8chan/8kun QRB Posts (1)
#85630 at 2021-08-23 16:34:13 (UTC+1)
QRB General #540: Be Careful What You Wish For Edition
Acting counterterrorism center head fired, according to former U.S. officials
March 19, 2020
The acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center was removed Wednesday in what insiders fear is a purge by the Trump administration of career professionals at an organization set up after 9/11 to protect the nation from further attacks, according to two former U.S. officials.
Russell E. Travers, a highly regarded intelligence professional with more than 40 years of government service, told colleagues he was fired by acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, said the former officials, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
Travers, who took up the acting position last August, had been resistant to pressure to make personnel cuts at the center, which has been undergoing a review of its mission and effectiveness.
Also removed at the NCTC was Travers's acting deputy, Peter W. Hall, who is returning to the National Security Agency, the former officials said.
The surprise move came hours after President Trump announced his intent to nominate Pentagon Special Operations and counterterrorism official Christopher Miller to head the center. A deputy director will be named to serve as acting director pending Miller's confirmation, said a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National IntelligencE.
A spokeswoman for Grenell disputed that Travers was fired.
Travers "was offered the opportunity to move to a new role and chose to retire," Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Strategic Communications Amanda Schoch said in a statement to The Washington Post. "Russ told Acting Director Grenell he wanted to retire and that he did not want another assignment."
Said Schoch: "We are grateful for Acting Director Russ Travers' many years of service to the American peoplE. .?.?. Over the next few weeks we expect Russ to step out of his current position to prepare for retirement. .?.?. Russ' willingness to step up and serve as the acting director of NCTC multiple times is an example of his commitment to serve this vital mission. He has given NCTC many years of great servicE."
The removals have shocked Travers's colleagues, who are upset at the treatment of someone so well-regarded, according to the two former officials.
One of the former officials said that Travers walked into a meeting on Wednesday expecting to brief Grenell on the center when he was told that he was out. He had no intention or desire to retire, they said.
In the meeting, Grenell told Travers he would like to know "how long it would take you to leave," according to one of the former officials, who was briefed on the meeting. Travers replied that he would need "a few weeks" to complete the administrative work, the official recounted.
"They said, 'Great, we'll afford you the opportunity to retire,'?" the former official said.
In a farewell note to the workforce Wednesday, Travers noted Trump's plan to bring on Miller, lauded Miller's experience and said the acting DNI wanted to "assemble a new team." He sought to boost morale, noting the center's accomplishments. "We have recently been the subject of an external evaluation by a group of national security luminaries that strongly validated the need for the center," he wrotE. "And most importantly, we have you - the finest workforce with whom I have ever been associated. I have no doubt that the center is postured for success going forward."
Trump plans to tap Special Forces veteran to head counterterrorism center
read full article
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/acting-counterterrorism-center-head-fired-according-to-former-us-officials/2020/03/19/fb33d516-6a02-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html