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Sunda Sundar K Sharma

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Strengthening Intelligence for Sustainable Homeland Security of
document United States of America
a Date: 2010.06.25
18:17:28 +05'45'

"To lack intelligence is to be in the ring blindfolded." - Former Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup

Background

Vulnerability to terrorism is one of the central issues for Homeland Security strategies of United States.
Terrorism is becoming a global challenge and is continually triggering the security situation of United
States. After the event of 9/11, United States has gone through a multiple strategies in homeland
security. The vulnerability to terrorism is the eliciting call to strengthen intelligence capabilities of
United States. Keeping in mind the importance of intelligence for the sustainable homeland security of
U.S, this essay tries to put forward an insight on the importance of intelligence based on the lessons
learned from the past terrorist attacks and threats. It has tried to convey a message on the critical role of
intelligence and the ways for strengthening the intelligence for Sustainable Homeland Security of United
States.
Regarding the vulnerability context of terrorist attacks and threats in United States, former U.S. senator,
Warren Rudman , said that; ‘ in three and a half years of deliberations, traveling around the world,
talking to foreign leaders, foreign intelligence services, all the United States experts, academics in this
country and abroad, we came to the conclusion that (A) there are large groups of people in this world
who are terrorists who didn't like us, didn't like what we stood for, didn't like our policies; (B) they had
the capacity to hurt us; and (C) when they could, they would’. 1Upon this realization intelligence is being
integrated as a component of Homeland security. ‘A primary mission of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS, Department) is to “prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the
vulnerability of the United States to terrorism, and minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery from
terrorist attacks that do occur in the United States.” Since its inception in 2003, DHS has had an
intelligence component to support this mission and has been a member of the U.S. Intelligence
Community (IC)’.2 Based on the critical review, this essay has proposed major pathways of
Cooperative Coordination between intelligence community and the law enforcement community,
Incorporation of the highly efficient disciplines of research and development in intelligence
analysis, Smart Investment on intelligence to improve institutional and professional capabilities.

                                                            
1
Frontline interview with a former U.S. senator, Warren Rudman (R-N.H.) chaired the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
from 1997 to 2000. This interview was conducted mid-September 2001.
Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terrorism/interviews/rudman.html
2
The Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise: Operational Overview and Oversight Challenges for Congress,
Mark A. Randol, Specialist in Domestic Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism, May 27, 2009, Congressional Research Service,
www.crs.gov (R40602, the Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise Congressional Research Service)

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Lessons From the Past:

Former U.S. senator, Warren Rudman who was also the chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board from 1997 to 2000, has argued that although intelligence agencies may be able to assess
security threats, they are rarely able to predict terrorists' intentions. Regarding the event of September
11, in an interview, he has said ‘of course it was an intelligence failure. By definition, when something
bad happens to you, and you didn't know about it, it's an intelligence failure’.3 According to Loch
Johnson the resulting analytical failures have shown up repeatedly since 1994 in a string of
embarrassing and often deadly disasters4. Across the board of the various intelligence methods,
America's analytic depth is found to be uncomfortably shallow. Loch Johnson argued that, Imagery
analysis in particular has suffered from inadequate attention. The hundreds of photographs a day that
return to the United States from surveillance satellites have overwhelmed interpreters. A senior
congressional staffer with responsibilities for intelligence oversight recently complained that "less than
half of the pictures taken by our satellites ever get looked at by human eyes," or, for that matter, "by any
sort of mechanized device or computerized device detecting change." In this regard, stepping towards
better intelligence is held by many observers to be a crucial factor for strengthening the Homeland
Security of United States.
Regarding the complex dynamics of terrorism and its threats, Rich DiSabatino, the director of
Intelligence Support Group Ltd., inferred that ‘Well, we are probably one of the most powerful
intelligence agencies in the world. However, we have a long way to go, especially with a new threat
such as sophisticated targets, such as bin Laden. For instance, we can receive information and it could be
processed automatically on keyword recognition. However, if that information was scrambled or
encrypted, you would not be able to even hear the keyword until it was processed in the clear’.5 The
chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a former CIA officer, Porter
Goss (R-Fl.) said the intelligence community was unprepared for the new terrorist threat. He calls for a
new emphasis on qualified personnel to infiltrate terrorist organizations and analysts who can decode
and understand the information gathered by electronic and other surveillance methods.6 In terms of the
existing strength of the intelligence, he added ‘We don't have enough analysts. We are hopelessly
underinvested in analysts’.
"Ideally there should be one single organisation responsible for all security intelligence within the country. If there is more
than one, it is almost impossible to define the respective responsibilities of each organisation or to devise any means of
coordinating their activities. .., agents, especially the less reliable, will get themselves on to the payroll of several
organisations and feed them the same unreliable information. Such information seemingly confirmed from different sources
will be accepted as authentic. The different organizations will withhold information from one another in order to obtain the
credit for themselves. A promising line of intelligence may well be cut inadvertently, or even intentionally, by another
organisation. Mutual suspicion and jealousies will arise, quite likely with the result that the separate organisations merely
end up spying on each other. .. The best organisation to be responsible for all internal security intelligence work is the
special branch of a police force rather than a completely separate organisation. It is a great advantage if intelligence
officers have police powers and are able to call when necessary on other branches of the police for support and assistance
for developing their intelligence work." SIS Director of Operations (1950) - Sir Robert Thompson
                                                            
3
Frontline interview , Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terrorism/interviews/rudman.html
4
The CIA's Weakest Link , What our intelligence agencies need are more professors, By Loch Johnson , Washington Monthly,
July/August 2001 , Available at: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0107.johnson.html

(Loch Johnson, Regents Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia, is the author of "Bombs, Bugs, Drugs, and Thugs."
This article was supported by a grant from Understanding Government).
5
Frontline interview , Available at : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terrorism/interviews/disabatino.html
6
Frontline interview , Available at : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terrorism/interviews/goss.html
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 Ways Forward:

Cooperative Coordination between intelligence community and the law enforcement community

Cooperation between the U.S. intelligence community and the law enforcement community is the prime
factor for strengthening intelligence capabilities in United States. To address the challenges facing the
U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have
sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. This is all
about making cooperation effective for substantial leadership and managerial challenges. The U.S.
foreign relations can determine the capability also; it will depend on how government deals with foreign
governments, the amount of information shared back and forth, and the international coalitions against
terrorism threats and attacks. There should be competence rather than competition within the
intelligence community and networks.

Incorporating the highly efficient disciplines of research and development in intelligence analysis

Qualified researchers and analysts are required to understand the information gathered latest technical
tools, e.g. by electronic and other surveillance methods. Incorporating new disciplines can be highly
effective for strengthening the analytical capability of intelligence researchers. E.g. forensic science
contributes to the gathering of effective and timely intelligence and investigative information on
terrorists and terrorist groups.7

Smart investment for smart results

Investment for intelligence should be sufficient enough to enhance the institutional and professional
capabilities. William Gardella has clearly enlightened the importance of researches in intelligence and
said that ‘the application of a sustained academic expenditure remains a critical necessity. The
complexity of the terrorist ideal demands the rational insight gained from academic investigation’8. She
concluded that the capacity to formulate solutions to highly dynamic and complex problems requires a
sustained academic expenditure.

"Describing a past event is not intelligence analysis, it is history. True intelligence analysis is always predictive"-
Robert M. Clark, Intelligence Analysis: A Target-Centric Approach (2004, CQ Press)

                                                            

7
TRENGTHENING FORENSIC SCIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES, A PATH FORWARD; by: Committee on Identifying the Needs
of the Forensic Science Community, Committee on Science, Technology, and Law Policy and Global Affairs, Committee on Applied and
Theoretical Statistics, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL
ACADEMIES, THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS, Washington, D.C., www.nap.edu

8
William Gardella, Ascendancy through Perception: the Importance of Dedicated Investment in Academic Homeland Security Research
and Inquiry, CHDS essay contest August 2008, , Copyright 2009 - NPS Center for Homeland Defense and Security , http://www.hsaj.org/

 
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 Past studies have suggested to reform not only the structure of the security system but also emphasized
on the proper resource allocation in the critical mission areas. Intelligence is the most critical mission
area for homeland security (Please see figure below), but contrary to this fact the budget allocation to
intelligence is lowest of all other sectors. In fact, researchers argue with such budgetary provisions and
they have suggested for focusing on smart investment for intelligence researches and development.

Critical Mission Area FY 2008

Budget Authority
Six Critical Mission Areas for
(Billions of
Dollars) Homeland Security

Intelligence and Warning 0.3 • Intelligence and Warning

Border and Transportation Security 20.8 • Border and Transportation Security

Domestic counterterrorism 2.2 • Domestic counterterrorism
Protecting Critical Infrastructire and Key Assets 3.0
• Protecting Critical Infrastructire and
Defending Against Catastrophic Threats 1.3 Key Assets

Emergency Preparedness and Response 1.8 • Defending Against Catastrophic

Threats
Other 0.2
• Emergency Preparedness and
Total, DHS Homeland Security Activites 29.6
Response
DHS Non-Homeland Secirity Activites 16.8

Grand Total DHS 46.4

Sources: The National Strategy for Homeland Security, July 2002. , Budget of the United States for FY 2008, Analytical Perspectives as in
Cindy Williams, 2008-presidential transition series, Strengthening Homeland Security: reforming Planning and resource allocation.

Global Homeland Security, Homeland Defense & Intelligence Markets Outlook 2009-2018, forecasts that global
HLS-HLD markets will exhibit a robust growth at a CAGR of 7.3% (for the period 2009-2018). 1

The following factors will impact this forecasted HLS-HLD market growth:

• The Obama administration’s adoption of Keynesian economics, expanding federally-funded HLS-HLD spending
to curb economic recession
• Increased funding in some key market sectors such as :Cyber Security ,Bio Defense, Information Technology,C3I,
Perimeter and Border Security
• The bi-partisan commitment to homeland security in the U.S.
• The Chinese government’s internal security concerns at times of slow economic growth
• Middle Eastern investments in regime stabilization, to counter threats from homegrown radical Islam
• India’s escalating Al-Qaeda terror activities
• The need to replace ineffective counter terror technologies

It concludes that the lion share of this market’s expansion will be financed by an ever-growing redirection of non terror-
related national security budgets toward the homeland security, homeland defense and counter-terror intelligence sectors.

Sources: Homeland Security Research, 601 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington D.C. 20004, USA

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Initiatives for Strengthening Intelligence Capabilities:

Regarding the occasional failure of intelligence president Obama concluded three different failures ;
Failure to follow up on and prioritize particular streams of intelligence , failure to connect the dots of
intelligence that existed across United States intelligence community, failure fed into shortcomings in
the watch-listing system. Based on this conclusion, president has made following remarks for
strengthening the capability of the intelligence,

1. ‘Intelligence community immediately begin assigning specific responsibility for investigating all leads on
high-priority threats so that these leads are pursued and acted upon aggressively — not just most of the time, but
all of the time. We must follow the leads that we get. And we must pursue them until plots are disrupted. And
that mean assigning clear lines of responsibility’.

2. ‘Intelligence reports, especially those involving potential threats to the United States, are distributed more
rapidly and more widely. We can't sit on information that could protect the American people’.

3. ‘We strengthen the analytical process, how our analysis — how our analysts process and integrate the
intelligence that they receive. My Director of National Intelligence, Denny Blair, will take the lead in improving
our day-to-day efforts. My Intelligence Advisory Board will examine the longer-term challenge of sifting
through vast universes of intelligence and data in our Information Age’.

4. ‘Immediate effort to strengthen the criteria used to add individuals to our terrorist watch lists, especially the
"no fly" list. We must do better in keeping dangerous people off airplanes, while still facilitating air travel’.

‘So taken together, these reforms will improve the intelligence community's ability to collect, share, integrate,
analyze, and act on intelligence swiftly and effectively. In short, they will help our intelligence community do its
job even better and protect American live’.

Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, For Immediate Release, January 07, 2010, Remarks by
the President on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security.

Example of Plan in Action:

A 100 Day Plan has been built on the foundation established by the National Intelligence Strategy (NIS).
The initiatives contained herein map to the strategic objectives—both mission and enterprise—
addressed in the NIS. The 100 Day Plan represents specific initiatives and tasks to be accomplished
according to the priorities of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The goal of the 100 Day Plan
is to demonstrate short-term progress and build momentum for integration and transformation across the
Community. This plan will be followed by the drafting of a 500 Day Implementation Plan that aligns
and synchronizes on-going and planned activities not included in the initial 100 Day Plan.

The 100 Day Plan is aligned to six integration and transformation Focus Areas:
1. Create a Culture of Collaboration
2. Foster Collection and Analytic Transformation
3. Build Acquisition Excellence and Technology Leadership
4. Modernize Business Practices
Source: United States Intelligence Community (IC), 100 Day
5. Accelerate Information Sharing Plan for INTEGRATION and COLLABORATION, DIRECTOR
6. Clarify and Align DNI’s Authorities OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, WASHINGTON DC, 20511

"If there is ever another major war, it will begin because one side has obtained (or believes it has obtained) such a
complete knowledge of the enemy's intentions and capabilities that it is sure that with its own resources victory is
possible and easy." -Philip Warner
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