The John Batchelor Show 44: The Urgency of Admitting Failure: Team B, CFIUS Reform, and Confronting Communist Ideology. Jim Fanell and Brad Thayer emphasize that the initial step toward addressing the crisis requires the US system to admit strategic failure. Fanell notes this is ext
Nov 1, 2025
James Fennell, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer, and Bradley Thayer, a national security expert, dive into the pressing need for the U.S. to acknowledge and address past intelligence failures regarding Communist China. Fennell underscores the challenge of institutional bias that hinders this admission, while Thayer advocates relocating CFIUS to the Department of Defense to better safeguard U.S. interests. They propose a new Team B to reassess threats from the CCP and stress the necessity of viewing the Chinese Communist Party as a persistent adversary overall.
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Episode notes
Institutional Bias Blocks Admission
- Institutional bias makes admitting intelligence failures extremely difficult inside U.S. agencies.
- James Fennell argues admission is necessary to treat the strategic threat from Communist China.
Start By Admitting Past Misjudgments
- Admit past misperception to enable a whole-of-government, whole-of-society response.
- Only collective acceptance of the threat allows coordinated national action, James Fennell warns.
Reassign CFIUS To Defense
- Move CFIUS oversight from Commerce to Defense to tighten export and investment scrutiny.
- Bradley Thayer recommends this as an important step to control sensitive technology transfers.
