The Steady State Sentinel Episode 13: America’s “Strategic Self-Immolation”

National Security reporter and author Tim Weiner and Sentinel host Jim Lawler discuss how the Trump Administration’s politicization of our national security institutions, attacks on our constitution and rule of law, and betrayal of our allies are putting us in danger of losing our civil liberties at home and increasing our national security threats abroad. (Recorded 2/10/2026)

Listen here or Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Where to find our Guest, Tim Weiner:

Book: The Mission: The CIA in the 21^st Century https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-mission-tim-weiner?variant=43465484206114

X: @Folly_and_Glory

Blog: Codeword: The World of Secret Intelligence

https://timweiner.beehiiv.com/

Summary (AI generated from the transcript, edited for clarity)

The Current National Security Posture

Jim Lawler: You’ve covered national security for four decades. How is today different?

Tim Weiner: The president has swung a wrecking ball through the national security architecture built after World War II. The system is in disarray and, in my opinion, is being run by amateurs.

When the instruments of the orchestra are in the hands of people who can’t play, you get cacophony—and that’s dangerous.

Intelligence Leadership and Institutional Damage

Jim Lawler: David Ignatius has written about the failures of the Director of National Intelligence. Would you comment?

Tim Weiner: David is polite. What’s obvious is that Tulsi Gabbard is a conspiracy theorist and a danger to herself and others. She has become the pointed spear of the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.

There is no justification for a national security official to meddle in American elections. She is a threat to our democracy.

FBI, CIA, and Ideological Purges

Jim Lawler: What’s changed with the FBI and CIA?

Tim Weiner: You now have a right-wing podcaster, Kash Patel, running the FBI and dismantling its national security divisions at Donald Trump’s behest.

At both the FBI and CIA, there is an ideological purge. If you are not a Trump loyalist, you are out of a job.

Iran

Jim Lawler: What should U.S. intelligence be doing about Iran?

Tim Weiner: American political warfare in Iran has a deeply unhappy history. Any attempt at covert political action today would be counterproductive.

If the U.S. still stood as a beacon of democracy, it should support democratic aspirations—but not by manipulation. The nuclear issue has been addressed through cyber and intelligence means, which are more effective than bombs.

Ukraine

Jim Lawler: What about Ukraine?

Tim Weiner: CIA operations have been essential to Ukraine’s survival since Russia’s attack in 2014. U.S. intelligence stole Putin’s war plans in 2021, which galvanized NATO.

But Ukraine cannot survive a president who aims to strangle it. Donald Trump has cut off military and intelligence support. That is a betrayal.

If Putin is allowed to keep even one square kilometer of Ukraine by conquest, he will not stop. The free world is weaker now than at any time since World War II.

Cuba and Venezuela

Jim Lawler: Cuba and Venezuela?

Tim Weiner: U.S. actions in Venezuela have effectively strangled Cuba. Covert action there is complicated by the fact that Cuban intelligence is pound-for-pound among the best in the world.

China

Jim Lawler: What about China?

Tim Weiner: China is playing a long game. Its intelligence service is roughly 20 times larger than the CIA.

They are extending their surveillance state beyond China. They’ve stolen personnel and health records, penetrated telecoms, and mapped the human terrain of the United States. If conflict comes, they will have information dominance.

Civil Liberties and Democracy

Jim Lawler: If you were in charge, what would you do differently?

Tim Weiner: There is a constant tension between security and liberty. What we are seeing now is an attack on the rule of law, free speech, the press, and peaceful assembly.

The greatest danger to U.S. national security today is the president of the United States.

Ideology is the enemy of intelligence. We now have ideologues and conspiracy theorists running our institutions, and that is strategic self-immolation.

If Tim Weiner Were CIA Director

Jim Lawler: What would you do in your first 90 to 120 days?

Tim Weiner: First, I would hire back Tom Sylvester, the former deputy director of operations who resigned in protest.

Second, I would reverse the firing of the trained operations officers hired in 2023 and 2024. That’s mortgaging the future.

Finally, I would re-examine the CIA’s support for what has become a campaign of murder in the Caribbean. Blowing civilians out of the water is a war crime. The CIA should not be party to that.

Authoritarianism and the Doomsday Clock

Jim Lawler: If there were an authoritarian doomsday clock, where are we?

Tim Weiner: One minute to midnight.

We are in danger of losing our democracy. My parents were refugees from Hitler’s Europe. I do not want my daughters to grow up in a dictatorship.

I am an optimist—but I tremble for my country.

What Comes Next

Jim Lawler: How do we turn the minute hand back?

Tim Weiner: Don’t mourn—organize.

I see the beginnings of a tidal wave of engaged voters who reject hate and believe that love is stronger than hate. That is who we are, and that is who we will be again.

ICE and Civil Liberties

Jim Lawler: Any thoughts on ICE?

Tim Weiner: I never thought I’d see armed agents murdering American citizens in the street or warehousing people in what amount to concentration camps.

This is an offense against the Constitution and an existential crisis for our democracy. We have until the November elections to turn the tide.

Closing Reflections

Jim Lawler: Are you optimistic?

Tim Weiner: I am an inveterate optimist. We live in hope.

Final Notes

Jim Lawler: Before we close, I want to recommend Tim Weiner’s book, The Mission, published last summer. If you liked today’s conversation, please subscribe to The Steady State Sentinel, leave a five-star review, and join us next week.

For the Steady State Sentinel, I’m Jim Lawler—still standing watch.

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 390 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.