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Ray Bilger
State College
The Trump administration's actions over the past few weeks have put our national security at great risk. As a combat veteran, having served in airborne intelligence and special operations, I've defended our nation for nearly four decades in the intelligence community and State Department Foreign Service. I've worked with nearly every federal agency, including the Secret Service and FBI. I'm also the former NSA Technical Director of Cyber Analysis.
Cyber operations are most effective when employing both offensive and defensive efforts.
Since 2004, the U.S. has endured more than 2.5 billion cyber attacks--one every 39 seconds. Russia is the world's worst cyber actor. By ceasing offensive cyber operations against Russia, we're fighting with one hand tied behind our backs.
Vetting someone for Top Secret access takes roughly 18 months, yet DOGE employees have had unfettered access to government databases for weeks. This puts every citizen's personal data at risk, and raises the prospect of a damaging national security leak.
Tradecraft is the valuable asset in intelligence work, and DOGE personnel have no expertise in handling this information, evidenced by their leak of classified NRO data on the DOGE website.
By threatening our allies, we've lost trusted alliances. Instead of an ally, we're seen as a threat, or at the very least, an unstable partner. Having broken that trust, it may take a generation to regain it, if ever. We're viewed as a country whose promises and guarantees hinge on the whims of voters instead of the morals and values America once stood for.
Trump's dismantling of USAID has severely hampered our ability to deploy foreign diplomacy. Besides all the worldwide benefits of USAID, their efforts won hearts and minds, opening the door to countries that became friends while providing us with valuable information that informed foreign policy.
Most Americans don't understand our national security infrastructure, which is by design. Americans should be able to go about their business knowing that the country is safe, secure and in good, capable hands. With Trump and Musk running roughshod through our government, that's not the case anymore.