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I see where Sen. Susan Collins has announced that she’s supporting Tulsi Gabbard for the post of director of national intelligence because they share the notion that the scope of that job should be pared back to the size of its original mandate. Wow.
This is the same Gabbard who, as a member of Congress, took it upon herself to conduct her own brand of foreign policy by secretly meeting with Syria’s then president, Bashar al-Assad, acting as an apologist for the brutal murderer of his own people. It’s the same Gabbard who became the darling of Russian state media because of her unabashed willingness to be an outspoken supporter of Vladimir Putin’s false rationales for invading Ukraine.
So, let’s consider this position of director of national intelligence. The director oversees 18 intelligence agencies and is responsible for preparing the president’s daily briefings. Gabbard has virtually no experience regarding intelligence operations.
Consider also that, in the murky world of international espionage, information sharing among our allies is a crucial feature. Our national security actually depends on it.
Gabbard’s lack of experience — and her demonstrated tendency to take strong public positions based on foreign-sourced disinformation — will likely make our allies think twice before sharing sensitive information with her. And who would be pleased to see any such weakening of trust among Western nations? That fellow in the Kremlin.
I strongly urge Collins to rethink her position on this nomination. The stakes for our nation are far too high.
Gail Lynde
Kennebunk
