"Who is the threat?" It’s a question that militaries around the world routinely ask themselves, and a question presented at the top of a Powerpoint slide used by the US Army for some 18 months at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
One enemy, according to the slide, is "insiders," individuals lurking within the ranks of our own government that threaten to destabilize the system. Some expected examples are included, including Chelsea Manning, the former private who disclosed classified documents proving that the US military was complicit in a wide range of illegal activities, as well as former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed the extent of the US government’s international and domestic spying apparatus.
But also included is a pair of unusual suspects. One is former CIA Director David Petraeus, while the other is former US Secretary of State and potential future president, Hillary Clinton. Petraeus plead guilty to mishandling classified information during an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Clinton has been mired in scandal relating to her use of a private email server.
The slide describes Petraeus and Clinton as "careless or disgruntled employees."
Army Training and Doctrine Command spokesman Maj. Thomas Campbell said the slide came to his attention earlier this week, and was pulled immediately.
"As is common with Army training requirements, the local unit was given latitude to develop their own training products to accomplish the overall training objective," Campbell said in a statement provided to Army Times.
"This particular presentation had not been reviewed or approved by the unit’s leadership, and does not reflect the position of the Army."
In addition to her email controversy, Clinton has undergone scrutiny for possibly unethical meetings with Clinton Foundation donors during her time heading the US State Department.
"More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money – either personally or through companies or groups – to the Clinton Foundation," reads an Associated Press reported released on Tuesday.
"It’s an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president."
Maybe the Army should keep the slide as part of the curriculum.
