Here's the thing - don't expect me to be enthused about someone who cozys up to a mass murderer.

[MADem]

285. It's possible to learn from people's successes AND their fuck-ups.

He was in the cabinet for a long time, as SECSTATE and as National Security Advisor. He has a lot of institutional knowledge about how nations operate, particularly those with entrenched leaderships, even as he participated in decision-making processes that more recent SECSTATEs don't agree with, and even if they don't advocate the same methodologies of response that he advocated.

Also, during his terms as SECSTATE/NSA, he made connections, as people do. It is not uncommon for governments to use backchannels to gain information unofficially. All countries do this. They on occasion use government service "retirees" to get the lay of the land in an informal way. These people don't get paid for these little assistances but it's a way to acquire information in a plausibly deniable fashion. Finally, he owns, with Brent Scowcroft (think about that for a bit), an "international consulting firm" that is very secretive in how they do business. They don't reveal their client list publicly, but I wouldn't be surprised if they let the US government know a thing or two every now and then.