Money quote from the Author’s Note: The unavoidable conclusion is that the U.S. government cannot continue to allow a collecting agency to make unilateral originator control determinations regarding the intelligence it collects. … I hope to explain why they are not in position to make the best “need to know” determinations – that decision must…

I used to wax and wane about the need to purge national security functionaries, but I’ve stopped waning, as my latest commentary at ThreatsWatch indicates.

(cross-posted at Haft of the Spear) I don’t get Insight Magazine so I don’t know the full story that goes along with this teaser: The U.S. intelligence community has assessed that Osama bin Laden has benefited from a secure haven in Pakistan that allows him to plan a major attack on the U.S. It took…

(Cross posted to Haft of the Spear) I engaged in several conversations about cyber threats this past week and each conversant repeated with certainty a lack of concern over a relationship between terrorists and mobsters in the virtual world. I’d like to think that an unholy alliance of that sort isn’t possible, but . .…

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…

Cross posted at Haft of the Spear As incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates plots a fresh path through Iraq, he is also expected to chart a different course for Pentagon intelligence programs, rolling back some of Donald H. Rumsfeld’s aggressive expansion of intelligence operations that rankled agencies such as the CIA. You see these…

(cross-posted at Haft of the Spear) The Navy counter-intelligence officer who garnered a confession from Israeli spy Jonathon Pollard says that U.S. agencies missed a forest of red flags about him and risk repeating the same mistakes today they made more than 20 years ago. Olive’s book reveals that administrative convenience and bureaucratic bungling allowed…

My friend Matt (the other, more taciturn GroupIntel blogger) and I envisioned GroupIntel as a multi-faceted, multi-user environment for discussions and analysis on intelligence and security-related issues. For those who are not aware GI also includes a Wiki and discussion forum. Participation environment-wide has been small but productive and anyone (national, state, local or otherwise)…

Recent U.S. intelligence analyses of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs were flawed and the lack of clarity on the issue hampered U.S. diplomatic efforts to avert the underground blast detected Sunday, according to Bush administration officials. Some recent secret reports stated that Pyongyang did not have nuclear arms and until recently was bluffing about…

Criminals covet your identity data like never before. What’s more, they’ve perfected more ways to access your bank accounts, grab your Social Security number and manipulate your identity than you can imagine. Want proof? Just visit any of a dozen or so thriving cybercrime forums, websites that mirror the services of Amazon.com and the efficiencies…