Former CIA European chief : Politics hurts agency

The increased politicization of the CIA is hindering the effectiveness of the agency, as evident by the misinformation that led to the Iraq war, said Tyler Drumheller, former chief of the CIA European Division, who spoke on campus Thursday. Speaking to more than 100 listeners in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Atrium Building, he discussed the ongoing process of politicians becoming more involved in agencies such as the CIA and the troubles that follow as a result.\nDrumheller worked in the CIA for 25 years under four different presidential administrations before his retirement in 2004. Drumheller's book was released last week, titled "On the Brink: An Insider's Account of How the White House Compromised American Intelligence." The book expands on his experiences with the CIA, namely his last few years when the Bush administration used what turned out to be an untrustworthy informant known as "Curveball" as the central justification to send troops into Iraq. \nDrumheller emphasized that the book is not a knock on the Bush administration, stressing that politicians were gradually becoming more involved with the CIA during his tenure.\n"(The CIA) has young officers that are really doing hard, dangerous work that's necessary for this country to protect itself," Drumheller said. "We owe it to them to handle the intelligence that they provide properly and that it's properly used." \nDuring the lecture, Drumheller explained how the information that Curveball provided was integral for the United States to obtain a mandate from the United Nations to send troops into Iraq. Even though those who spoke with the informant felt he was a fabricator and his information had inconsistencies, the Bush administration chose to use his information rather than what was gathered from the UN inspectors who went into Iraq, Drumheller said.\n"The best intelligence came from the UN inspectors," Drumheller said. "They did a terrific job, but nobody wanted to believe it."\nDrumheller then discussed that only after former Secretary of State Colin Powell used information from Curveball in an attempt to attain a mandate did the government make a conscious effort to discover if Curveball was a legitimate source. When they eventually discovered that the informant, who Drumheller at one point described as a 'hustler,' was unreliable, the war had already been well underway. \nDrumheller concluded the lecture by reemphasizing why it is so dangerous for politicians to constantly be involved with agencies such as the CIA, and how the intelligence that these agencies provide is intended to be a tool to prevent fighting, rather than start it. He said the information, whether good or bad for the politician, should not be compromised to spread someone's agenda.\n"(Politicians) need to use intelligence and not disregard it if it's not what they wanted to see," Drumheller said. "It's always better to talk than to fight. The second a war starts, (the CIA) failed." \nHis opinion about politicians needing to have minimal contact with their agencies was well received by those in the audience.\n"Policy-driven intelligence usually ends poorly," junior Jim Handley said. "Hopefully our government can learn from past mistakes so we don't repeat them"