7:45 p.m. EDT May 10, 2015 In his 33-year career at the CIA, Michael Morell worked for six presidents and dealt with a range of officials in the United States and abroad. He twice served as acting CIA director. His new book, published Tuesday by Twelve, is titled, The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism From Al Qa'Ida to ISIS.
In an interview, Morell gave his quick take on several of the policymakers with whom he had dealt.
- Former president George W. Bush: "Very bright. Contrary to the public perception, very bright. Very quick gut reaction to issues and my sense almost always right on the money."
- Former vice president Dick Cheney: "Somebody who is deeply committed to the national security of the United States. ... (But) the one place in the whole prewar Iraq intelligence where we as analysts felt pressure on us from policymakers to say a certain thing was on the question of the relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda, and we felt that pressure from the vice president's office primarily."
- President Obama: "One of the smartest people I've ever met. Extremely thorough. Asks extraordinarily good questions. Very open to what people have to say. Willing to change his mind if he hears a good argument. ... (But) people's weaknesses flow from their strengths. One of Barack Obama's great strengths is: 'Ask all the questions. Let's get all the information on the table. Let me hear from everybody, right?' One of the weaknesses of that is it takes longer to make a decision."
- Sarah Palin: "I gave her her first national security briefing (during the 2008 campaign). ... Her questions about foreign leaders, trying to understand what motivated them, how they think, how she could connect with them — I found those questions really insightful. I found that on the issues that she had virtually no understanding of national security issues. And at the end of the day, that wasn't her fault. She didn't have experience, right? And my view, sitting there, was that she had been put in a very, very difficult situation."
- Edward Snowden: "I don't believe Edward Snowden when he says, 'The reason I did this (leaked NSA data) was because I was concerned about the privacy and civil-liberties rights of Americans.' ... I think what motivated Edward Snowden is ... he thought he was one of the most brilliant people around, and he believed that the CIA and the NSA didn't see that brilliance, and he wanted people to see that brilliance, and that's why he did what he did." Do you think he's guilty of treason? "I do."
- President Obama: "One of the smartest people I've ever met. Extremely thorough. Asks extraordinarily good questions. Very open to what people have to say. Willing to change his mind if he hears a good argument. ... (But) people's weaknesses flow from their strengths. One of Barack Obama's great strengths is: 'Ask all the questions. Let's get all the information on the table. Let me hear from everybody, right?' One of the weaknesses of that is it takes longer to make a decision."
