Our Strategic Intelligence Problem
 

Our national intelligence system will never meet our unrealistic expectations, nor can it ever answer all of our needs. No matter what we do or change or buy, intelligence agencies will remain unable to satisfy our government's appetite for knowledge. This isn't defeatism, but realism. We had better get used to the idea. :munchin

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/pri...gence_pro.html


BMT

Made some good point, but if you look at this topic as a whole. Yes the points made will be yes we as a nation will never get evry bit of Intel that is truely needed.

It a Tricky trade to be made.

Why is that?? Perhaps because some of these agencies are being told "no thanks, we got this". I have heard more than a few agents still talking about the "we are not sharing" syndrome that seems to plague the alphabet agencies, et. al. Also, I have heard the media mention that there were military intell reports that warned of some of the elements, etc. of 9/11. They were told that military intelligence could not be used against cilvilians.

I can tell you right now, if an MP or SP or the equivalent military police/ law enforcement, etc came to me with some intelligence that I thought would save the lives of civilians, I would damn sure find a way to investigate that info. I would make it usuable for the civilian agency to DO THEIR DAMN JOBS!!!!

LE can collect info against pretty much any criminal threat as part of a criminal investigation or force protection.

MI may not actively collect against US citizens, with a few caveats.

This is the law and was passed due to past abuses of MI as collection efforts against AMCITs, ostensibly for political reasons.

MPs, SPs, CID, etc. can issue warnings against suspected groups and may employ protective and investigative measures against them, retaining relevant info, but your unit S-2 may not collect against US individuals or maintain intel files on them.

There are reasons for this. You don't have to like it. You just have to follow the rules. Number One is civilian control of the US military.

TR

Intelligence (Military or otherwise) is hamstrung by the comparted element. "Need to Know" prevents much intelligence sharing. Even as the new mantra is multi-agency cooperation, the old prejudices still exist. The prejudices are that "your agency doesn't have the need to know". It still exists to an extreme, and truly hampers a unified effort.

A truly collaborative effort is still not happening. The institution is too entrenched with the old ways, and it pisses me off.