Deterrence and Policy

The Director of National Intelligence had a good perspective on deterrence strategy when asked about it in testimony at the House of Representatives.  He said, "It's policy."  He was dead on.  It's policy that he can't set, and the Intelligence Community must follow, from the White House and particularly the National Security Council.  Legislators are finally bringing up the lack of deterrence, blaming the wrong people for it.  The IC can't make policy in this area, and neither can agencies like Defense.

Cory Bennet, in yesterday's The Hill, summarized legislative frustration with the lack of policy
[ http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/255290-frustrated-lawmakers-want-cyber-retaliation ]  especially in light of an agreement with China to stop hacking each others intellectual property - something nobody believes will happen.  Bennet quotes an exchange between John McCain and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert Work, as being testy on the point of policy.  Work said Defense was working on a policy, but hadn't formalized it yet.  McCain asked him about options and he started to say that was a policy area that hadn't been finished yet.  Wrong answer.  DoD certainly isn't responsible for developing a national policy, but they should at least have response options and contingencies as a part of what Cyber Command does.  This is circular logic on all counts, to keep from blaming the people who actually should be making policy.  In Work's shoes, any answer was the wrong answer, except the truth.  There isn't any deterrent strategy, and it comes from the White House and NSC, not from the agencies that will implement it.