The CIA Transformed by DEI

By | January 6, 2025

[January 6, 2025]  America’s national intelligence agencies, under normal times, struggle to produce actionable intelligence to prevent attacks upon our citizens and infrastructure. With the advent of a race and sex-based DEI ideology, they have effectively destroyed their ability to conduct their mission. This is according to Bernard Hudson, former director of the CIA’s counterterrorism section.

Hudson published an insightful article addressing the dangers of DEI in the American Mind less than two weeks ago. I recommend reading it in its entirety.

“This task [mission] is made considerably harder when lockstep adherence to a fringe political ideology is imposed upon the workforce tasked with carrying out this challenging mission.”

Unfortunately, this is where we are today. Hudson points to the CIA’s Chief DEI officer, who convinced the agency to promote agents based on three criteria; only one relates to the mission. The other two are on unclear DEI mishmash.

“It’s ironic that a CIA created to oppose the Soviet Union would embrace the ideological straightjacket that is DEI, an enterprise that uncomfortably mirrors the USSR’s political commissars.”

Hudson has made an important point with his comparison. He notes that these commissars, like DEI activists within the CIA, push “endless purity tests and … breeds endemic cynicism among government workers.”  Workers play along, and like in the Soviet system, it has accelerated agency-wide institutional incompetence.

In measuring the CIA’s mission effectiveness, he outlines three conclusions.

  1. DEI is a quota system masquerading as equal opportunity. Researchers are obsessed with studying the effect of DEI’s vague standards, and individual promotions are based on conformity to the ideology. This ensures that the least qualified are given promotions, better assessments, and opportunities for the “greater good.”
  2. DEI drives the idea that the CIA itself is oppressive and unfair. In doing so, DEI drives a grievance culture. This provides tools to challenge a merit-based promotion system. This means that senior managers are evaluated based on how aggrieved employees see them, rather than on mission effectiveness.
  3. DEI provides a path to upward mobility for those not experienced in operational aspects of the company. This combined with a grievance-seeking culture, creates an “informant culture” that seeks out alleged noncompliance.

DEI is a dangerous fringe ideology that hinders our intelligence community and crushes morale, while driving away the best and brightest.

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Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

24 thoughts on “The CIA Transformed by DEI

  1. Otto Z. Zimmerman

    Sir, thank you for highlighting Mr. Hudson’s article. I enjoyed reading the full article. And I see he thank you for doing so. 😁

    Reply
  2. Bernard Hudson

    Dear General Satterfield,
    Many thanks for your generous comments.

    Bernard Hudson

    Reply
  3. Cow Blue

    OUCH ….
    “It’s ironic that a CIA created to oppose the Soviet Union would embrace the ideological straightjacket that is DEI, an enterprise that uncomfortably mirrors the USSR’s political commissars.” – Bernard Hudson, former director of the CIA’s counterterrorism section

    Reply
    1. Max Foster

      Did you expect anything different from a feeble, weak man. Joe Biden is not just the worst president in US history (and thank you Jimmy Carter for living to see this), but Biden is also EVIL – Evil with capital letters. He destroys with every stroke of the pen.

      Reply
  4. Harold M. Smith II

    So sad that so many of our most needed and most trusted institutions that were created to help protect us are actually attacking us because of our political or religious beliefs. The push for them to attack people in America for valuing American values is astonishing. I’m not smart enough to know how to fix the problem of the CIA and other such woke agencies but I pray to God that the new incoming administration will fix the problem. President-elect Donald J. Trump will hopefully put an end to this and so the CIA can refocus on their original mission.

    Reply
  5. Gail Hamilton

    This is no longer shocking as Pres. Biden has weaponized the legal system against the “greatest threat to mankind” which he says is “white supremist” and so he had to send the justice institutions after “them.” Whoever “them” is are those who are in the Conservative movement. Of course, we are those who are most patriotic and least likely to be pulled into his neo-Marxist woke ideology. The world is going to be a much better place when Joe Biden finally retires. Thank God he will be gone now on Jan 20th.

    Reply
    1. Lynn Pitts

      Nailed it, Gail. Thank you!!!!!!!
      ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

      Reply
    2. Bryan Z. Lee

      What the American people do not know is who is running our country. It certainly is not Joe Biden. He doesn’t even know where he is or what he is doing. Someone is pulling the strings and that is a scandal of the greatest magnitude. yet, our politicians seem more interested in giving themselves a raise and patting themselves on their own backs. Democrat Biden fortunately is killing his own Democrat Party.

      Reply
  6. Navy Vet

    Well said, Gen. Satterfield as there is always great value in calling out an evil ideology whenever they pop up.

    Reply
  7. Velvet_Glove

    As an Army vet – 1980-1984 – I want to put on record how disgusted I am over Biden’s weaponization of the judicial system. The leaders of those agencies had dramatically failed the American people. And, frankly, the is no excuse for it. On top of that Biden and Obama before him infected these institutions with an immoral virus called DEI. And now they are failing totally under the collapse of their own systems. Many need jail time to atone for the injustice they have wrought upon American.

    Reply
  8. Rowen Tabernackle

    We should get Sadako Red on the case. He’s an expert on the corruption of the FBI and I’d like to hear what he has to say about the CIA and their DEI ideology destroying their ability to carry out their sworn duties to support and defend America. He would be great.
    https://www.theleadermaker.com/?s=sadako+red

    Reply
  9. Joey Holmes

    Good article summary. Thanks for that. Like so many who can see thru this insipid, despicable, lazy-encroaching ideology of Didn’t Earn It (DEI), I’m beginning to wonder if it is here just to make some rich folks a lot of money. Like George Soros who is an anti-civilization, anti-American and recently given our nations highest award to by the worst president US history. Joe Biden is an EVIL man and nothing will change that fact. Gen. Satterfield wrote about this years ago when comparing Trump’s vs Biden’s leadership style. Here is the link (the most popular article by Gen. Doug Satterfield ever):
    https://www.theleadermaker.com/leadership-comparison-biden-vs-trump/

    Reply
    1. Jeff Blackwater

      Just another way to be praised for racial and sex discrimination against white men.

      Reply
      1. Jack of Spades ♠️

        Nailed it. But, Jeff, I think there is more to this horrific situation when DEI and this whole Woke ideology is introduced. There is something that allows it to dig into our psyche and entrench itself deeply. Perhaps one day, psychologists will tell us the story of how so many ordinary and many smart people were utterly and completely duped by a simple idea that is so terribly wrong and destructive.

        Reply
        1. Eduardo Sanchez

          JACK, I agree with you. Something else is going on and we are not being told about it.

          Reply
  10. erleldech

    Sir, let us hope that this neo-meta-Marxism ideology is wiped out by Donald Trump’s pick for the next CIA director. What I cannot understand is how this ideology – so destructive on its face – gets so ingrained in a workplace with experienced adults. Maybe someone, some day will explain that to me.

    Reply
    1. Wilson Cox

      You got a great question. Over and over, I ask myself the same question n I think part of the answer is that it is easy to self-proclaim you allegiance to this ideology because you are automatically put on the moral high ground and then you feel superior to all those untermensch folks like those in flyover country. This ideology is easy for me to see. Why so many fall for it is absolutely nuts. 👍

      Reply
  11. John Hoover

    So unfortunate for America, yet those senior leaders are misleading their agents down an ideological path that is the antithesis of American values.

    Reply

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