Editor’s Note: The ongoing debate over the intelligence involving the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee is highlighting a lot of other underlying issues when it comes to our Intelligence Community, what we expect from them, and how policymakers use the information they gather and assess. Congressman Adam Schiff, in his open letter to the Intelligence Community, quotes Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who wryly said, “there are only policy successes and intelligence failures.” The Cipher Brief will keep this conversation going by offering differing perspectives as we move into 2017.
Today, and every day, tens of thousands of you are working across the nation and around the globe to keep our leaders informed and your fellow Americans safe. You do not trumpet your achievements from the rooftops. There are no public accolades for the terror plots that you disrupt, for the drug cartels you help to take down, and the vital political information that you uncover. There are no welcome home ceremonies and parades with high school bands and local officials when you return from duty overseas. And when you lose a colleague, you grieve in private.
It seems at times that it is only failure or controversy that brings you from the shadows to the front pages, and that those whom you serve do not always stand with you. Director (of National Intelligence James) Clapper, whom I greatly admire, often wryly observes, “there are only policy successes and intelligence failures.”
As someone who has served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for almost nine years and who is proud to be the Ranking Member of the committee, let me assure you that there is deep appreciation in the halls of Congress, within the Executive branch, and among the general public for the work that you do. That support runs broad and deep. I have had the privilege to meet many of you both here and overseas and have been universally impressed with your dedication to your mission, your commitment to the rule of law, your sacrifice, and most of all, your unwavering patriotism.
Yours is a profession that carries many risks. Every time I visit CIA or NSA, I am reminded that intelligence is not free, and that you continue to pay with your lives to protect us. Most Americans do not realize, for example, that the first American killed in Vietnam, Spec. James “Tom” Davis, was an Army Security Agency soldier (a SIGINTer under the authority of the NSA), or that our first casualty in Afghanistan, Johnny Micheal Spann, was a CIA paramilitary officer.
In the wake of Russian hacking into our political institutions, the intelligence community is once again in the political crosshairs. Your mission was to provide policymakers with the best, most objective, and most comprehensive information possible about the Russian intervention, but it must seem that you are now being denigrated for doing so. This is deeply regrettable and a problem or our making, not yours.
The information you have provided of Russian malign actions in the United States, Ukraine, Syria, and elsewhere is of the utmost importance. As we investigate the most consequential Russian cyber operation in our history, we must continue to rely on the professionals in the intelligence community to share their insights, evidence, and analysis. As always, you must be willing to express your objective analysis whether either political party, the Congress, or the President likes it or not. That is your obligation, and that is what makes your work so indispensable.
I urge you not to be disheartened by the political tumult that has engulfed the rest of official Washington. Our nation has weathered worse turmoil in the past only to emerge stronger, and we will do so once again.
Your contribution remains more important to our national security than ever. From the White House, to the Executive Branch agencies, and to Congress, our leaders rely on your work to guide decision-making – diplomatic, economic, and military. Every President since Harry Truman has counted on the men and women of the intelligence community to be his eyes and ears, and I have no doubt that the incoming Administration will come to value your work, expertise, and insight – to be successful and keep the country safe, there is simply no other way.
Over the next two weeks, tens of millions of Americans will travel for the holidays. Others will pack football stadiums across the country for college bowl games. Millions more will crowd shopping malls across the land. Because of your work, they will travel safely, root for their favorite teams, and join in community gatherings to light a Menorah or sing Christmas carols.
On behalf of my colleagues on the Intelligence Committee and in the full House of Representatives, and on behalf of the American people, thank you for all that you do to secure the blessings of liberty.
Sincerely,
ADAM B. SCHIFF
