[neverevergiveup]

Does anyone else here get the impression that the ‘intelligence’ in the intelligence agencies is at the level of field investigators, with an ever dwindling supply the higher up the hierarchy one goes?

[ClearCase_guy]

A great many top-level government bureaucrats are just bullies who are good at office politics/sucking up. They make friends with the right people, and they intimidate other people and that's how they rise up.

Intelligence and skills play almost no part in this.

I've know a lot of GS-15s, SES, and O-6 and above. On the whole, they are not impressive people at all. But you can go pretty far if you're just a great big jerk. Mind you, they all seem to think they outrank God.