OPINION:
It was a small gesture that spoke volumes.
A couple of weeks ago, CIA Director William Burns was among those attending the annual Prevent Cancer Foundation gala at Washington’s National Building Museum. Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the board of trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Jordan, was the gala’s honorary chair. Recognized as “cancer champions” were Sens. Tom Carper, Delaware Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Republican. My friend and Fox News colleague Jennifer Griffin, herself a cancer survivor, was the emcee.
I learned, especially in my last decade of service at the CIA, when I was called on regularly to brief our leadership team, that the CIA director’s schedule is packed from morning to night. His staff juggles substantive briefings at the agency, White House meetings, engagement with foreign government liaison partners, and testifying on Capitol Hill.
Time is precious not only for the nation’s top spymaster but also for anyone who has ever had cancer or supported a friend or loved one in the fight. My wife, Kim, whom I met when she was working as a disguise technician at the CIA and was randomly chosen to cloak my true appearance before an overseas assignment, died of cancer in March 2021.
She fought bravely for every moment we had together. As that time grew shorter, our conversations, especially those about our children, became more direct and introspective. We were painfully aware that we had no time to waste.
And there is no time to waste when it comes to fighting cancer.
Director Burns could have been at any one of a number of other places that night, but he chose to spend some of his evening with cancer survivors and their supporters. His presence at the Prevent Cancer Foundation gala put the evening in special perspective for three reasons.
First, the CIA’s mission is to partner with intelligence services worldwide to detect and preempt national security threats before they occur. Likewise, the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s goal is to support research that enables cancer to be detected as early as possible so that patients can receive the fastest, most effective treatment and have the best chance of survival.
This year, Jordan partnered with the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and last year, it was Australia. That’s the powerful force-multiplier effect of global partners sharing a righteous mission.
Second, CIA officers take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. They serve, often overseas and in harm’s way, to recruit spies and steal secrets for presidents, whether they voted for them or not. The CIA’s analysis must be devoid of ideological or political bias.
The best CIA directors I have had the honor to serve never hesitated to tell the president what he needed to know — even when it was not what the president wanted to hear. I had the same experience with members of the House of Representatives and Senate intelligence oversight committees: They were focused on getting to the bottom-line truth. Despite their political differences, they agreed more often than not on the national security policies needed to protect our nation.
And so it was at the Prevent Cancer gala. In this period of intense partisan acrimony, Democrats and Republicans found a common cause, working together to take the fight to cancer. Preventing cancer forges the common ground among us, leaving us all stronger.
Third, CIA analysts are trained to see the world through others’ eyes, even if it is the twisted perspective of ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin or the brutal views of dictators such as China’s Xi Jinping or North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. There is arguably no more important quality for a successful CIA officer than empathy.
And that’s exactly what Director Burns was demonstrating by making the time to attend the Prevent Cancer gala.
Each year, as head of the agency, he leads a memorial ceremony as the CIA puts stars on its sacred Memorial Wall to recognize our fallen heroes, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
CIA officers continue to honor their memories each and every day by carrying on with their mission, just as those of us who lost loved ones to cancer found great comfort and purpose in joining Director Burns alongside cancer survivors and their supporters to take another step toward early detection and prevention of this terrible disease.
• Daniel N. Hoffman is a retired clandestine services officer and former chief of station with the Central Intelligence Agency.
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