Reasons for Why the IC Has Consistently Been Able to Prevent the Gap Exposing the U.S. to Terrorist Threats
Post-9/11 intelligence reforms led to significant organizational change. These changes and the emphasis on information sharing have also resulted in the significant application of resources. Reorganization and reform raise other questions – particularly concerning domestic intelligence. First, are these changes improving security? Major changes lead to implementation challenges. Second, has information sharing improved? Information sharing carries multiple meanings, which lead to differences in expectations. Lastly, has intelligence oversight improved?
The diversity of missions and masters has resulted in a pluralistic structure with sensible—if not always optimal—divisions of labor and professional specialization.The mission of intelligence analysis is to evaluate, integrate, and interpret information in order to provide warning, reduce uncertainty, and identify opportunities. Providing insight on trends, the political calculus of particular foreign leaders, or the way problems are perceived by people outside the United States is often more helpful to decision makers than is the presentation of additional “facts” or speculation about “worst case” possibilities. Discovering that a country is cheating on a treaty commitment may be less important than providing insight into why it is doing so.
The CIA and the NSA have had a significant success in the fight against terrorism, with some of the acts of terror being thwarted before they occur. The United States’ federal government has engaged in war with several countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, with the main aim being to smoke out the remaining terrorists and/or close their operating bases (Kramer, 2009). Currently, the war is being fought on the internet and other technological fronts, with the terrorists, also being equipped for this battle. Has the CIA failed to counter-terrorism and lagged in the use of technology to fight terrorism? Is the NSA technologically equipped to use technology in the war on terrorism? Which of the two organizations has had more success in the utilization of technology in the war on terrorism? These comprise the questions that this paper will answer.
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