Ex-CIA Officer Warns Against Underestimating Putin Amidst CIA Chief's Moscow Visit

The unannounced visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow carries significant weight, signaling a potentially firmer U.S. policy toward Russia, according to former CIA officer Sean Wiswesser. Wiswesser, who spent 30 years working against Russian intelligence, believes that sending the CIA chief is a strategic move, as Russia under Vladimir Putin is fundamentally a state dominated by its security services, often referred to as 'siloviki'.

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Russia under Vladimir Putin is a state dominated by security services. The siloviki, the people of the services, rule this country.

"Sending the CIA director gives us a better chance that the Russian government will actually listen," Wiswesser stated, highlighting the internal power structure of the Russian state. He characterized the current wave of "below the threshold of war" actions orchestrated by Russian services as a desperate attempt by those in charge to impress their leader, Putin. Wiswesser pointed to reports of a drone with an explosive payload found near a Ukrainian transport plane in Leipzig, Germany, which U.S. intelligence linked to Russia's GRU military intelligence, as an example of such actions.

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By sending the CIA director, we have a better chance that the Russian government will actually listen.

Wiswesser expressed strong criticism of the West's historical response to Russian provocations that fall short of outright war. He described past reactions as "empty deterrence," asserting that NATO has "basically just taken the hits" without adequately responding to escalating actions. This passive approach, he argued, has emboldened Russian services.

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As an Alliance, we have not responded strongly enough. We have not responded at all. This has been empty deterrence for several years of escalation. NATO has basically just taken the hits.

While Wiswesser does not have access to current intelligence assessments, he views Ratcliffe's visit itself as a clear signal that the Washington administration takes the threat to the NATO alliance seriously. He hopes the warning conveyed to Moscow was specific, unlike a previous public visit by then-CIA Director Bill Burns in 2021. Burns's warning about plans to invade Ukraine was reportedly vague and dismissed by Russian officials, a situation Wiswesser hopes is not repeated. "I hope that in the case of (Ratcliffe's visit), it was more specific, that his interlocutors from the Russian services heard: 'If you decide to attack, we will escalate: we will do this, this, and that.' The point is for the director (CIA) to leave Moscow, and the Russians to say: 'Damn, this time they really mean it,'" he concluded.

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The bandits who run the Russian services are doing their best to impress their boss, Putin.