Managing Intelligence in National Security

Managing Intelligence in National Security At which stage of the intelligence cycle is failure most likely to occur, and why? The most common, traditional paradigm for managing intelligence ‘flow’ is a cycle of four components: direction, collection, processing, and dissemination. Direction comes from policymakers: heads of government agencies, heads of state, senior government officials tasked with overseeing intelligence, and the like, who provide both specific and general roadmaps to intelligence agencies as to how they should apply their resources to defend national interests both at home and abroad. Collection is the process by which intelligence is gathered in a variety of fashions: via HUMINT – intelligence data collected by personal, human effort ‘on the ground’; electronically, e.g. SIGINT (interception of signals), IMINT (satellite, photographic imagining intelligence), etc. Processing is the analysis of the data obtained in the collection component, the means by which the nature, relevance and relative importance of the collected intelligence is ascertained by mea ns both scientific and intuitive. (Arguably, processing is the most important component of the cycle, but the least amount of money is often budgeted to this component of the cycle.) Dissemination refers to the process by which the relevant information is channeled to the appropriate decision-making party within a timetable commensurate with the importance of the information collected and the results of the processing/analysis. Each of the four components of the cycle is fraught with peril for failure and failure in any one component can be catastrophic. The two arenas where failure is most likely to occur, however, are collection and analysis. Failures in collection are often due to lack of applied resources, whether technological or human. The debate has raged for decades over whether HUMINT is superior to intelligence data gathered by increasingly advancing technological wizardry. Most likely, a healthy application of and symbiosis between the two is critical. There is no substitute for the personal presence of agents, operatives, and contacts on the ground, substantially integrated with useful components of whichever society in which they are placed. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was woefully lacking in human collection efforts in Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and in Iraq during the same time period (though to a lesser extent). Compounding matters was the dearth of CIA field operatives or domestically-based personnel who spoke the common languages of the Middle East – Arabic, Farsi, Pashtun, etc. However, rapid advances in computer technology have enabled the collection of vast quantities o f raw intelligence data – telephone calls, e-mails, radio transmissions, etc., and intelligence agencies who lack such technology will invariably be at a massive disadvantage. Failures in processing/analysis can occur when the collection apparatus has delivered all of the puzzle pieces, usually due to either a collective/institutional, or individual inability to connect the proverbial dots and turn raw data into actionable intelligence conclusions. The 9/11 attacks are a regrettably perfect example of failures in analysis. Discrete entities in the U.S. intelligence community – the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and CIA, as well as other government agencies (the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Federal Aviation Administration) – all possessed nuggets of raw data which if analyzed properly, would clearly have indicated (in fact, some say did definitively indicate) that an Al-Qaida attack on the U.S. using airplanes was imminent. However, these entities failed to share this data and collaborate cooperatively to analyze it. Turf warfare, egos, bureaucratic inertia, and competing political agendas can easily cause fatal paralysis in intelligence processing. The costs of covert action tend to outweigh its benefits. Discuss. The question of whether the costs of covert action outweigh its benefits depend greatly on the context of the covert action; is it an ongoing, multi-year low-intensity campaign involving numerous agendas, or is it an urgent, high-priority single mission designed to achieve a massive single strategic goal? Also, the notion of costs must be defined in relative terms – monetary costs, human costs, opportunity costs; indirect costs (unintended consequences); other abstract and intangible costs such as ethics, legal ramifications, etc. The CIA has long been involved in low-intensity covert actions in a variety of nations, with varying degrees of success. The Iran-Contra affair, in which Reagan administration officials diverted proceeds from the sale of arms to Iran to anti-Marxist Nicaraguan rebels in the mid-1980s, was costly in both monetary terms (hundreds of millions of pounds) and legal terms – a number of Reagan administration officials were subjected to criminal charg es for their roles in facilitating both the operation itself and the cover-up of the operation (the American Congress had passed a law forbidding U.S. government direct aid to the Contras). However, in the wake of 9/11, when the U.S. government concluded that decisive force was required to respond to Al-Qaida’s attack on U.S. soil, the CIA and DoD (Department of Defense) were authorized by President Bush to spend whatever was necessary to execute some of the most bold covert actions – particularly in HUMINT undertaken by American intelligence agencies in decades. HUMINT capacity at the CIA eroded as, ironically, the moral excesses of covert activities of the 1960s-1970s caused a backlash that choked off HUMINT funding priority; also, the end of the Cold War led many policymakers to conclude that the CIA’s resources were better spent on electronic means of collection, as covert action can be prohibitively expensive in both time and money. However, the CIA was authorized and ordered to act boldly and within a matter of weeks, had substantial HUMINT on the ground in Afghanistan both collecting data and coordinating with DoD military planners to levera ge intelligence into actionable military plans. The goal: to defeat the Taliban, who had hosted Al-Qaida in a darkly symbiotic relationship which held the country in a repressive stranglehold and provided safe haven for the training of thousands of would-be terrorists. Mindful of the failure of the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, CIA realized that only an asymmetrical application of covert power (mirroring Al-Qaida’s approach to the 9/11 attacks, ironically) would be effective, as a conventional ground war could be too costly in both manpower and lives on both sides. A shrewd application of HUMINT, technology, and good old-fashioned money engineered the relatively rapid American triumph in Afghanistan in 2001. CIA operatives on the ground descended into Afghanistan with little support, made contact with sympathetic Afghan warlords, dispensed hundreds of millions of dollars to other warlords and tribal leaders, in some cases simply to bribe them into switching sides and fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaida. These same operatives also used hand-held laser GPS equipment to target enemy strongholds and transmit this location data directly to U.S. aircraft, who in turn dropped laser-guided bombs with deadly efficiency. The cost was in the billions, but the victory was swift, decisive, and – given the ramifications of the triumph – extremely inexpensive, relatively speaking. As such, not all covert operations are too costly to make them worthwhile. Discuss the importance of open sources collection in comparison to clandestine collection. Is clandestine collection indeed more valuable? Open-source(s) collection refers to the collection of actionable or otherwise valuable/relevant intelligence data from publicly available sources. Prior to the advent of the Internet, this methodology was not without value, but in many cases prohibitively time-intensive, and less prone to yield results. Though the type of information available to the public at a local library might surprise a layperson, it is dwarfed by what is now available on the Internet to anyone with a personal computer. In some cases, an intelligence analyst sitting at a desk in London can gather valuable, reliable information about conditions on the ground in a city halfway across the globe – weather conditions, local news, political and business developments, cultural idiosyncracies. Other sources of OSINT, as it is termed, include diverse sources as consultations with experts in various fields within academia or the business world, professional associations, professional conventions, to simple thought ful Google searches and reading of blogs. The trend globally is towards an ever-increasing amount of openness of information exchange thanks to the Internet. Increasingly sophisticated ‘sweeper’ data-mining software technology, which is often used to collect and in some cases process large volumes of conventional communication traffic, are being utilized by the CIA to scan millions of websites, searching for key terms, phrases, contexts, which might indicate that human review would be advantageous or essential. Instructions to make improvised explosive devices can easily be posted on websites, and 21st century intelligence collection must conform to this new reality. In comparison, the best use of clandestine intelligence vis-à  -vis OSINT efforts is to obtain highly specialized or esoteric intelligence information that is either intentionally kept confidential (classified government secrets, for example). OISINT processing and analysis can help frame and answer a number of general questions and/or analyze larger patterns and trends, whereas clandestine intelligence can help answer targeted, specific questions that cannot be ascertained by either human or computer OSINT efforts. For example, in response to the intelligence reforms demanded in the wake of the failure to anticipate and prevent the 9/11 attacks, the CIA formed an â€Å"Open Source Center† (OSC) to focus specifically on OSINT. In 2004, OSC used OSINT technology to discover that a new, powerful Chinese submarine had been constructed in an underground location heretofore unknown to the American military and intelligence community. The tip-off? Chinese military bloggers, one of whom posted a photograph of the impressive new Chinese submarine (the Yuan-class attack submarine) on a publicly viewable website. CIA in turn employed HUMINT and electronic surveillance to ascertain where the submarine had been constructed and what its operational abilities might be. In a less dramatic example, OSC searched Iraqi websites for postings related to the use of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), in some cases gathering actionable data which helped avert the use of these deadly terrorist tools. (The inad vertent destruction of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 by NATO bombs might have been averted by some of the most rudimentary OSINT – having a human operative walk down the street to make sure the military target’s address was correct.) Clandestine collection activities, particularly HUMINT efforts, will always have their place, but in a world where information is available anywhere, anytime, at the click of a mouse, intelligence agencies must dedicate significant resources to OSINT.

Leader of my life: my mother Essay

An influential leader in my life is my mother because she exemplifies a godly woman in many ways. She is a whole person. She is a cooperative leader in the home. She also understands and accepts her role, despite cultural trends and pressure. She models authentic spirituality. She is the keeper of intimate feelings. She demonstrates and teaches compassion. She desires to complete duties with her heart. Her strong faith in God is contagious in my life. As a whole person, my mother is beautiful, healthy, and wealthy in God. Her beauty radiates from her modest and humble personality and her tastefully modest clothing style. Her desire for nutrition and personal hygiene is key to her amazing health. She knows her wealth comes from God because he blessed her with a strong Christian husband and three daughters. She gives me a beautiful reminder to remember who I am and whose I am. My mother is also a cooperative leader at home. She understands God’s design for marriage. The love and respect she gives to my father is an example of that leadership. She demonstrates cooperation through building a healthy marriage in partnership with my father. Despite trends and pressure from culture, my mother understands and accepts her role as a godly woman. Growing up, my mother taught me the dominant values of Christianity so I can carry those values into my adult life and be a Christian witness to others. She holds to her values at work as an anatomy professor, and sometimes she gets ridiculed for her faith, but she stands strong. My mother models authentic spirituality daily. She understands what is at stake, and I am willing to do anything to stand up for my faith. She invests time to strengthen her walk with Christ, and has instilled that in me as well. Another leadership quality my mother holds is her ability to never share the feelings, fears, and dreams I express to her. She is an excellent listener and provides me with spiritual advice. I like to think that I am a confidant and can be trusted by those who need a listening ear. Throughout my life, my mother has demonstrated and taught compassion. She is the source of my care, protection, nourishment, and sacrifice. Adopted at birth, my mother has sufficiently provided for me out of love. She guards  me with her life to keep me on the right path. She taught me to love healthy and nutritious food so I can do the same for my children. My mother has also made an abundance of sacrifices to make sure I live by God’s design. Finally, my mother desires lasting results with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. She utilizes her wisdom by teaching me the ways of life. She rejoices as I apply her teachings in my life and she understands me. The abundance of knowledge my mother has supplied me with continuously fills my life with rare and beautiful treasures. My mother continually molds me into the person God intends. She shares a special partnership with God that nobody can take away from her. My mother is an influential leader in my life as an example of a godly woman. She is pure and whole in the eyes of God. She demonstrates cooperation by understanding and accepting her roles against cultural trends and pressure. She is a model of authentic spirituality, and provides a listening ear. The compassion she beholds is contagious, and she desires to complete duties with her heart. This is how my mother models leadership.

Competition – What do we mean by the Global Market place?

1. What do we mean by the Global Market place? Global means to introduce the company world wide. To make the company known to the whole world rather than just one country. 2. What is globalisation? Globalisation refers to the way a company sets out to operate in exactly the same way throughout the globe using the same packaging, the same products, the same adverts, etc., in every country in which it operates. 3. What is internationalisation? This refers to the way in which companies expand their operations overseas in order to exploit new markets. 4. To be competitive an organisation needs to make sure that it: * Provide quality products that meet customer requirements. * Values its people- the most important resource of any organisation. * Uses modern technology, including information technology, to its full potential. * Ploughs back funds into new investment, research and product development. * Experiments with new ideas and sets out to lead rather than follow the field. * Makes sure that it has outstanding customer and community relationships as well as respecting the environment. * Takes into consideration the requirements of all its stakeholders.

To Autumn, by John Keats Essay - 887 Words

The poem â€Å"To Autumn† by John Keats was written with a sense of him describing his girl as a person, of whom he loved very dearly. This was the last great ode he was able to write before he died (Prince). This poem was written on crisp, fall day in September (Flesch). After Keats had composed this poem, he wrote a letter to his friend calling his work a genesis (Flesch). Even though this poem was written for Keats lover, it also described how as the seasons are changed to fall, summer still has a small grasp and sharpness to it as the seasons changed (Flesch). John Keats uses what he sees around him on a crisp fall day and compares it to love for someone. During the third stanza, he changes from the silence of autumn to the different†¦show more content†¦As time went on, John started to attract notice about his works, but not everyone thought he was a good writer. John Keats later fell in love with a girl named Fanny, and they became engaged, during this time no o ne saw any output of new writings for a while. Soon after he stopped writing he began writing several odes in hopes to earn money. Some of the poems he wrote during this time were ode to a Grecian urn and Ode to autumn. (Cook). In February of 1820, John began showing signs of tuberculosis which took his life. John Keats died thinking that he was a failure as a writer, but shortly afterwards he died he was sent for the neglected genius. â€Å"To Autumn† or better known â€Å"Ode to Autumn† was considered to have achieved a great degree of imagery sounds, life and nature (Flesch). John Keats achieved this level of complexity for this poem because he was able to be inspired by nature and the different sounds as his inspiration. The poem â€Å"To Autumn† is divided into three separate stanzas that are 11 lines each. The first draft of the poem was written as if it was at first going to have two stanzas instead of the three that we know now (Ridley). In each of these stanzas there are personifications and different meanings used throughout the poem, describing what he sees (Ridley). In the first stanza John Keats uses ABABCDEDCCE rhyming pattern, and in the other two stanzas Keats uses ABABCDECDDE pattern. Keats used poetic dictation to helpShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Autumn By John Keats Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesTo Autumn by John Keats exemplifies a poem full of imagery that showcases the scenery of a typical Autumn ensemble. The name itself is something worth analyzing. The â€Å"To Autumn† deems autumn as the recipient of the rhetoric. The title is pregnant with personification. It is structured in three eleven-line stanzas that follow the chronological progression of autumn with autum n (personified) performing three distinct occupations at each level/stanza. Personification is habitually present throughoutRead MoreEssay on John Keats To Autumn1696 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Keats To Autumn Life is a beautiful thing that should not be wasted. Life must be lived without warning; it is not to be taken for granted. We will never fully understand life, not even in a million years. The theme of John Keats To Autumn is to enjoy life, even as you grow old and it begins to move away from you. He spreads his message through the time frame, imagery, and diction of the stanzas. To begin with, the time frame of the stanzas begins to prove the theme. By itselfRead More To Autumn by John Keats Essay590 Words   |  3 PagesTo Autumn by John Keats â€Å"To Autumn† is one of the most famous, and perfect odes written by John Keats, and any modern writer. It is quite fitting that his greatest piece was the last one that he ever wrote before he met with his unfortunate end. However, this ode has some significant differences to the other odes that he has written. Firstly, there is no flight from reality, or deviation into imagination or dream, in fact there is no narrative voice at all. Secondly, it has an unprecedentedRead MoreAnalysis Of To Autumn By John Keats1939 Words   |  8 PagesThe years between 1818 and 1821 mark the final stages of John Keats’ life. Those last few years were tumultuous for Keats. Family deaths, poverty, and a doomed romantic interest were things that contributed to his anxieties. However, those years also proved to be some of Keats most inspirational. It was a combination of these inspirations and anxieties that would lead to some of his greatest works. In that short period of time, he produced masterpiece after masterpiece: â€Å"The Eve of Saint Agnes†Read MoreOde to Autumn by John Keats Essay713 Words   |  3 PagesOde to Autumn by John Keats This poem that I am going to be focusing on is titled Ode to Autumn, written by John Keats. This poem shows an aspect of the natural world and I am going to prove in detail how the techniques used by the poet made me think more deeply about the subject. The title of this poem is Ode to Autumn. This is basically what the poem is about. The poem focuses on autumn, one of the four seasons. I am going to be focusing on two techniques usedRead MoreThe Beauty And Richness Of Autumn By John Keats1391 Words   |  6 Pageslife pass them, missing out on the true wonders of the world. In his poem â€Å"To Autumn,† John Keats utilizes imagery to express the importance of indulging in the beauties of nature, while alive, because humans are mortal beings bound by the limits of time. Throughout the beginning of the poem, Keats touches on the beauty and richness of autumn. He accomplishes this by introducing distinct fall imagery. For example, Keats writes in lines 5 and 6, â€Å"To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees; And fillRead MoreOde to a Nightingale and To Autumn by John Keats.1611 Words   |  7 PagesRomanticism is a movement in literature that came as a result of a revolt against the previous period Classicism. John Keats was an English poet who became one of the most important Romantic poets. William Wordsworth, another significant figure during Romanticism, described it as liberalism in literature, meaning the artist was free from restraints and rules, and was encouraged to write about his/her own experiences, rather than being a passive narrator praising an event or person. RomanticismRead More Two Romantic poems concerning nature are To Autumn by John Keats1459 Words   |  6 PagesTwo Romantic poems concerning nature are To Autumn by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s To a Skylark. These two poems celebrate different aspects of nature: ‘Compare how nature is presented two Romantic poems’ Poets of the Romantic Era tried to express their feelings of beauty, nature and decay through poems and other means of literature. Two Romantic poems concerning nature are â€Å"To Autumn† by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s â€Å"To a Skylark†. These two poems celebrate differentRead More Consider La Belle Dame sans Merci and To Autumn by John Keats1345 Words   |  6 PagesConsider La Belle Dame sans Merci and To Autumn by John Keats John Keats was born in 1795 and died in 1821. He lived a short life as he suffered from tuberculosis, and died in his early twenties. Keats is one of the great Romantic poets of the early 19th century. Most of his poetry was crammed into the last few years of his life, which is why some of his poems relate death. He had a great love for nature, which was always included in his poetry in some way. He saw his mother and his brotherRead More John Keats’ To Autumn and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind1218 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Keats’ To Autumn and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind Even though both John Keats’s â€Å"To Autumn† and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s â€Å"Ode to the West Wind† are about the same season, they are very dissimilar. Keats’s poem concentrates on the creating power of autumn, and makes it seem a gentle season, while in Shelley’s poem death is a repeating image, and shows autumn’s destroying power. In â€Å"To Autumn†, Keats uses three stanzas of eleven lines each. The first seven lines of each