Diversity Dysfunction: The Dei Threat to National Security Intelligence

The diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda that has captured American institutions in recent years is controversial. While many applaud it on ethical grounds for allegedly redressing past discrimination, critics charge that DEI policies are unfair and damage institutions, including organizations critical to U.S. national security. Until now, however, there has been no systematic study of the operational effects of DEI policies on the U.S. intelligence community. Diversity Dysfunction documents a purposeful effort by the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations to reorient the organizational cultures of our intelligence agencies toward the Marxist tenets of DEI and to degrade longstanding and highly effective practices in ways that harm performance. While the damage is readily apparent, we do not yet know the full consequences of the injuries inflicted by the DEI agenda. Our global adversaries have surely noticed the resulting weaknesses in U.S. intelligence but have not yet exploited them. One day, they will. Jettisoning DEI now is our best chance to mitigate the risk.

Dr. John A. Gentry teaches at the School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University. For twelve years, he was an intelligence analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he mainly worked on economic issues associated with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries. For two of those years, he was senior analyst on the staff of the National Intelligence Officer for Warning. Dr. Gentry is a retired U.S. Army Reserve officer, with most assignments in special operations and intelligence arenas. Previously, he taught at Georgetown University, Columbia University, and the National Intelligence University. He writes regularly on intelligence and security issues. He is the author of Neutering the CIA: Why US Intelligence Versus Trump Has Long-Term Consequences (2023) and about 40 articles and book chapters on intelligence topics. He has an economics background and received his Ph.D. in political science from George Washington University. Follow him at @gentry_johna.