I ran the CIA — now I’m endorsing Hillary
The dangers that flow from Trump’s character are not just risks that would emerge if he became president, but they are already damaging America’s national security
During a 33-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), I served presidents of both parties — three Republicans and three Democrats. I was at former president George W. Bush’s side when America was attacked on September 11; as deputy director of the agency, I was with President Barack Obama when America killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011.
I am neither a registered Democrat nor a registered Republican. In my 40 years of voting, I have pulled the lever for candidates of both parties. As a government official, I have always been silent about my preference for president.
No longer. On November 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as America’s 45th president.
Two strongly-held beliefs have brought me to this decision. First, Hillary is highly qualified to be commander-in-chief. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president — keeping America safe. Second, Donald Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to America’s national security.
I spent four years working with Hillary when she was secretary of state, most often in the White House Situation Room. In those critically important meetings, I found her to be prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and willing to change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.
I also saw the secretary’s commitment to America’s security; her belief that America is an exceptional nation that must lead in the world for the country to remain secure and prosperous; her understanding that diplomacy can be effective only if the country is perceived as willing and able to use force if necessary; and, most important, her capacity to make the most difficult decision of all — whether to put young American women and men in harm’s way.
Sharp contrast
Hillary was an early advocate of the raid that brought Bin Laden to justice, in opposition to some of her most important colleagues on the National Security Council. During the early debates about how America should respond to the Syrian civil war, she was a strong proponent of a more aggressive approach, one that might have prevented Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) from gaining a foothold in Syria.
I never saw her bring politics into the Situation Room.
In sharp contrast to Hillary, Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander-in-chief.
These traits include his obvious need for self-aggrandisement, his overreaction to perceived slights, his tendency to make decisions based on intuition, his refusal to change his views based on new information, his routine carelessness with facts, his unwillingness to listen to others and his lack of respect for the rule of law.
The dangers that flow from Trump’s character are not just risks that would emerge if he became president. It is already damaging America’s national security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was a career intelligence officer, trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. That is exactly what he did early in the primaries.
Putin played upon Trump’s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. And Trump responded just as Putin had calculated. Trump has taken policy positions consistent with Russian, not American, interests.
Trump has also undermined security with his call for barring Muslims from entering the United States. This position, which so clearly contradicts the foundational values of the American nation, plays into the hands of the terrorist narrative that America's fights against terrorism is a war between religions.
In fact, many Muslim Americans play critical roles in protecting America — including the man, whom I cannot identify, who ran the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center for nearly a decade and who I believe is most responsible for keeping America safe since the September 11 attacks.
My training as an intelligence officer taught me to call it as I see it. This is what I did for the CIA. This is what I am doing now.
The American nation will be much safer with Hillary as president.
— New York Times News Service
Michael J. Morell was the acting director and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2013.
