When the legendary CIA Director Richard Helms encountered difficulties at home or abroad, his biographer Thomas Powers wrote, his characteristic response was: “Let’s get on with it.”

But that cold-blooded confidence becomes impossible if intelligence officials are constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering what the White House thinks. Helms faced the ultimate pressure when President Richard M. Nixon demanded that the CIA cover up the Watergate scandal. He refused and was asked to resign.

Politicization is a special poison for intelligence and national security officials. It skews judgment and encourages false or misleading reporting. It rewards those who curry favor and punishes those who tell the truth. It leads to paralysis, as officials become fearful of taking any step that could get them into trouble.

This poison is now leaching into the intelligence community, following interventions by the White House over the past week that have derailed experienced professionals at the NSA, the NSC and the CIA. The victims aren’t part of some imaginary “deep state.” They are veteran officials of the agencies that protect Americans from catastrophe. The most senior casualty is Gen. Timothy Haugh, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. He was informed Thursday while traveling overseas that he had been fired. Haugh was a target of right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who had met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to complain about members of his national security team. Haugh, who led the nation’s most powerful intelligence agency, was vaporized in what seems to have been a political crusade.

Haugh’s crime, apparently, was that he had been selected by the Biden administration and recommended by retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Loomer posted Friday on X: “As a Biden appointee, General Haugh had no place serving in the Trump admin given the fact that he was HAND PICKED by General Milley, who was accused of committing treason by President Trump.”

Loomer also struck several targets on the National Security Council staff, according to the New York Times. While national security adviser Michael Waltz listened helplessly, she attacked members of his team who would be gone just over 24 hours later. Waltz survived, along with his embattled deputy, Alex Wong. But it will be hard for Waltz to run an effective interagency process if he can’t manage his own staff without interference.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe also seems handcuffed by political pressure. He had selected Ralph Goff, a widely respected retired officer and six-time station chief, to head the directorate of operations, which runs spy activities abroad. The choice was popular with current CIA officers and the agency’s vocal alumni group. Several spoke of Goff as a pragmatist and a professional who could help Ratcliffe rebuild operations. One veteran characterized him as “a true patriot” and “not a Trump loyalist.” But that may have been the problem.

On Monday, rumors began circulating that Goff was out, and by Wednesday, Politico had published a story that his nomination had been withdrawn. CIA morale, already shaken, was rocked by the news. One former officer who spoke with several colleagues at Langley explained that the incident was seen as “a reflection that Ratcliffe has absolutely no sway with the White House. People are mortified.”

Goff hasn’t responded to my requests for comment, so I can’t provide details about what happened. But former officials noted his expressions of support for Ukraine. The most recent came Monday, when Goff posted on LinkedIn an article about a New York Times commentary by Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) with the headline, “My Fellow Republicans and President Trump, We Must Stand Up to Putin.”

Intelligence agencies need competent leaders because a president needs them to act quickly and decisively in a crisis. George J. Tenet, another former CIA director, said in a 2002 interview, in the aftermath of 9/11: “The president of the United States would never tolerate anything other than our most honest judgment. Our credibility and integrity are our most precious commodities.”

That’s the way it’s supposed to work. But what you sensed among intelligence community veterans last week was fear - of the next purge, the next political edict, the next step down the road toward disaster.

David Ignatius is a Washington Post columnist.