Beers worked alongside Clarke in the NSC. As some of Clarke's critics have noted, the two were longtime friends; they currently teach a course together at Harvard; and Beers has since become the national security adviser for John Kerry's presidential campaign. The implication is that Beers and Clarke are saying these things for partisan motives.

Like Clarke, Beers worked in the NSC for every president since—and including—Reagan. Unlike Clarke, Beers is an ex-Marine who had fought in a rifle company in Vietnam. Both men are widely known as genuinely nonpartisan—quintessential career government national security analysts, comfortable with working for presidents of either party. When he announced that he'd joined the Kerry campaign, his former associates were shocked; he never seemed to be very political. By all accounts, he was motivated by a sincere disgust over Bush's policies—and sympathy with Kerry as a fellow Vietnam vet. (Beers joined his campaign last May, well before anyone could know who would be the nominee.)