In the intelligence business, it is common for an outgoing chief of station to provide an end of tour cable. The head of an intelligence service in a foreign location, the COS’s end cable will provide a personal accounting of their several years at the post.
Nearly all intelligence services worldwide have some form of this product. It is one of the most widely read cables within a government’s national security staff. That’s partly because this final cable is framed by the COS’s personal analysis, without sourcing, providing their candid views, a blueprint for their successor, and also a scorecard on their own performance.
The following is a hypothetical end of tour cable from an allied foreign intelligence service’s COS in Washington as they depart in August 2021.
It has been the honor of my life to serve as COS-Washington during a time of extraordinary upheaval in the country. Washington, D.C., ordinarily is vibrant, livable, and exciting, always filled with hope for the future. There is much turnover after every election cycle. I always thought that the optimism of Washington is a microcosm of the country. Yet, as I depart the post in summer of 2021, the city and country as a whole remain wracked with uncertainty. Uncertainty that the political system is cracking at the seams and may not actually be that resilient. I look back at my time in the country with wonder. I saw the worst aspects of the human condition (xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, goaded on by white rage, and bitterness among many that the American dream is no longer real). At times, it appeared that demagoguery was the preferred discourse to civility and honor, which actually are some of Americans’ best traits. Unfortunately, those traits are more absent these days.
All was not terrible during my four years. I witnessed the most amazing outpouring of love and affection shown by the public. They battled a pandemic that killed half of million of their fellow countrymen, yet ultimately persevered. Look no further than the intense appreciation the people showed for the healthcare workers on the front line as COVID-19 ravaged the nation, who stepped up and went into the line of fire each and every day. America in 2021 is a land of contradiction, a nation whose future story is not yet written.
That is a good thing.
With the country at a crossroads, we will need constant engagement with Washington. To keep watch over the political trends in the United States but perhaps also to help steer this great nation back on track. In my view, America in 2021 is battered, bruised, unsure of itself as the longtime big dog on the international stage. That said, it is most certainly not out of the game.
Highlights, and lowlights, of my time as COS were many, but I’ll name a few.
A Most Unusual President. I arrived as President Donald Trump took office. I view him now with a mix of curiosity and disdain. Trump tapped into the vilest depths of the American soul. As case officers, we deal with the human condition. Manipulation is part of our profession, and Trump was a master manipulator. Even as he responded to some legitimate grievances, Trump tapped into white rage. Even as a billionaire, he somehow appealed to the downtrodden. How curious I found this. That this occurred in this country, and not in the third world, was one of the biggest surprises in my career. Having served in the Middle East, I watched Trump’s rallies with a mix of familiarity, horror, and awe. His virulent anti-immigrant sentiment saddened me, as those of us from abroad always saw the Statue of Liberty as the defining symbol of America. Yet Trump also succeeded on a number of fronts.
Operation Warp Speed was a great success. A focus on China as the most critical strategic adversary was spot on. Asking NATO members to pay their fair share was long overdue. The economy was humming along. But on the critical question of what role America should play in the world: either that of an inward-looking nation or forward-facing beacon for hope, in my view, Trump got it all dreadfully wrong. The embassy as a whole and the station in particular, given our bilateral intelligence relationship with America, breathed a sigh of relief with the Biden victory.
I believe that America does, and must, stand for something in the world. The promotion of freedom, democracy, and human rights for all. A close CIA friend once told me that he believed that America still was “a bright shining city on a hill.” I share this sentiment.
The 2020 Election. President Joe Biden emerged victorious, of course. On election night and the days after, we paid close attention to the text messages rolling in from our contacts. Even Trump administration officials just wanted the election cycle to end. There was a feeling of relief in the embassy when the tally was complete. And then Jan. 6 occurred. The station watched in horror as protesters battled police at the U.S. Capitol. We had viewed the Capitol as one of the most venerable institutions of democracy on the planet. My officers returned quite shaken after being on site to get a first-hand birds-eye view of what happened. I would once have bet my career never to have seen a sitting American president attempt a coup. We called it that then, and I stand by that assessment now. Trump’s aura was forever stained.
COVID-19. The country initially failed, quite spectacularly, with 600,000 eventually dead. We in the station worried about the health and safety of our personnel and our families as well. These were very trying times, and, frankly, our street operations suffered, given the safety concerns of conducting in-person meetings. And then the country saved the world with the vaccine race. Again, Operation Warp Speed was a smashing success. I depart this summer with an appreciation for what a public-private sector partnership can accomplish. Does Trump deserve credit? I suppose he must, although one can never forget his disdain for mask use. But make no mistake. The country helped save the world.
What now? Can the country rebound? Can this country hold it together as the black community demands police reform, professional police officers deserve respect, and the white community remains angry that they feel left behind? Will politicians find middle ground?
While the future is uncertain, don’t bet against the country just yet. There are good people in this country. There are good politicians on both sides of the aisle, who are unfortunately drowned out by those on the fringes. So we must have hope.
How do I grade the station? Never was intelligence collection in Washington easier than during the Trump years. We had contacts across the political spectrum, from disillusioned Democrats who saw Trump as the devil incarnate, “Never Trump” Republicans who saw their party hijacked, Trump officials who would report his oddities to my case officers with glee, to civil servants who saw the foundations of the republic cracking. My officers in Washington, both declared and unilateral officers undercover, were a refuge for the embittered souls who saw Trump as a historical abomination.
Finally, to my successor, far more accomplished than I. You who takes up this venerable post in Washington. I leave you with the fantastic boredom of the Biden administration. They appear to be disciplined, wonkish, and ultimately not very interesting compared to Trump’s wild ride. I pass the torch knowing that I witnessed history and that station officers carried out our duties faithfully, with honor and integrity. You can find me in my RV, driving across this land one last time, as I take some well-deserved vacation. Then it’s on to retirement. I leave you all with the wise words of Homer Simpson, the poet laureate of America. “No matter how good you are at something, there’s always about a million people better than you.”
Marc Polymeropoulos is a former CIA senior operations officer. He retired in 2019 after a 26-year career serving in the Near East and South Asia. His book Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the CIA was published in June 2021 by Harper Collins.
