Wow, the (still classified) NIE on terrorism reportedly points out that the war in Iraq has sown a new crop of Jihadists and ratcheted up the terrorist threat since 9/11/01. The intelligence estimate, completed in April, is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by United States intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began, and…

The DOD IG report on Able Danger was released yesterday. I have not had time to read fully, but a once-over suggests to me that either everyone with a whislte in their mouths committed perjury in front of Congress, or this isn’t the most comprehensive report in the world (there seems to be a lot…

The CIA’s new director, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, told agency employees yesterday that their intelligence activities are too segmented, saying that operations officers who collect intelligence need to work more closely with the analysts who interpret what it means.* and For the analysts, Hayden said he plans to put more emphasis on “expertise and time…

A reminder that there is more to intelligence and security than policy-wonk stuff . . . The older I get the less proficient in technology I get, but there was a time when I was fairly ‘l33t (get your kids to explain it to you). Today I’m in the running for the world’s worst computer science grad and I’m rapidly…

There was plenty of Splenda thank goodness, which went well with the Japanese-style breakfast.* CSPAN was there, but it isn’t on the site yet as far as I can tell. Additional press coverage here and here.** Chairman Hoekstra was on his game as always, and Dr. Ledeen was as gracious a host as one could have wanted. Quick…

The Homeland Security Information Network came under fire today from the Homeland Security Department’s Office of the Inspector General, which said management and trust problems have undermined the project. HSIN was intended to be a network for developing and disseminating threat alerts, notifications and warnings among public safety organizations, emergency personnel, and state and local…

One can have varying degrees of concern over “cyber” terrorism or how badly we might suffer were someone to go EBO on us, but I think we can all agree that while planning may continue, a rudderless ship is still unlikely to reach its destination. We have been hearing about what a high priority this…

Ha! Aha! Ahahahahahahaha! DIA’s approach [to organizational change was] based on three principles. First, the agency discovered that any mechanism to facilitate change must be positioned outside DIA’s business units and must have the protection of top leadership. Second, it saw that structuring this mechanism should be done through raids – short-term pilot projects – instead of…

Quick turn around back to DC so enjoy these tidbits while I try to carve out some time for something more substantial: The War on Terror just got a lot harder, thanks to our “ally” Another data point on the generally bizarre clearance process. Still more details on why the SSCI report is at best…

I can now join the TSA queue and prepare for my probing with a smile knowing that my latest Standard piece is available for your reading pleasure.  Thanks to Tom for the shout-out. Folks, if you think the SSCI report is anything but a political tool, you are deluding yourself. Should we expect more? Perhaps if…