Rep. Rogers (R-MI) almost makes me wish I was a Wolverine (Aerospace Daily – subscription req’d):

If the U.S. wants to score more successes in the war on terrorism there has to be a mix of technology and human intelligence, says a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

“I think we made a horrible mistake by getting away from human assets and human intelligence,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said following a Jan. 23 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ‘It has to be a combination of both,” he added. […]

He said the U.S. was becoming more aggressive with human intelligence with more agents in the field “and we’re also moving our electronics ability forward.” Rogers, a former FBI agent, explained that “we ought to have the best of our technology as close to the problem — wherever it is — as we possibly can.”

Then he takes aim at the real problem:

“We have old Cold War strategies,” said Rogers. “Look at the way CENTCOM is designed. It has the northern half of Africa. It has all of the Middle East that goes into Afghanistan and Pakistan. When they originally drew up a command structure for CentCom, were they thinking about a strategic, nonconventional warfare? Or were they thinking about a Cold War effort in which that was an area that wasn’t really a threat to the United States?”

My outlook on Congress and its oversight role has changed significantly over the past, oh two or three years. That the watchers are getting smarter about the intelligence business (more real narrative data, less bullet statements off PowerPoint slides) is a good start, as is the apparent realization that we can’t count on MAD for a dangerous yet stable security dynamic.  

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.