James Clapper
The Guardian
What holds, and what fails, under pressure, standards and accountability.
James Clapper is a seasoned intelligence officer with decades of experience in national security. This interview reveals his deep concern for the fragility of democratic institutions and his dedication to ensuring their stability in challenging times.
“Bob, we actually go back to when I served as director of DIA and then Bob was director of CIA and then Dual Hat as Director of Central Intelligence. And he's a friend and actually a mentor of mine. And it was he who asked me to understand.”
“Well, a lot. I will tell you that the biggest single force for change in the intelligence community has been technology. That is what has brought huge change just to the intelligence community. And we've gone from a situation where there's consistent dearth of information to an abundance of information.”
“Oh, absolutely. I mean, this is regrettably comports with Russian tradecraft. And this is a case study in the skillful use, I might add, effective use, because I think what he's doing is sticking in a court of public opinion, which is regrettable. But this is a patented Russian, and before that Soviet technique.”
“It's hard to know, but presumably at least that justification for invading Iraq wouldn't have been there. Maybe it would have been invaded anyway, I don't know, but at least the intelligence wasn't the excuse or justification for it.”
The Axe Files with David Axelrod — Ep. 247 — James Clapper
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE