glove, also called a Mitt……..

To be clear, my comments were not intended as a political statement. The US has many intelligence needs and can only allocate so many resources. The evaluation that China was more of a potential problem than Russia and required more resources was/is rational IMHO. Terrorism also has drawn resources it did not draw during the cold war. Those are just facts. Could the last 5 Presidents have done a "better job" of allocating intelligence resources? In hindsight, for sure, but intelligence is about foresight, and that is lots harder. Had I made a political statement, it would have been kind to no one.
EDIT: Oops, I forgot about our current president. He hasn't been there long enough to evaluate his allocation of intelligence resources. The 5 I am referring to are the 5 before him.

[Goose]

 We get satellite images and intercepted communications from which we try to piece things together and guess what Russia will do next. Little reliable human intelligence. 2) Russia fell of the table as an intelligence target in the mid 90s and hit the floor in the Obama administration. No priority, no money, and all the Russian experts retired. We know much less today than we did during the Cold War.

I could say something, but I think it violates the Terry Rule.  So, I’ll keep my thought hidden in my glove, also called a Mitt……..

To be clear, my comments were not intended as a political statement. The US has many intelligence needs and can only allocate so many resources. The evaluation that China was more of a potential problem than Russia and required more resources was/is rational IMHO. Terrorism also has drawn resources it did not draw during the cold war. Those are just facts. Could the last 5 Presidents have done a "better job" of allocating intelligence resources? In hindsight, for sure, but intelligence is about foresight, and that is lots harder. Had I made a political statement, it would have been kind to no one.
EDIT: Oops, I forgot about our current president. He hasn't been there long enough to evaluate his allocation of intelligence resources. The 5 I am referring to are the 5 before him.