Inside Intelligence
tag: Geospatial Intelligence
Beyond the Google Search: Open Source Intelligence Opportunities
posted Jan. 26 by
Eileen Ratzer
On November 29, the Washington Post published an article that shed light on a closely guarded network of tunnels in China allegedly used to transport nuclear weapons. While the research offered interesting information regarding the breadth and sophistication of China’s arsenal, it was the derivation and authors of a cited report that struck a chord with those of us invested in advancing open source intelligence (OSINT) analysis as a professionalized trade.
Analyzing Haystacks
posted Jan. 6 by
Patrick Biltgen
“Intelligence Analyst" was ranked by CNN as the 9th Best Job in America in their 2009 survey. Analysts solve problems dominated by ambiguous, conflicting, incomplete and deceptive information. For these reasons, analysis is a lot harder than merely “finding a needle in a haystack.” Let me explain:
“Finding a needle in a haystack” requires several key conditions:
1) There is a needle in the haystack.
2) There is exactly one needle in the haystack.
3) You are looking in the correct haystack.
4) You have the ability to detect the needle when you come across it.
5) You are actually supposed to be looking for a needle.
If all of the above are true, then, by definition, you know what you are looking for and where to find it. Improving performance is really only a matter of doing things faster. Activity-based intelligence (ABI) analysts aren’t usually presented with this textbook problem. The analogy is more like finding hay in a stack of hay.
A Distinguished Career in Intelligence: Washington University Interviews Dr. John Gannon
posted Nov. 4 by
BAE Systems I&S
BAE Systems I&S President John Gannon has led an impressive 30-year government career in which he has provided insight to the Navy, State Department, CIA and Congress. In a recent interview with his alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Gannon shared his background and perspective on the way ahead for global security.
Washington, the magazine for Washington University in St. Louis, writes:
"In 1970, young Navy officer John Gannon came back from Vietnam with greater maturity and a brand-new academic goal: He wanted to attend graduate school in history. But he faced two giant obstacles. First, as an undergraduate psychology major at Holy Cross, he had taken only three credit hours in history, not nearly enough for most doctoral history programs.
Further, campuses across the country were embroiled in tumultuous protests against the Vietnam War. Already, four students had died at Kent State, killed by the National Guard, and in response demonstrators had burned the small ROTC building at Washington University. How would a new veteran fare on campus?
Preventing Violent Radicalization in America
posted Aug. 15 by
John Gannon
On Wednesday July 27th, I testified in front of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a hearing to address the National Security Preparedness Group (NSPG) report titled Preventing Violent Radicalization in America. Here is the testimony I shared with the Committee:
“I retired from the intelligence community (IC) nearly 10 years ago, but have remained involved with it ever since. In my career, I held senior positions including CIA’s deputy director of Intelligence, assistant director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production and chairman of the National Intelligence Council. After retirement, I worked in the White House Transition Planning organization for the Department of Homeland Security, heading the team for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection. I subsequently served for two years as the staff director of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and briefly as the first staff director of the permanent Homeland Security Committee.
Since government retirement, I have served voluntarily on various research committees and task forces supporting U.S. intelligence agencies, including on counterterrorism. I am currently a sector president of BAE Systems, which provides products and services to customers including the U.S. defense and intelligence communities. From all these experiences, I have observed the performance of the IC in recent years with keen interest.