"Is there a deep state in the United States?" asked George Beebe in a recent
essay. Yes, the former chief of Russia analysis at CIA concluded, if the definition of "deep state" holds that elements of the national security apparatus possess "the capability, albeit not the legal authority, to abuse intelligence to alter the outcomes of national elections or distort public-policy debates."
Curbing the power of this shadowy group, Beebe suggested, could be accomplished through robust congressional oversight. Yet, in the minds of most analysts inclined to afford the question any serious thought, the Deep State is usually considered immune to the incursions of oversight committees. The group's members are thought to enjoy the same power over elected officials that blackjack dealers hold over casino visitors: The house always wins.
Does that Deep State exist?A logical preliminary question, posed with the same zoological dispassion we would reserve for contemplation of any elusive species, such as the Loch Ness Monster, would first inquire whether such a beast has ever been documented to exist. After all, anyone affirming the existence, let alone the primacy, of the Deep State in Trump-era Washington would presumably concede the impossibility of such fearsome power amassing overnight, or in swift reaction to the ascendancy of a specific political actor deemed an intolerable threat. Would it be a creature solely of our time, the age of Big Data, or was there a Deep State before computers were widely used?
Comment: See also: Reports indicate no casualties as Israel has struck Syrian army positions again