Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 309 Besieged on all sides
"Deputy Secretary Madeline, please confirm whether, prior to the joint U.S.-Mexico operation in May 2011, as the then Director of the Intelligence and Analysis Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security, you personally signed the intelligence use authorization for the Joint Threat Level Assessment Memorandum?"

The heavy mahogany door was tightly shut.

The long table was covered with a dark blue velvet cloth.

Madeline sat near the center.

Seated directly opposite her was Senator Sterling.

A bald man who habitually frowns.

"Mr. Chairman."

Madeline straightened her back, trying to make herself appear believable.

"I approved the relevant documents for the preliminary stage of the operation."

"But the final chain of authorization rests with the White House National Security Council."

"What I signed was a threat level assessment, not an operational authorization."

“Evaluation?” Sterling asked in an unfriendly tone.

"Your assessment directly triggered cross-departmental deployment."

"And those so-called sources were later proven to contain false and misleading elements."

Madeline paused for a moment and took a gentle breath.

"The intelligence links at the time were routinely verified."

"This includes data from communications interception, informants, and the Mexican Navy."

"No one can use fragmented pieces of evidence to deny the overall judgment made at the time."

Another Republican congressman then chimed in.

“Ms. Deputy Secretary of State, you seem to have forgotten a crucial point.”

“Not long ago, Vicente Zambada Nefra, son of Ismail Mario Zambada Garcia, the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, confessed in court that the so-called ‘high-value targets’ were completely fabricated.”

He said that Mexican local officials and drug cartels had reached a private agreement to fabricate intelligence and lure U.S. agents into a shootout.

The room fell silent.

Madeline gripped the water glass beside her tightly.

“Any confession under a plea agreement must be treated with extreme care,” she said.

"He was a member of a criminal organization, so he naturally had a motive to distort the facts."

“Twisting the facts?” Sterling shook his head.

"Four American citizens died as a result."

“DEA agents David Lyle, Howard Carlton, Joshua Whiteman, and CIA liaison officer Mark Fisher.”

"This is the worst loss of life the United States has suffered in Mexico since the Camarena incident in 1985."

Madeline's throat was dry. She took a sip of water and forced herself to lift her head.

"They are heroes."

"I deeply regret their sacrifice." Her voice trembled slightly.

"However, intelligence analysis work is never risk-free."

"What we can do is make the best judgment within the limited time."

"The best judgment?" Republican Senator Hawkins repeated sarcastically.

"Your best assessment is that four American agents were brutally murdered on a foreign street?"

Do you know how many scars they have?

Do you know how their remains were repatriated?

Madeline tried to keep herself calm.

"I must emphasize that we strictly followed the procedures."

“Any intelligence work may expose loopholes afterward.”

"If we were to use Nevra's testimony today to negate all the professional judgments made at the time, it would be unfair to the entire system."

Sterling leaned forward, staring intently into Madeline's eyes.

"Ms. Deputy Secretary of State."

"We are not discussing 'injustice' today, but rather responsibility."

"When four American agents died tragically in the street, the signature you made became a responsibility."

As soon as he finished speaking, another Republican congressman, Walsh, immediately chimed in.

"Deputy Secretary, please explain whether the Department of Homeland Security's I&A conducted a red team review with the CIA Crime and Narcotics Center during the operation plan's development process? Were there any 'disagreements'?"

Madeline tried to regulate her breathing.

"We have shared intelligence with the CIA."

“And their initial analysis is consistent with ours.” Sterling couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

“The CIA internal memo says ‘medium confidence level,’ but your assessment says ‘high confidence level.’”

"Who changed it? The bureau, or you?"

Madeline's heart suddenly tightened.

The expression of "confidence level" is based on multi-source cross-correction.

"At that time, there were real-time intercepted satellite calls, which was a key intelligence indicator."

Walsh seized on the loophole in her words and raised his voice excitedly.

"But now we know the call was faked!"

"You come from an intelligence background, you can't possibly be unaware that a single source can be manipulated!"

Madeline opened her mouth, but for a moment she was speechless.

At this point, Senator Collins slowly continued:
“Ms. Watts, we must ensure the integrity of our intelligence procedures.”

“At least on the document, your signature does raise the ‘medium confidence level’ to a high level.”

"why?"

Madeline's gaze swept around, as if searching for potential help.

“We were under tremendous pressure at the time.” Her jaw tightened.

"Both the White House and the NSA are pushing for joint US-Mexico action."

“My assessment is not isolated, but rather a judgment within the context of national strategy.”

Sterling's eyes lit up: "You mean to say that you're taking the blame for the White House?"

Madeline realized she had misspoke and hurriedly shook her head.

"No, I'm explaining that the situation is complex."

“If we have to trace back today, we have to trace the entire decision-making chain.”

“The State Department, the CIA, and the Department of Defense were all present.”

Another person in the Democratic Party seat suddenly spoke up.

"Deputy Secretary, please address the issue directly."

"Today is not about diluting responsibility, but about clarifying whether there was any 'deliberate exaggeration'."

"In other words, did you personally manipulate intelligence for the sake of 'political influence'?"

Madeline's expression froze.

Sterling seized the opportunity and attacked again:

"Deputy Secretary of State, did you deliberately raise the assessment level to consolidate your influence in interagency coordination, which led to the deaths of multiple agents?"

Madeline's breathing quickened: "No, there was no 'deliberate' at all."

"The judgment was made entirely based on available intelligence."

“But what was the result?” Sterling held up the file. “A trap.”

"The widow wrote more than forty letters over two years, demanding answers from Congress."

"And what they're hearing right now is that you think your decision was right."

The meeting room was completely silent.

Madeline instinctively turned to look at her party colleagues, hoping someone would speak up for her.

Even Senator Harrison, who was usually closest to her, was just looking down at the documents.

Meanwhile, Sterling was also pressuring her to confess.

“Deputy Secretary, you wrote ‘high confidence’ on that signature.”

"Therefore, we need you to admit: this was a mistake, and it was your personal mistake."

Madeline gritted her teeth: "No, this is not my personal fault."

"This is a systemic intelligence failure."

“Very good, ‘systematic intelligence failure’.” Sterling nodded.
"In other words, you admit that the Department of Homeland Security under your leadership lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent such mistakes."

“I didn’t admit it!” Madeline cried out.

However, at this moment, no one paid any attention to her rebuttal.

Sterling's voice grew louder and louder.

"The fact is, your signature led to this deployment and subsequently resulted in the deaths of four American personnel."

"The same fact shows that after this serious mistake, you were not held accountable, but were instead appointed as Deputy Secretary of State."

"Therefore, we must ask: given such a record, do you still possess the judgment and credibility necessary to continue in this position?"

(End of this chapter)