Blow to CIA: Withdraws 19 DEI-Influenced Files Targeting Women in Traditional Roles
CIA Director John Ratcliffe withdrew 19 intelligence reports over the past decade for bias, citing undue focus on DEI issues that compromised objectivity and national security analyses.
The agency released only three of these assessments, which it characterized as politically influenced and focused on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) issues, prepared under the Biden, Trump, and Obama administrations.
One of these was an October 6, 2021 evaluation titled “Women Driving Radicalization and Recruitment to Violent Extremism Based on Race and Ethnicity,” which, according to the senior official, interfered in “foreign political debates about gender roles rather than addressing any real threats of political violence.”
The assessment labeled Canadian liberal YouTuber Lauren Southern as a violent extremist with racist and ethnic motivations and highlighted the dangers such personalities pose to societies — it also expressed concern about women pursuing traditional mother roles.
A CIA report from July 8, 2020 also focused on family planning and disruptions in global condom supply chains, relying on “non-objective sources such as Planned Parenthood,” noted the official.
Another document dated January 14, 2015 called on the CIA to engage in “political debates regarding LGBTQ issues” in foreign governments, citing well-known activist organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, according to the official.
The document stated in its introductory paragraph: “The hardline stance taken by governments in the Middle East and North Africa against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community is likely shaped by conservative public opinion and domestic political competition from Islamists, and it hinders U.S. initiatives on LGBTQ rights.”
The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, an executive body, conducted a review of over 300 analyses in total.
“Under previous administrations,” said the senior official, “there was inappropriate insertion of DEI topics and other distractions into aspects of the CIA’s work, undermining our mission to provide objective intelligence analysis on national security issues.”
“We found that these products — did not meet the high level of impartiality or insightfulness we expect from the CIA and were an inappropriate use of CIA time and resources,” the official added.
The review fulfills Ratcliffe’s promise during his Senate hearing last year to eliminate “political or personal biases” to make the agency “the ultimate meritocracy.”
“To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all this sounds like what you were hired for, then get ready to make a difference,” he had said. “If not, then it’s time to find a new career.”
This was followed by a staff reduction effort of 1,200 personnel at the agency.
When asked by a journalist whether the withdrawn and erroneous assessments led to any demotions or dismissals, the official noted: “We have established mechanisms to address these issues, and we have made our expectations clear to all officers in the analysis directorate.”
The official also noted that given the decade-long time frame, many of the authors of these reports have likely since left the CIA.
