"The Intelligence Community Isn’t That Intelligent"

With Iran stockpiling uranium and allies sounding alarms, America’s intelligence chief flails, the president postures, and Congress sits paralyzed; while a nuclear threat inches closer.

Let’s be honest here. The words “Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard” were never supposed to be uttered outside of a Saturday Night Live sketch. But welcome to America 2025, where up is down, fiction is fact, and your top spy is a former Congresswoman whose greatest national security credential was once going surfing after a Fox News hit.

I don’t say that to be mean or cruel. I say it because this is serious. Because right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher: It is claimed that Iran is enriching uranium like it’s a national sport, Israel is launching preemptive airstrikes and assassinations, and President Trump is thundering to the world that Tehran is weeks away from a nuclear bomb. Meanwhile, Tulsi is telling Congress: “Relax. They’ve got stockpiles, sure, but they haven’t decided to build anything yet.”

You don’t have to be Inspector Clouseau to feel the tension in that contradiction.

But here's the real kicker; despite Trump’s alarm bells and Netanyahu’s dire warnings about “secret plans” and ticking clocks, the U.S. intelligence assessment hasn’t budged an inch since March. Iran’s uranium is enriched up to 60%, yes. They’ve got enough to build ten bombs eventually. But they haven’t taken that final leap to 90% weapons-grade enrichment, and according to everyone from the International Atomic Energy Agency to multiple U.S. intelligence sources, there’s no concrete evidence that Iran is currently working to weaponize any of it.

And yet, Trump doesn’t want to hear it. When pressed on Tulsi’s public testimony, his answer was a vintage Trumpism: “I don’t care what she said.” And for once, maybe we shouldn't either.

Because here's the problem: when you appoint someone like Gabbard; whose greatest asset seems to be her willingness to parrot the boss’s talking points on national television, you end up with an intelligence chief who lacks both credibility and command. She’s caught in a bind of her own making: tell the truth and get sidelined, or echo the White House and lose the respect of the intelligence professionals who actually do the work. Either way, the American public gets noise instead of clarity.

But let’s not let the rest of Washington off the hook here. Because what’s just as alarming as a president ignoring his intelligence director is a Congress refusing to act like the co-equal branch it’s supposed to be.

Right now, you’ve got Trump beating the war drums and hinting at “decisive action,” and yet half of Capitol Hill; Republicans and Democrats, is publicly pushing back. They don’t want another conflict in the Middle East. Not now. Not without a real strategy. And certainly not based on what feels like half-baked intel and politically convenient panic.

Even Senator Mark Warner, who’s no firebrand, said he’s “perplexed” by the administration’s stance. Translation: what the hell are we doing?

We need answers. This should be the moment when a functioning government would pull itself together. Close the doors. Get everyone in the same room. Intelligence officials. Lawmakers. Military leaders. Allies. Even Tulsi; if she can be trusted to sit quietly and take notes. Lay the cards on the table. Share the raw intel. Scrutinize the sources. Ask the hard questions: What do we know? What don’t we know? What are Israel’s motivations? What is Iran’s actual timeline? And; most importantly, what are the risks if we act versus if we don’t?

You know…govern. Like grown-ups.

But instead, we get leaks, soundbites, and political posturing. Trump wants to look tough. Tulsi wants to look competent. Congress wants to look like they’re doing something while actually doing very little. And in the middle of it all, Iran marches on; stockpiling fissile material, exploiting global divisions, and banking on the fact that America can’t even agree on what day it is, let alone how to stop a nuclear program.

And yes, Israel is acting. Bombing sites, assassinating scientists, making the tough calls because they believe they’re out of time and out of patience. But that’s not a substitute for U.S. leadership. That’s a symptom of the vacuum we’ve created.

Because here’s the inconvenient truth: Trump is right to be worried about Iran. He’s unfortunately surrounded by all the wrong people. And Tulsi, despite her protestations, doesn’t seem to be the steady hand we need when lives and global stability are on the line.

So what happens next? Hopefully, a pause. A summit. A sanity check. We cannot make policy based on vibes. Not when nukes are in the conversation. And if Trump wants to be taken seriously; and I say this as someone who knows him far too well, he needs to stop winging it and start listening to the people who know more than he does. Or at least gather them in a freakin room and demand the truth, the full truth, and nothing but the truth.

Because if we don’t get this right, we may not get another chance.

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