Hope is Not a Foreign Policy » Intelligence

Crisis in Egypt: Another U.S. Intelligence Failure

Tom Skypek — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:14:44 +0000

Consider all the money we spend annually on intelligence in the United States (around $80.1 in FY10); now consider the fact that Washington was caught flatfooted on Egypt. It should prompt you to question the efficacy of our intelligence apparatus–even after the massive post-September 11 re-organization. Last fall, Paul Pillar wrote an outstanding article in which he argued that the reorganization (and establishment of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI)) was more of a knee-jerk political response than a value added restructuring of a bloated enterprise.

The real deficiency is a failure to communicate and share information. “Information sharing” is a buzz word these days among the various executive departments and agencies, but the reality is that genuine information sharing is still rare; instances of effective information sharing can usually be traced back to established personal relationships rather than an institutionalized culture of information exchange among departments and agencies.

Bureaucratic politics and cultural barriers are the primary culprits. There is no standardization of information in terms of sensitivity and classification levels which can make information sharing across departments difficult. Bureaucrats are also reluctant to share information out of budgetary concerns. No one likes to open up their books to other departments and agencies out of fear that duplicative efforts will be merged and programs cut.

The establishment of the DNI, while well-intentioned, was a mistake. The DNI does not have the power of the purse over the other agencies and growing government by creating more bureaucracy usually doesn’t solve anything. It placates some individuals and gives politicians something to point to so they can say, “Look, we did something.”

Don’t Be Facebook Friends with a Spy

Tom Skypek — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:45:43 +0000

It appears as though accused Russian spy Mikhail Semenko was an active social networker. Semenko and his comrades are a case study in espionage 2.0. He had accounts on LinkedIn and Facebook. He even ran a blog on the Chinese economy. What are the lessons here? Well, first, you should know who you’re connected to on these social networking sites. A Facebook news feed could have been a great source of intelligence for Semenko, if he was friends with the right people–say, a congressman on the right committee who posts a little too much on his Facebook account or even a mid-level civil servant working in a sensitive national security position. It seems hard to believe, but it’s true. Spies aren’t just after things like weapons designs and highly classified documents. More mundane and seemingly innocent bits of information, such as a person’s schedule, location or patterns of behavior, can be equally useful to a foreign agent.

If you’re a foreign agent, Facebook is a great way to target potential sources. As such, people who work in sensitive positions, especially three-letter agencies, should be careful about what they put into these publicly searchable profiles. This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised. In military parlance, this is called operational security. Unfortunately, there are a lot of silly kids who don’t practice operational security. I’m not suggesting that we need a Joe McCarthy of Facebook–only that people in sensitive positions be mindful about what kind of information they disclose and to whom.

Also, check out Jim Robbins’s account of his recent encounter with Semenko at a lecture in Washington.

The Blue Force Tracker

Tom Skypek — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:47:12 +0000

If you’re interested in defense and national security issues, a friend and colleague of mine has launched an outstanding new blog with talented, insightful bloggers. The Blue Force Tracker is a project of the Society of National Security Professionals, a professional organization “dedicated to improving national security by bringing together members of various professional disciplines to collaborate and exchange information.” Please check out the blog.

Combating the September 10th Mindset: New Website for Intelligence Officers Threatened with Investigation

Tom Skypek — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:50:43 +0000

Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to investigate, and potentially prosecute, CIA intelligence officers for alleged “abuses” in the interrogation of detainees was stunning, to say the least. The idea that the Department of Justice would investigate the men and women who keep this country safe is a troubling sign for all Americans. It is pretty clear that these investigations are politically-motivated and have been concocted as yet another way to smear the Bush administration. The net effect, however, is a weakening of U.S. national security. Retired Marine Corps Lt. Ilario Pantano launched a website today–StandwithIntelligence.com–which focuses on providing support to U.S. intelligence professionals.

Instead of launching their own investigations of the CIA, the Congress should assess the long-term effects of the Justice Department’s investigations on the Intelligence Community. Will these investigations reduce our intelligence capabilities by making these organizations risk-averse? The Intelligence Community, particuarly the CIA, became risk-averse during the 1990s, thanks to a series of internal and external investigations. This risk-aversion undoubtedly contributed to the massive intelligence failures that predated the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Intelligence Community must be subjected to rigorous oversight by the Congress. However, politically-motivated witch hunts masquerading as legitimate congressional oversight are not helpful and will only increase the risk-aversion of intelligence officers and the broader Intelligence Community.

A quote from George Orwell, posted on the website is instructive:

We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.

It is a very dangerous world, but it seems that many in the Obama administration and the Congress have forgotten this basic truth and are operating under a September 10th mindset.