The CIA's War

Editor's Note: Today's newsletter goes out before the bell.

Geopolitics: The Moscow terror bombing yesterday struck a subway station right next to FSB (new name for KGB) headquarters. The location of the attack sent a clear message: Russia’s intelligence agency is the bad guys’ main enemy, not the Russian Army. A similar message came out of a recent Pentagon update of its planned offensive in Kandahar. The Pentagon is saying that it needs more intelligence and less firepower to secure the city. In fact the Pentagon is now saying there won’t actually be an offensive in Kandahar in the traditional sense of the word, rather a massive armed infiltration.
The salient feature of the Cold War was nuclear weapons. In many ways the US Air Force was the most important branch of the armed services back then. The Air Force is the least important branch in the Long War. Originally the Pentagon had the Air Force operating drones. This has proven to be impractical and drones have since migrated to the Army and the CIA. In truth the Long War is the CIA’s war. It is vastly more important than conventional forces. What it needs the most is darkness, which is to say no oversight and no civilian meddling. Think of the CIA as a free market economy that flourishes best without interference.