A group of four-star generals, each in charge of one of nine regional commands around the globe, are urging US intelligence community leaders to declassify for intel on cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns being conducted by Russia and China, according to a report by Politico (which is not pronounced pul-LIH-tah-CYO, Tucker).
A memo from the nine officers hope to gain help from allies in detecting and combating Russian and Chinese “pernicious conduct.” Those alliances had been damaged by conduct by Russia and China, as well as recent US policy.
“We request this help to better enable the US, and by extension its allies and partners, to win without fighting, to fight now in so-called gray zones, and to supply ammunition in the ongoing war of narratives,” the commanders who oversee U.S. military forces in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, as well as special operations troops, wrote to then-acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire last January. “Unfortunately, we continue to miss opportunities to clarify truth, counter distortions, puncture false narratives, and influence events in time to make a difference.”
Nine of the eleven four-star combatant commanders to have served in the US military is a nearly unprecedented show of unity with the top brass. The memo highlights the dilemma faced by the US intelligence community in deciding what types of information to release that still protects sources and methods.
Matt Lahr, deputy assistant Director of National Intelligence for Strategic Communications, said that last December the Office of the DNI asked its member intelligence operations to “review their existing procedures and improve their posture to support Combatant Commands at the speed and scale they require.”
Lahr said the goal was “a review of existing IC procedures to shorten timelines and create efficiencies in disclosure, downgrading, and declassification processes.” Another goal is “the publication of priority intelligence requirements that address strategic messaging and malign influence,” which means get accurate information out quickly to counter disinformation campaigns that can compromise US policy.