Lost in a chaotic hall of mirrors of its own creation, the CIA has generally failed in its one and only legitimate task, to provide U.S. policymakers with accurate intelligence about the world beyond the Washington echo chamber, in order to inform American decision-making.
If, unlike many of his predecessors, President Biden actually wanted to be guided by accurate intelligence — which is by no means certain — his nomination of former Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns as CIA director was an encouraging, although puzzling, appointment. It removed Burns from the State Department's policymaking chain of command, but put him in a position where his decades of diplomatic experience and insight might help to guide Biden's decisions, especially over the crisis in U.S. relations with Russia. Burns, who is fluent in Russian, lived and worked at the U.S. embassy in Moscow for many years, first as a political officer and later as U.S. ambassador.
