Trump Denies Intelligence Report (again…)
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a draft report regarding President Trump’s travel ban. The intelligence report which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal and Associated Press, stated that the "country of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity." The report also stated that in the past six years, foreign-born individuals who attempted to strike in the U.S. came from twenty-six different countries. This determination essentially means that Trump’s travel ban, if reinstated, will not be effective in stopping terrorism. If the travel ban is rewritten and keeps nationality as a criteria for banning travel, it will also be ineffective in stopping terror. The report disproves the Trump administration’s main argument for implementing the travel ban. Other criteria must be used when gathering intelligence and determining who constitutes a terror threat.
The Trump administration requested the report, but sought to downplay it when they did not like the report’s determinations. A senior administration official said, “The president asked for an intelligence assessment.” The official went on to say, “this is not the intelligence assessment the president asked for.” (AP & Fox News) DHS spokeswoman, Gillian Christensen, stated the draft report is not a final comprehensive report. (AP & Fox News) This means that it is a work in progress which is not yet complete and has not been expanded to an interagency report. For President Trump to publicly denounce intelligence because it does not support his political agenda is dangerous to our national security.
Does President Trump realize that the many leaks his administration has experienced are directly linked to the amount of time he spends questioning the credibility of his own executive agencies? His own behavior is causing the leaks.
