The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctiveness, by petty Beltway wars, be careerism, and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Americans were making too much money to bother. Life was good. The White House and the National Security Council became Cathedrals of commerce where the interests of big business outweighed the interests of protecting American citizens at home and abroad.