intelligence failures

[Biggsk@aol.com]

Keets writes:

<<  This discrepancy 
 lends credence to the idea that the Bush administration refrained from 
 acting on clear signs that something would happen in order to gain support 
 for a "war against terrorism." >>

This goes back at least 10 years in terms of intelligence failures.  But the 
biggest part of the problem is the intelligence community itself, and the 
multiple layers of bloated government bureaucracy that is the real root of 
the problem.  Couple that with an overlying faith in technology handlign 
everything they do, and you have the cards being well set for a serious 
problem.

I read an essay by a former NSA agnet in one of my defense periodicals I get 
that really levelled both barrels at the government and how it handles 
intelligence gathering.  This is not a recent phenomena either and goes back 
to before World War 2.

We have, according to this author, 17 agencies that deal with intelligence 
gathering and processing (how's THAT for government bloat and waste of tax 
dollars?).  Even worse, most of them do not communicate with each other!!!

The NSA can find something and it might not tell the other 16 agencies what 
it has found, seeking related information etc. in order to point to potential 
problems!  This is criminal at the least and a waste of assets and money at 
worst as well as time.  These agencies operate in our national security 
sphere and to have competition, mishandling of information and even 
withholding information, makes it harder for those that are trying to do 
their jobs to protect this nation.

This can be solved with the shutting down of all but about 4 agencies (CIA, 
DIA, NSA and Naval Intelligence can stay, FBI handles the internal stuff and 
is not lumped with the other agencies) and then making sure they are linked 
together.  This shows you why government will never be as efficient as the 
private sector - too many layers of nonsense to deal with.

In addition, many of those that run these agencies are not from within those 
agencies and are but political hacks and bureaucrats.  That has to stop as 
well.  We do not have hacks and bureacrats at the top levels of our military 
- all senior officers rise from within.  The same should be for the security 
agencies.

Finally, there is never, and never will be, a replacement for human gathered 
intelligence.  The cutbacks in the agencies over the last eight years cut too 
much human intel gathering and made us over-rely on technology.  While 
technolgy is fine and has its place, it can never replace certain things that 
only people them selves can do.  A supremely capable aircraft can never 
replace a man on the ground with a rifle for taking and holding ground!  A 
supremely capable spy satellite can never replace an agent penetrating a 
terrorist cell for the information that is received.  We have too much of the 
former and not enough of the latter.

History teaches us that in is not the quality of the information that has 
been gathered that matters as much as what the correct  interpretation of 
what has been gathered.  Time and time again there have been itelligence 
failures of often massive consequences.

There have been clues to last week that have been gathered over the last few 
years that have not been acted on.  Time to change that.  Shut down the 
wasted agencies, consolidate and improve what's left, and do the top job of 
the Federal government - protect the nation!

The bottom line is still, however, that the government cannot ever protect 
everything out there in terms of infrastructure.  That falls on the shoulders 
of we the people!  As it was intended to be.

Greg Biggs/CVC