Love those tart cherries . . .

As predicted, it turns out that the recently leaked NIE isn’t exactly the scathing indictment of current war/counterterrorism efforts as certain elements would have you believe. In fact just a few snippets of the rest of the story paint a much more interesting picture. Amazing thing context.

Something no one seems to be talking about is the basis for claims about the terrorism problem allegedly getting worse. “Based on what?” is the question that should be asked. Reminds me of the day Rumsfeld’s snowflake came down asking about “metrics” related to our IO efforts. Everyone dutifully marched off to collect and cook numbers, but no one had the guts to say, “Ah, accurate metrics would require that we have baseline numbers collected before the war.” Funny thing math.

So, the real politicization of intelligence continues; pick the bits you like and leak them for a few bonus points during the news cycle and then hope that no one will call you on it.

Update: Leaks – they’re what’s for dinner! Will try to post as often as I can as things develop. Reportedly NIE Key Judgements are destined for release this afternoon. KJs are basically the “executive summary” of the larger report. Highly-distilled meta-view of the larger report.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.