Via Powerline: All that paper, all those hard drives, all those unanswered questions, so little time . . .

What’s that you say? The war is over? This is just history?

The war is approaching the 30-year mark with no sign of respite as long as we keep deluding ourselves that martial victory in a given physical location is both our only tool and the only measure of success. This is an information and intelligence battle like there has never been before. Today it is nothing to drop massive ordinance on the head of a pin; the challenge comes in finding the pin to target. That’s an intel issue not a combat arms issue.  Pick on DIA all you like (I do) their push to expand HUMINT capabilities, to put more collectors on the ground and more analysts to the field is a positive trend. Every soldier a sensor? Sure, as long as there is someone on hand to make sense of the data.

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.