Ken Klippenstein, an investigative journalist at The Intercept, explained how U.S. intelligence surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been more accurate compared to information during the war in the Middle East.
When asked by “Rising” host Robby Soave whether U.S. intelligence about Russia’s attack has been more accurate compared to what citizens were accustomed to with war in the Middle East, Klippenstein said he believes that to be true.
“What they said came to pass, ” he said. “That Putin was going to invade, and they were warning about this as early as, I believe, January…going back as late as November, at the very least. So they did seem to be on top of the ball.”
He added that the intelligence is important to the Biden administration because they may want to “portray a different image after what happened in Afghanistan.”
Klippenstein noted that the situation in Ukraine is unique because the conflict is with a nation-state, noting that there is a formal system in Ukraine and that the U.S. has had “a lot of experience, a lot of practice, monitoring nation-states,” making it easier to investigate.
“On the other hand, if you look at the post-9/11 conflicts, you have non-state actors like Al-Qaeda and ISIS,” he said. “Those are a lot harder to keep tabs of because they don’t follow the same organizational structure typical nation-states do.”
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