Recent revelations from conservative activist Benny Johnson spotlight a troubling internal struggle at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where bureaucrats appear to be undermining Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts. Whistleblowers have shared alarming details regarding the distribution of a 1944 CIA manual titled “Simple Sabotage.” According to Johnson, this manual provides current HHS and CDC employees with tactics designed to impede operations and sow confusion.
The manual emphasizes tactics that promote inefficiency and delay, instructing employees to demand excessive paperwork and feign ignorance as a means of slowing processes. Examples include suggestions to “delay the delivery of orders” and to carry out actions that lead to shared blame among individuals. These techniques are not merely theoretical; whistleblowers suggest that they are being implemented in an operational context within these agencies, showcasing a resistance to the initiatives being put forth by Kennedy.
Johnson’s investigation further reveals that these tactics extend beyond mere inefficiency. The strategy appears to be aimed at creating a “non-cooperative” environment among employees. The manual encourages staff to adopt a negative attitude and to roping in colleagues to act similarly, thus fostering an atmosphere of discord and confusion. It ultimately seeks to undermine departmental morale and sabotage the function of the agency.
Beyond simply lowering morale, the manual also advises employees to produce unreadable documents and intentionally drag out projects. This too plays into a broader scheme of dysfunction. By creating documents that are difficult to decipher, the potential for delays increases, wasting crucial time that could otherwise be spent on meaningful work. The intent here is clear: to make even simple tasks complex, thereby hampering progress on larger initiatives.
As Johnson outlines, the manual’s instructions do not stop at inefficiency. It instructs agents to propagate falsehoods within the department, recruiting others to partake in these disruptive acts. This further deepens the sabotage, transforming individual efforts into a widespread campaign against functionality—the whole of HHS could come to a standstill if these tactics persist.
If these bureaucratic challenges continue unchecked, Kennedy finds himself confronting not just oppositional policies but a concerted attempt to strip him of authority. The fear is that he could be rendered powerless, akin to a figurehead without real influence, while opponents within the ranks gain ground and assert control over the department. This dynamic reflects a deeper tension within the federal bureaucracy regarding reform and accountability, especially in public health.
The use of historically rooted tactics for current-day sabotage indicates a profound level of resistance to change within government entities. This situation raises questions about the integrity of operations within HHS and the CDC, and the lengths to which some employees will go to obstruct progress.
All eyes are on how Kennedy will navigate this internal conflict, whose resolution could fundamentally alter the effectiveness and transparency of public health leadership in the United States. If these bureaucratic maneuvers are not addressed, the implications for health policy and operations at HHS could prove disastrous.
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