Angry Veteran

And what a room the JIC floor was: a cross between the bridge of the Starship Enterprise and a cubicle farm. At the helm, on 24-hour watch, was the Deputy Director of Intelligence (DDI). And there I was, his faithful second in charge, the Assistant Deputy Director of Intelligence (ADDI). Monitors and projection equipment surrounded us. Down the rows of cubes full of analysts, the ceiling itself sprouted huge flat screen televisions. On the main wall, five or more feeds could be displayed.

What were we watching? Translated broadcasts of Al-Jezeera? Copies of tapes made by leading analysts and historians on our area of responsibility? Anything at all that would help the J2 get into the mind of the enemy and create an atmosphere of critical thinking?

No.

We were watching FOX news. FOX fucking news. We were in a permanent feedback loop. FOX news couldn't wave the flag fast enough and praise the military and the administration hard enough. We, in the fucking INTELLIGENCE CENTER, were watching news about how great we all were.

Once, I actually asked if we could change the channel to (*gasp*) PBS because they were interviewing Muqtada al-Sadr - a key figure at the time, and still today. People gave me shit for changing it to PBS. As if I were a communist for wanting to hear what one of the local leaders was saying - instead of just having sunshine blown up my ass by the spokesmodels on FOX.