C.I.A. NEWS PAGE14
Presidential Reflections on U.S. Intelligence: George H.W. Bush
From President Truman on, each President has written a note of thanks to the men and women of the CIA. These notes are displayed with the President’s official photograph in the Presidential Gallery of the New Headquarters Building. This story is the second in a series about the relationship each president has had with the CIA. This article will focus on President George H.W. Bush.
* * * * *
After the demise of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, President George H.W. Bush declared that a “New World Order” had emerged. However, President Bush cautioned the nation that while it would be less dangerous than before, it would be dangerous nonetheless. With Desert Shield in 1990 and the U.S. intervention in Somalia in 1992, President Bush’s point was made crystal clear.
A Need for Intelligence
During his term, President Bush made many trips to CIA Headquarters, always emphasizing that intelligence was still of great importance in the post-Soviet world.
“The challenge of the excellent men and women in Langley and elsewhere in the Intelligence Community is to move beyond the Cold War to the complex problems of the 21st century. Tomorrow’s Intelligence Community will need to consolidate and extend freedom’s gains against totalitarianism. Intelligence will enhance our protection against terrorism, against the drug menace. Intelligence will help our policymakers understand emerging economic opportunities and challenges. It will help us thwart anyone who tries to steal our technology or otherwise refuses to play by the competitive rules. It will help us seek peace and avert conflicts in regions of dangerous tension.”
George Bush as DCI
George H. W. Bush is the first president to have served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). He served as DCI from January 1976 to January 1977. During Bush’s presidency, his experience as DCI gave him an insider’s knowledge of the Intelligence Community and how it operated.
When DCI Bush came to the Agency, the investigations of the Senate’s Church Committee —which rocked the Intelligence Community — were just coming to a close. DCI Bush was credited with restoring the morale of Agency employees during a time of great turbulence.
George Bush Center for Intelligence
In April 1999, the CIA Headquarters compound was designated the “George Bush Center for Intelligence” in honor of the former DCI and president. Agency employees, former Directors and Deputy Directors of Central Intelligence, colleagues, friends, and family members joined former President Bush at the dedication ceremony.
Carrying on the tradition started by President Truman following the Agency’s founding, President Bush wrote a note thanking the men and women of the CIA for their service to the United States. He is the 11th president to write a note for the CIA’s Presidents’ Gallery:
“To the CIA, an indispensable Agency — especially to the men and women who serve with such dedication and distinction.”
Related Stories and Links:
CIA Director Leon E. Panetta Unveils Blueprint for Agency’s Future
April 26, 2010
In remarks this morning to the Agency workforce, Director Leon E. Panetta unveiled CIA 2015, his blueprint for the organization’s future. CIA 2015 is an aggressive plan that builds on outstanding work done since 9/11. Its goal is to ensure that the Agency continues to act decisively on today’s national security challenges—such as terrorism, the proliferation of dangerous technology, cyber threats, and the actions of rogue states—while pivoting more easily toward emerging priorities.
“There’s something I’ve often said about government, but it applies to every organization,” said Director Panetta. “We govern either by leadership or by crisis. Leadership means making tough choices and planning ahead. That’s why we’re taking a hard look at future challenges, and what we want our Agency to look like five years from now. It’s our responsibility to get out in front of any problems, and CIA 2015 will help us do that.”
Director Panetta outlined CIA 2015’s three pillars. The first is investing in people. The CIA will recruit, train, and retain a highly talented and diverse workforce with the strengths to tackle any mission that arises. Bolstering the Agency’s foreign language capabilities is essential to that objective. The plan doubles the number of clandestine officers—and triples the number of analysts—enrolled in language training.
The CIA will enhance its use of more flexible and innovative deployments overseas—including new approaches to cover—paving the way for even better intelligence collection. More co-location of analysts and operators at home and abroad will both enrich the information provided to policymakers and lead to even more operational success in the field. This sort of fusion has more than proved its value over the years, and has been key to victories in counterterrorism and counterproliferation, among other disciplines.
The second pillar is investing in technology to extend the CIA’s operational and analytic reach and become more efficient. Agency personnel must be able to operate effectively and securely in a rapidly changing global information environment. The plan boosts the CIA’s potential for human-enabled technical collection and provides advanced software tools to help Agency officers tackle the huge volume of data they encounter in their work.
The third pillar is to achieve a new level of agility in maintaining the Agency’s global presence and surging for emergencies. The Agency will transform its support platforms around the world and consolidate certain business functions. Director Panetta commended the Agency’s tradition of minimal bureaucracy, a key ingredient in its responsiveness and impact. “When we’re told to get a job done, we can do it,” he said. “But we can’t take anything for granted. As good as we are, we can be better. As capable as we are, we can do more. As smart as we are, we can be tougher.”
He closed by paying tribute to the men and women of the CIA. Noting the bravery that Agency officers so often show—including in situations overseas like natural disasters that go beyond their intelligence charter—Director Panetta said, “You reflect not only America’s strength, but its ingenuity and decency, too.”
“During the course of my career, I’ve come to appreciate the people who truly focus on doing what’s right for the nation. I’m honored to lead this Agency and to be part of its amazing mission. My goal is to build on the strengths of the CIA and keep it the very best intelligence agency in the 21st century. Every generation has dedicated itself to the American dream of giving our children a better life. The test of our success is whether we can give our children a safer world.”
The Director’s session with employees, held in the Headquarters Auditorium, was also broadcast to CIA personnel in the Washington area and overseas.
CIA to increase reliance on technology, inter-agency cooperation
Published 28 April 2010
CIA director Leon Panetta outline an ambitious five-year plan to improve the agency's information gathering technologies; he also highlighted the agency's goal to increase the number of analysts and overseas operatives fluent in another language -- a problem that has plagued military and civilian intelligence officers throughout much of the last decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq
The CIA will spend millions of dollars over the next five years to improve intelligence gathering, upgrade technologies, and enable analysts to work more closely with spies in the field, under a new plan laid out Monday.
The plan renews the agency’s year-old goal to increase the number of analysts and overseas operatives fluent in another language — a problem that has plagued military and civilian intelligence officers throughout much of the last decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Washington Post quotes CIA director Leon Panetta to say that the changes will help the agency better battle emerging national security dangers, including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber threats. U.S. intelligence agencies have come under fire in recent months for perceived lapses that let a suicide bomber infiltrate a CIA base in Afghanistan and an alleged would-be bomber to board a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas.
According to Panetta, one key goal is to put more CIA analysts in the same location as the intelligence operatives - a system that has worked well for the agency in war zones. Historically, the two groups were separated, but that has been changing. By working in the same place, officials say, analysts and spies can exchange information and guidance more efficiently.
Currently analysts and operatives work together in war zones and in teams at CIA headquarters, but Panetta said it should happen more widely. In their limited work together, the analysts and spies have combined on such critical issues as counterterrorism, counterproliferation and Iran.
U.S. intelligence officials have said such combined operations overseas helped officials identify the site of a previously undisclosed uranium enrichment plant in Iran, near the holy city of Qom.
Panetta also repeated his intent to beef up the agency’s foreign language capabilities by doubling the number of clandestine officers enrolled in language training and tripling the number of analysts in that training. A year ago, less than a third of CIA analysts and overseas spies were proficient in a foreign language, and that percentage still holds today.
The exact numbers and specific languages are classified but agency officials have said that they are lacking in key languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Pushto, Urdu, and Persian.
Panetta also said he will get more advanced technologies and software to help gather and sift through the vast amounts of intelligence coming in.
Exact spending totals were unavailable as the CIA budget is classified.
Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Douglas S. Mackiernan
This is a part of our series about CIA employees who have died in the line of duty, making the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America.
Currently, there are 90 stars carved into the marble of the CIA memorial wall. The wall stands as a silent, simple memorial to those employees “who gave their lives in the service of their country”. The CIA has released the names of 55 employees; the names of the remaining 35 officers must remain secret, even in death.
Douglas S. Mackiernan
On April 29, 1950, the CIA lost its first officer in the line of duty: Douglas S. Mackiernan. He and two members of his traveling group were making their way from China into Tibet when they were stopped by a Tibetan border patrol and shot to death.
Mackiernan was born in Mexico City in 1913 but was raised in Stoughton, Massachusetts. He attended high school there and went on to study physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He demonstrated mastery of radio and meteorology, and was fluent in Spanish and proficient in French, German, and Russian.
In the spring of 1942, Mackiernan’s interest in meteorology led him to join the U.S. Army as a meteorologist. Beginning in 1944, Mackiernan served two and a half years with the 10th Weather Squadron in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang province in western China.
While Mackiernan was preparing to return to the United States after the war, he caught the attention of the Strategic Services Unit (SSU) of the War Department, which had inherited the U.S. intelligence mission from the wartime Office of Strategic Services — the forerunner of today’s CIA.
Mackiernan seemed ideal as an intelligence collector: he would be an astute observer on the ground with an expertise in radio equipment, photography, and knowledge of organic chemistry. In the summer of 1946, Mackiernan received training in operational tradecraft and took the SSU Oath of Office.
Life Undercover
Mackiernan’s main task was to determine what the Soviets – who had five consulates and a military presence in the province – were up to. An important mission concerned Soviet efforts to create an atomic bomb. Mackiernan was to find out where the Soviets might find uranium in Xinjiang, if they were mining it, and whether any “atomic research” was being conducted on Chinese territory.
Mackiernan found a cover job as a State Department clerk in the U.S. Consulate in Urumqi. After cultivating local contacts, Mackiernan was able to provide information on Soviet and Communist Chinese activities.
When the CIA was created in the summer of 1947, Mackiernan was automatically made an Agency employee. With Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Hillenkoetter’s help, Mackiernan became Vice-Consul in Urumqi. During his time as Vice-Consul, Mackiernan established contacts with local provincial and ethnic leaders, and set up the Air Force’s barographic, seismographic, and radiological equipment aimed at detecting a Soviet atomic explosion.
When the situation in Xinjiang began to deteriorate in the summer of 1949, Mackiernan told Headquarters that he was willing to stay behind. However, he believed his mission would be in danger if the Communists captured Xinjiang. CIA replied that under no circumstances should Mackiernan remain in Urumqi with a Communist takeover looming.
When the Xinjiang provincial government in late September 1949 accepted the authority of the Communist government in Beijing, Mackiernan cabled CIA that he was escaping southward using a route the Communists wouldn’t expect.
Mackiernan and his party traveled across deserts, high plateaus, and mountain ranges when they finally approached Tibetan territory in March 1950. On March 29, the CIA requested the State Department get Tibet’s clearance for the safe passage of Mackiernan and his party. The Indian government was urged to get the clearances to Lhasa as soon as possible.
On the morning of April 29, 1950, Mackiernan and his party came upon a Tibetan nomad family. All of a sudden, a separate group of six armed Tibetans in uniform appeared on horseback. During the confrontation, one of the Tibetans panicked and fired. Mackiernan and two members of his party were killed. The others were taken prisoner. The Tibetans looted the belongings of the dead men and then set out for the town of Shentsa with their prisoners. During the journey, they met the government messenger from Lhasa on his way to inform the soldiers to welcome Mackiernan and his party. The messenger was five days too late.
The bodies of Mackiernan and his two companions were buried where they fell by a contrite Tibetan government.
Remembering Douglas S. Mackiernan
Douglas S. Mackiernan’s dedicated work for his country in the most challenging conditions makes him a Cold War hero, and his sacrifice immortalized him as CIA’s first star.
At a speech given to the Agency workforce in 1997, Acting DCI George J. Tenet acknowledged Mackiernan as the first CIA officer to die in the line of duty: “He is the first star on that Wall, and the space in the book where his name should be is blank … but we claim Doug Mackiernan as one of our own … now, in a sense, we’ve brought him home.”
Mackiernan's name was released to the public and officially recognized in the CIA’s Book of Honor in 2006.
Related Stories:
Obama permits CIA to broaden UAV war target list in
Pakistan
Published 7 May 2010
President Obama gave the CIA secret permission to attack a
wider range of targets, including suspected militants whose names are not known,
as part of a dramatic expansion of its campaign of UAV strikes in Pakistan's
border region; of more than 500 people who U.S. officials say have been killed
since the pace of strikes intensified, the vast majority have been individuals
whose names were unknown, or about whom the agency had only fragmentary
information. In some cases, the CIA discovered only after an attack that the
casualties included a suspected terrorist whom it had been seeking
Predator attacking // Source: for.org.uk
The CIA received secret permission to attack a wider range of targets,
including suspected militants whose names are not known, as part of a dramatic
expansion of its campaign of UAV strikes in Pakistan’s border region, according
to current and former counter-terrorism officials.
The expanded authority, approved two years ago by the Bush administration and
continued by President Obama, permits the agency to rely on what officials
describe as “pattern of life” analysis, using evidence collected by surveillance
cameras on the unmanned aircraft and from other sources about individuals
and locations.
Los Angeles Times’s David S. Cloud quotes the officials to say that the information then is used
to target suspected militants, even when their full identities are not known.
Previously, the CIA was restricted in most cases to killing only individuals
whose names were on an approved list.
The new rules have transformed the program from a narrow effort aimed at
killing top al Qaeda and Taliban leaders into a large-scale campaign of air
strikes in which few militants are off-limits, as long as they are deemed to
pose a threat to the United States, the officials said.
Instead of just a few dozen attacks per year, CIA-operated unmanned aircraft
now carry out multiple missile strikes each week against safe houses, training
camps, and other hiding places used by militants in the tribal belt
bordering Afghanistan.
As a matter of policy, CIA officials refuse to comment on the covert drone
program. Those who are willing to discuss it on condition of anonymity refuse to
describe in detail the standards of evidence they use for drone strikes, saying
only that strict procedures are in place to ensure that militants are being
targeted. Cloud writes that officials did say their surveillance yields so much
detail that they can watch for the routine arrival of particular vehicles or the
characteristics of individual people.
“The enemy has lost not just operational leaders and
facilitators — people whose names we know — but formations of fighters and other
terrorists,” said a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official, speaking on
condition of anonymity. “We might not always have their names, but … these are
people whose actions over time have made it obvious that they are a threat.”
In some cases, drones conduct surveillance for days to establish the evidence
that justifies firing a missile, the officials said. Even then, a strike can be
delayed or canceled if the chance of civilian casualties is too great,
they said.
Some analysts, however, said that permitting the CIA to kill individuals
whose names are unknown creates a serious risk of killing innocent people.
Civilian deaths caused by Western arms is a source of deep anger in both
Pakistan and Afghanistan. “There are a lot of ethical questions here about
whether we know who the targets are,” said Loch Johnson, an intelligence scholar
at the University of Georgia and a former congressional aide. “The danger is
that it could spawn new terrorists and increase resentment among the Pakistani
public, in particular where these strikes are taking place.”
U.S. officials say the strikes have caused fewer than thirty civilian
casualties since the drone program was expanded in Pakistan, a claim that is
impossible to verify since the remote and lawless tribal belt is usually
off-limits to Western reporters. Some estimates of civilian casualties by
outside analysts are in the hundreds.
Obama permits CIA to broaden UAV war target list in
Pakistan
Published 7 May 2010
Of more than 500 people who U.S. officials say have been killed since the
pace of strikes intensified, the vast majority have been individuals whose names
were unknown, or about whom the agency had only fragmentary information. In some
cases, the CIA discovered only after an attack that the casualties included a
suspected terrorist whom it had been seeking.
The CIA was directed by the Bush administration to begin using armed drones
to track Osama bin Laden and other senior al Qaeda figures, as well as Taliban
leaders who fled to Pakistan’s tribal areas after the 9/11 attacks. President
Bush secretly decided in his last year in office to expand the program. Obama
has continued and even streamlined the process, so that CIA Director Leon E.
Panetta can sign off on many attacks without notifying the White House
beforehand, an official said (see “U.S. widens UAV war over Pakistan,” 14
December 2009 HSNW; “UAV war in Pakistan expands,” 13 March
2009 HSNW; “Latest U.S. UAV strike in Pakistan signals change
of strategy,” 19
February 2009 HSNW ).
Missile attacks have risen steeply since Obama took office. There were an
estimated 53 drone strikes in 2009, up from just over 30 in Bush’s last year,
according to a website run by the New America Foundation that tracks press
reports of attacks in Pakistan. Through early this month, there had been 34 more
strikes this year, an average of one every 3 1/2 days, according to the
site’s figures
The 2010 attacks have killed from 143 to 247 people, according to estimates
collected by the site, but only seven militants have been publicly identified.
Among them are al Qaeda explosives expert Ghazwan Yemeni, Taliban commander
Mohammad Qari Zafar, Egyptian Canadian al Qaeda leader Sheikh Mansoor, and
Jordanian Taliban commander Mahmud Mahdi Zeidan.
Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mahsud, the architect of a series of
suicide bombings and raids on markets, mosques and security installations in the
latter half of 2009, was targeted in multiple strikes last year after evidence
emerged that he was involved in attacks against the Pakistani government and
Americans. He was initially believed to have been killed in a January drone
strike, but apparently survived. This week he appeared in a video, vowing
additional attacks against the United States.
Cloud writes that U.S. officials said Wednesday that there is increasing
evidence that Mahsud’s group, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban, had helped train the
Pakistani American who allegedly attempted to carry out a car bombing in New
York’s Times Square. The attempt may have been a response to the escalating U.S.
drone campaign, one official said.
The number of Predator and Reaper drones in the region is classified, but one
former official estimated that the size of the fleet has at least doubled in the
last year. The increased numbers improve the CIA’s ability to conduct continual
surveillance against multiple targets in North Waziristan and other militant
strongholds, the officials said.
Cloud notes that the CIA maintains a list of senior members of al Qaeda, the
Taliban and other militants, identified by name, whom the agency still tracks
and seeks to kill. The decision to widen the program was made because
counter-terrorism officials saw militant threats growing, but were unable to use
lethal force unless they were able to track a targeted individual.
Obama permits CIA to broaden UAV war target list in
Pakistan
Published 7 May 2010
“In the last year of the Bush administration, the
intelligence people had overwhelming evidence that al Qaeda was regrouping in
the tribal areas, and was plotting actively against this country,” said the
counter-terrorism official. “You can’t hear an alarm like that and then do
nothing,” the official said, adding that the actions taken by the Bush
administration have “intensified since.”
The CIA program is operated independently of the U.S. military, which flies
its own unmanned aircraft primarily over Afghanistan and follows different
targeting procedures (“The U.S. military — and Pakistan — join UAV war in
Pakistan,” 13
May 2009 HSNW).
The border region is a stew of interlocking and shadowy militant groups, some
of which seek to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan or mount larger attacks
against U.S. interests, while others are more focused on overthrowing the
Pakistani government.
Some outside analysts caution that it could be difficult to determine whether
a suspect about whom little is known represents a threat to U.S. interests.
Former officials who were involved in the program, however, said that many of
the groups were found to be working together, and thus were considered
legitimate targets. One former official directly involved in the program said
many locations were watched so closely that the CIA could predict daily
routines. “Is the white van there yet?” the official said, giving an example
of the degree of scrutiny. “Is he walking with a limp?”
Officials say some decisions are straightforward — for example, if drones
observe bomb-making or fighters training for possible operations in Afghanistan.
In one case cited by officials, a missile was fired at a compound where unknown
individuals were seen assembling a car bomb.
People who are determined to be raising money for al Qaeda or who only
facilitate its operations are not targeted, according to a senior administration
official. Such support “is not enough as a matter of administration practice and
policy to make you a target for lethal operations,” the official said.
In addition to more drones, U.S. intelligence agencies involved in the
program have increased the number of analysts working on tracking targets and
have made other technical upgrades that have improved their ability to track and
kill militants.
The Pakistani government occasionally complains publicly about the U.S drone
strikes, but also has helped expand the program by providing information about
possible targets and by clearing airspace, so the drones can operate without
risk of collision with other planes, officials said.
Thinking and Writing: Cognitive Science
and Intelligence Analysis
Obama permits CIA to broaden UAV war target list in Pakistan
Published 7 May 2010
President Obama gave the CIA secret permission to attack a wider range of targets, including suspected militants whose names are not known, as part of a dramatic expansion of its campaign of UAV strikes in Pakistan's border region; of more than 500 people who U.S. officials say have been killed since the pace of strikes intensified, the vast majority have been individuals whose names were unknown, or about whom the agency had only fragmentary information. In some cases, the CIA discovered only after an attack that the casualties included a suspected terrorist whom it had been seeking
Predator attacking // Source: for.org.uk
The CIA received secret permission to attack a wider range of targets, including suspected militants whose names are not known, as part of a dramatic expansion of its campaign of UAV strikes in Pakistan’s border region, according to current and former counter-terrorism officials.
The expanded authority, approved two years ago by the Bush administration and continued by President Obama, permits the agency to rely on what officials describe as “pattern of life” analysis, using evidence collected by surveillance cameras on the unmanned aircraft and from other sources about individuals and locations.
Los Angeles Times’s David S. Cloud quotes the officials to say that the information then is used to target suspected militants, even when their full identities are not known. Previously, the CIA was restricted in most cases to killing only individuals whose names were on an approved list.
The new rules have transformed the program from a narrow effort aimed at killing top al Qaeda and Taliban leaders into a large-scale campaign of air strikes in which few militants are off-limits, as long as they are deemed to pose a threat to the United States, the officials said.
Instead of just a few dozen attacks per year, CIA-operated unmanned aircraft now carry out multiple missile strikes each week against safe houses, training camps, and other hiding places used by militants in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
As a matter of policy, CIA officials refuse to comment on the covert drone program. Those who are willing to discuss it on condition of anonymity refuse to describe in detail the standards of evidence they use for drone strikes, saying only that strict procedures are in place to ensure that militants are being targeted. Cloud writes that officials did say their surveillance yields so much detail that they can watch for the routine arrival of particular vehicles or the characteristics of individual people.
“The enemy has lost not just operational leaders and facilitators — people whose names we know — but formations of fighters and other terrorists,” said a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We might not always have their names, but … these are people whose actions over time have made it obvious that they are a threat.”
In some cases, drones conduct surveillance for days to establish the evidence that justifies firing a missile, the officials said. Even then, a strike can be delayed or canceled if the chance of civilian casualties is too great, they said.
Some analysts, however, said that permitting the CIA to kill individuals whose names are unknown creates a serious risk of killing innocent people. Civilian deaths caused by Western arms is a source of deep anger in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. “There are a lot of ethical questions here about whether we know who the targets are,” said Loch Johnson, an intelligence scholar at the University of Georgia and a former congressional aide. “The danger is that it could spawn new terrorists and increase resentment among the Pakistani public, in particular where these strikes are taking place.”
U.S. officials say the strikes have caused fewer than thirty civilian casualties since the drone program was expanded in Pakistan, a claim that is impossible to verify since the remote and lawless tribal belt is usually off-limits to Western reporters. Some estimates of civilian casualties by outside analysts are in the hundreds.
Obama permits CIA to broaden UAV war target list in Pakistan
Published 7 May 2010
Of more than 500 people who U.S. officials say have been killed since the pace of strikes intensified, the vast majority have been individuals whose names were unknown, or about whom the agency had only fragmentary information. In some cases, the CIA discovered only after an attack that the casualties included a suspected terrorist whom it had been seeking.
The CIA was directed by the Bush administration to begin using armed drones to track Osama bin Laden and other senior al Qaeda figures, as well as Taliban leaders who fled to Pakistan’s tribal areas after the 9/11 attacks. President Bush secretly decided in his last year in office to expand the program. Obama has continued and even streamlined the process, so that CIA Director Leon E. Panetta can sign off on many attacks without notifying the White House beforehand, an official said (see “U.S. widens UAV war over Pakistan,” 14 December 2009 HSNW; “UAV war in Pakistan expands,” 13 March 2009 HSNW; “Latest U.S. UAV strike in Pakistan signals change of strategy,” 19 February 2009 HSNW ).
Missile attacks have risen steeply since Obama took office. There were an estimated 53 drone strikes in 2009, up from just over 30 in Bush’s last year, according to a website run by the New America Foundation that tracks press reports of attacks in Pakistan. Through early this month, there had been 34 more strikes this year, an average of one every 3 1/2 days, according to the site’s figures
The 2010 attacks have killed from 143 to 247 people, according to estimates collected by the site, but only seven militants have been publicly identified. Among them are al Qaeda explosives expert Ghazwan Yemeni, Taliban commander Mohammad Qari Zafar, Egyptian Canadian al Qaeda leader Sheikh Mansoor, and Jordanian Taliban commander Mahmud Mahdi Zeidan.
Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mahsud, the architect of a series of suicide bombings and raids on markets, mosques and security installations in the latter half of 2009, was targeted in multiple strikes last year after evidence emerged that he was involved in attacks against the Pakistani government and Americans. He was initially believed to have been killed in a January drone strike, but apparently survived. This week he appeared in a video, vowing additional attacks against the United States.
Cloud writes that U.S. officials said Wednesday that there is increasing evidence that Mahsud’s group, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban, had helped train the Pakistani American who allegedly attempted to carry out a car bombing in New York’s Times Square. The attempt may have been a response to the escalating U.S. drone campaign, one official said.
The number of Predator and Reaper drones in the region is classified, but one former official estimated that the size of the fleet has at least doubled in the last year. The increased numbers improve the CIA’s ability to conduct continual surveillance against multiple targets in North Waziristan and other militant strongholds, the officials said.
Cloud notes that the CIA maintains a list of senior members of al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militants, identified by name, whom the agency still tracks and seeks to kill. The decision to widen the program was made because counter-terrorism officials saw militant threats growing, but were unable to use lethal force unless they were able to track a targeted individual.
Obama permits CIA to broaden UAV war target list in Pakistan
Published 7 May 2010
“In the last year of the Bush administration, the intelligence people had overwhelming evidence that al Qaeda was regrouping in the tribal areas, and was plotting actively against this country,” said the counter-terrorism official. “You can’t hear an alarm like that and then do nothing,” the official said, adding that the actions taken by the Bush administration have “intensified since.”
The CIA program is operated independently of the U.S. military, which flies its own unmanned aircraft primarily over Afghanistan and follows different targeting procedures (“The U.S. military — and Pakistan — join UAV war in Pakistan,” 13 May 2009 HSNW).
The border region is a stew of interlocking and shadowy militant groups, some of which seek to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan or mount larger attacks against U.S. interests, while others are more focused on overthrowing the Pakistani government.
Some outside analysts caution that it could be difficult to determine whether a suspect about whom little is known represents a threat to U.S. interests. Former officials who were involved in the program, however, said that many of the groups were found to be working together, and thus were considered legitimate targets. One former official directly involved in the program said many locations were watched so closely that the CIA could predict daily
routines. “Is the white van there yet?” the official said, giving an example of the degree of scrutiny. “Is he walking with a limp?”
Officials say some decisions are straightforward — for example, if drones observe bomb-making or fighters training for possible operations in Afghanistan. In one case cited by officials, a missile was fired at a compound where unknown individuals were seen assembling a car bomb.
People who are determined to be raising money for al Qaeda or who only facilitate its operations are not targeted, according to a senior administration official. Such support “is not enough as a matter of administration practice and policy to make you a target for lethal operations,” the official said.
In addition to more drones, U.S. intelligence agencies involved in the program have increased the number of analysts working on tracking targets and have made other technical upgrades that have improved their ability to track and kill militants.
The Pakistani government occasionally complains publicly about the U.S drone strikes, but also has helped expand the program by providing information about possible targets and by clearing airspace, so the drones can operate without risk of collision with other planes, officials said.
From the Introduction
"When this monograph was first published a quartercentury ago, it sank virtually without a trace. It is clear now that the paper lacked what today would be called "curb appeal"; moreover, cognitive science was a new and unproven discipline. Then, few inside or outside the intelligence world were aware of it, and even fewer had thought about its relevance to intelligence analysis. (Richards Heuer, author of the CSI-produced Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, was one of those few.)"
"The field has opened up to a stunning degree since then. Not only have we seen a flood of studies documenting the myriad cognitive activities our brains engage in, but electronic imaging allows us to observe what happens in the brain as it goes about its business. Authors like Malcolm Gladwell have mined the literature to show the insights these processes can produce, as well as the times they leave us stuck in unproductive ways of thinking."
This reprint takes these perspectives into the realm of intelligence analysis. (It has been slightly updated since its initial print run.) The author, Bob Sinclair, evaluates the implications of growing knowledge in the cognitive sciences for the way the intelligence business is conducted - in how we perform analysis, how we present our findings, and even its meaning for our hiring and training practices.
To read the entire article, download PDF. [PDF 739.7KB*]
*Adobe® Reader® is needed to view Adobe PDF files. If you don't already have Adobe Reader installed, you may download the current version at www.adobe.com (opens in a new window). [external link disclaimer]
Michael J. Morell Sworn In as CIA Deputy
Director
May 6, 2010
In a private ceremony held at CIA Headquarters this morning, Director Leon E.
Panetta administered the oath of office to Michael J. Morell, who was installed
as the Agency's 22nd Deputy Director. Surrounded by family and colleagues,
Morell assumed his new duties after a 30-year career with the CIA, most recently
as Director for Intelligence, a position he held since 2008. He served as
Associate Deputy Director from 2006-2008.
"It was an honor for me to have the privilege of asking Michael to take on
this challenge and to swear him in," said Panetta. "It was an easy choice in
view of his experience, dedication, and understanding of the CIA. He's spent his
life here. All of us are confident he'll do a great job."
Morell said he was "deeply humbled to follow in the footsteps of great
Americans such as Bob Gates, John McLaughlin, and Steve Kappes," and proud to
"walk side-by-side with one of our country's great public servants, Leon
Panetta."
Morell cited as a source of inspiration the Agency's Memorial Wall, which
honors CIA employees who have fallen in the line of duty. "Everything we do," he
said, "has to be worthy of their sacrifice."
Morell, a native of Akron, Ohio, joined the CIA in 1980.
Fran Moore, a 27-year Agency veteran, succeeds Morell as Director for
Intelligence.
A Look Back ... Sherman Kent: The
Father of Intelligence
Michael J. Morell Sworn In as CIA Deputy Director
May 6, 2010
In a private ceremony held at CIA Headquarters this morning, Director Leon E. Panetta administered the oath of office to Michael J. Morell, who was installed as the Agency's 22nd Deputy Director. Surrounded by family and colleagues, Morell assumed his new duties after a 30-year career with the CIA, most recently as Director for Intelligence, a position he held since 2008. He served as Associate Deputy Director from 2006-2008.
"It was an honor for me to have the privilege of asking Michael to take on this challenge and to swear him in," said Panetta. "It was an easy choice in view of his experience, dedication, and understanding of the CIA. He's spent his life here. All of us are confident he'll do a great job."
Morell said he was "deeply humbled to follow in the footsteps of great Americans such as Bob Gates, John McLaughlin, and Steve Kappes," and proud to "walk side-by-side with one of our country's great public servants, Leon Panetta."
Morell cited as a source of inspiration the Agency's Memorial Wall, which honors CIA employees who have fallen in the line of duty. "Everything we do," he said, "has to be worthy of their sacrifice."
Morell, a native of Akron, Ohio, joined the CIA in 1980.
Fran Moore, a 27-year Agency veteran, succeeds Morell as Director for Intelligence.
Last week the Central Intelligence Agency celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis. When the school was established by the Directorate of Intelligence (DI) in early 2000, it was not a hard decision to select Sherman Kent as its namesake. Kent dedicated his career at CIA to producing intelligence analysis to support policy decisionmakers.
Sherman Kent
Sherman Kent was born on December 6, 1903 in California. His family was well-known in business and political circles. Kent’s father served three terms as a U.S. Congressman. Rather than following in the family’s footsteps, Kent chose to devote himself to the academic world.
Kent attended Yale University where he studied European history. In 1926, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree, and in 1933 he received a doctorate in history. Kent’s love for the world of academia inspired him to take a position as a history professor at Yale in 1935. During the next several years, he spent his time preparing lectures, teaching and researching.
The Call to Service
With the beginning of World War II, Kent’s priorities shifted. He felt called to serve his country. In 1941, Kent joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) – the forerunner of today’s CIA. He took a job with the Research & Analysis (R&A) Branch — the predecessor of the DI — where he showed a talent for all aspects of producing intelligence analysis.
It wasn’t long before Kent was promoted to chief of the Europe-Africa Division. As chief, Kent oversaw the production of analysis that supported the planning of Operation Torch, the 1942 invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa. As a result, the R&A Branch earned a reputation with the military as a valuable asset in winning the war. Kent also contributed to studies that helped shape governmental structures for war-ravaged Germany.
A Love for Analysis
After World War II, Kent returned to academia, first as a professor at the National War College, and then at his alma mater for three years. During his time at Yale, he realized that analysis was his new love and felt compelled to write what would become his best-known work, Strategic Intelligence for American World Policy. The book was published in 1949 and soon caught the eye of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Gen. Walter Bedell Smith.
In 1950, DCI Smith summoned Kent to Washington, D.C., to continue his intelligence work. Kent was assigned to help Harvard historian William Langer in organizing the Office of National Estimates (ONE), a group of experts that produced intelligence assessments for top policymakers. Kent succeeded Langer as chief of ONE in 1952. As chief, Kent shepherded ONE through difficult times, including accusations from Senator Joseph McCarthy, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other Cold War events.
The Father of Intelligence
Kent’s greatest contribution to the Intelligence Community was the development of a formal analytical “tradecraft” and method. Kent emphasized that intelligence analysis must be relevant, rigorous, and insightful.
In addition to a standard tradecraft, Kent believed it was important to establish an intelligence literature institute and a journal for intelligence professionals. He was instrumental in the founding of Studies in Intelligence in 1955. Kent served as the first chairman of the editorial board for Studies.
Leaving Behind a Legacy
In 1967, Kent retired from the CIA. He died in 1987 at the age of 84. In 1997, the CIA posthumously honored Kent with the “Trailblazer Award” in recognition of his role in shaping Agency history.
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CIA and U-2: A 50-Year Anniversary
Fifty years ago, on May 1, 1960, a Soviet missile brought down a CIA U-2 near the city of Sverdlovsk deep in Russia. The shoot-down had serious consequences. Apart from heightening Cold War tensions, it marked the end of a remarkably successful collection program against the Soviet Union, and was certainly a life-changing event for Francis Gary Powers, the civilian pilot who miraculously survived the crash.
Building the U-2
- An early U-2 in flight.
The story began in the early 1950s when the United States realized that it knew dangerously little about the Soviet Union. Over the strenuous objections of then-Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Allen Dulles, who insisted that CIA’s focus should remain human intelligence, President Dwight Eisenhower decided that the CIA, and not the military, should develop an overhead collection program.
The result was that the brilliant and extremely energetic Richard Bissell, operating as Special Assistant to the DCI, became the Agency’s project manager for the development of a photo reconnaissance plane that would fly far above Soviet air defenses. Bissell in turn worked with Kelly Johnson, of Lockheed’s famous “Skunkworks,” and the only slightly less famous Edwin Land, the developer of the Polaroid camera. Together, in the space of 18 months, they created, tested, and fielded the U-2, a power glider that:
- Could fly at 70,000 feet
- Had a range of 2,950 miles and
- Carried the finest camera lenses in the world.
In the Hands of the Soviets
- Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev viewing paraphernalia from Powers’s U-2. Photo: Courtesy of National Archives.
The U-2 was ready to leave the nest in the summer of 1956. Concerned by the potential for international incidents, and even war, that overflights of the Soviet Bloc could cause, Eisenhower reserved the right to approve missions himself. Eisenhower limited the number of missions to what he considered the minimum to close vital intelligence gaps, which the photographs from the U-2 did with great success.
Between 1956 and 1960, there followed an arms race within an arms race. Soviet radars tracked most, if not all, U-2 flights over Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, but their missiles and fighters could not reach high enough to shoot the U-2 down. All the Soviets could do was to deliver protest notes to the United States, and push their developers for technological or tactical breakthroughs, while American developers tried in vain to make the U-2 invisible to radar. After many failures, the Soviets were able to get a missile close enough to a U-2 for a kill on May 1, 1960.
American pilot, spy film, and wreckage in hand, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev played the situation for all it was worth, scoring propaganda victories while the United States countered with the weak cover story that the lost U-2 had been a weather plane that had wandered off course. At the previously scheduled Four Power Summit in mid-May, Khrushchev demanded an apology from Eisenhower. When Eisenhower refused, the talks collapsed.
Powers’ Fate
- The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, using a model of the U-2 to brief American listeners on his ordeal after being released from Soviet prison.
After a show trial, Powers received a 10-year sentence. He served 18 months of that sentence before being exchanged for the Soviet “illegal” Rudolf Abel, who had been in a federal prison after years of coordinating a spy ring from his apartment in New York City.
Upon return to the United States, Powers faced numerous inquiries, including a formal board convened by CIA. Despite pressure from DCI John McCone to find fault with Powers, the CIA board of inquiry exonerated him, and he eventually received an Intelligence Star for his services.
He went on to work as a test pilot at Lockheed, write a book, and, sadly, die in 1977 while piloting a helicopter for a TV station.
Paving the Way for the Future
In retrospect, was the U-2 program against the Soviets worthwhile? Arguably, yes. Though the program was exposed by Powers’ crash in 1960, before that time it produced intelligence that allowed the United States to moderate its responses in the arms race with the Soviets, and thereby helped to keep the peace.
Moreover, the United States now had an airframe that it or its allies could use against other targets, and which both the (Nationalist) Chinese and U.S. Air Forces went on to fly. It proved to be a useful complement to the reconnaissance satellites that began to produce imagery a few months after Powers was shot down.
The CIA Museum contains various pieces from the history of the U-2, among them a piece of the wreckage of Powers’s plane, a pressure suit worn by early U-2 pilots, and the model that Powers used when giving testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee following his release from the Soviet Union in 1962.
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A Look Back … Roscoe Hillenkoetter as DCI
After World War II, the United States found itself in the middle of the Cold War and President Harry Truman recognized that gathering intelligence on the activities of other countries — in particular the Soviet Union — was of vital importance to national security. In January 1946, he established the Central Intelligence Group (CIG) and the post of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). In 1947, as the Cold War intensified, President Truman selected Rear Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter to become the third DCI.
Serving in the Navy
- Photo of Former DCI Roscoe Hillenkoetter
Hillenkoetter was born in St. Louis, Miss., on May 8, 1897. He attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and graduated in 1919.
During his time in the Navy , Hillenkoetter gained extensive experience with intelligence. He served four tours as Assistant Naval Attaché in France. In December 1941, Hillenkoetter’s duty station battleship, the USS West Virginia, was homeported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Hillenkoetter was wounded when the Japanese attacked the harbor on December 7. He was the senior surviving officer of the crew. With the United States’ entry into World War II, he became the Officer in Charge of Intelligence on Adm. Chester Nimitz’s Pacific Fleet Staff.
In 1946, then Captain Hillenkoetter became the commanding officer of the USS Missouri. He was promoted to rear admiral in November 1946. Hillenkoetter was on his fourth tour in France when he was recalled by President Truman to become DCI.
An Officer and an Agency
Hillenkoetter took over as DCI on May 1, 1947, amid negotiations of what would become the National Security Act of 1947. When the Central Intelligence Agency came into being on 18 September 1947, he became the first person to lead the new Agency.
Hillenkoetter served during a very turbulent time for the nation and the newly established CIA. During 1947-49, the Soviets were extending their control over eastern Europe and Mao Tse-tung’s Communist revolution was underway in China. These events increased the demand for intelligence gathering and analysis.
In March 1948, the US Military Governor of Germany, Lt. Gen. Lucius Clay, sent a cable noting a perceived change in Soviet attitude and expressing the fear that war with the Soviet Union could come suddenly. The Clay cable generated a crisis atmosphere in Washington, and DCI Hillenkoetter established an ad hoc, interagency committee to prepare estimates of Communist capabilities and likely actions. Although CIG and CIA had already prepared a number of estimates, this marked the first time that the estimative process was a true interagency effort.
Two years later, in the spring of 1950, President Truman and U.S. government were stunned by North Korea’s invasion of South Korea. The events in Korea contributed to Hillenkoetter’s departure from CIA.
After his three years as DCI, Hillenkoetter returned to the Navy, commanding a cruiser division in the Korean War. He was promoted to Vice Admiral and served as Inspector General of the Navy before his retirement in 1957. Hillenkoetter died on June 18, 1982. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
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Director's Statement on Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair
Statement by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon E. Panetta on Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair
May 20, 2010
Dennis Blair has served our country in many roles over the course of his distinguished career, most recently as Director of National Intelligence. Since early last year, we have worked together to meet the full range of national security challenges facing our country. He deserves the gratitude of the Intelligence Community that he led, and of the American public that he sought always to protect.
The People of the CIA … DS&T Officers: Using Science to Achieve the Mission
In the movies, secret agents have a team of scientists they go to for gadgets to use during the mission, such as the “Q Branch” in James Bond movies. The Central Intelligence Agency has a similar branch, but it is only a very small part of the Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T). The DS&T is made up of scientists, engineers, and others with different specialties who leverage technical expertise and tradecraft to provide integrated solutions to national intelligence problems.
Katie, Rachel and Joshua aren’t part of the “Q Branch,” but their creativity and resourcefulness would make James Bond proud. These three talented CIA DS&T Technical Intelligence Officers use science every day to contribute to the CIA mission.
Technology and the Mission
Katie uses her engineering expertise to develop tools that locate terrorists. Rachel creates concealment devices for National Clandestine Service officers’ mission needs. Joshua looks for new approaches to solving critical technical gaps. His work includes reaching back to academia for the latest in scientific and technical advancements to apply to Agency needs.
At the end of the day, Katie, Rachel and Joshua know that their work has made an impact on national security.
“It’s amazing to see how a small project that I’ve worked on has developed and contributed to the mission,” Katie said. “Sometimes I will see or hear a reference to something that I’ve worked on in the news.”
“Concealments are vital to the Agency mission,” Rachel said. “Operations couldn’t be completed without the unique technical solutions that we produce.”
“In academic research, you work on a small piece of a bigger project and may never get to see the big picture,” Joshua said. “I get to see how the latest advancements in science are having an impact on national security.”
Dream Job
Before Katie, Rachel and Joshua were changing the world with science, they did not even know that the CIA had a need for scientists and engineers. They never even imagined having the opportunity to work for the Agency.
As a college student, Katie had a lot of internship opportunities. While she was successful and learned a lot during these internships, she never really felt her work was making much of an impact. Finally, she applied to intern at the CIA.
“When I got here and started working, I realized that it was the perfect fit for me,” she said.
After Katie graduated, she was hired by the Agency and began work in 2008.
Rachel was making her way through a career fair sponsored by her school when she saw that the CIA had a booth with a representative who was making appointments for interviews.
“I went over to the booth and talked to the representative until I was asked to interview,” Rachel said. “I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to work someplace where I could actually have an impact on the world.”
Rachel got into the Agency’s co-op program in college and was hired after she graduated. She began working for the Agency in 2008.
Joshua was seeking challenges beyond the world of academia. After graduating with a degree in molecular biology, he planned to teach and run a lab at a university. However, it’s very competitive to get a professor’s position. At the suggestion of a classmate, Joshua applied to the CIA. Even though Joshua was born outside of the United States, he obtained a full CIA security clearance. He came to work at the Agency in 2008.
Working at the Agency
The first day of work is an exciting and eye-opening experience for an Agency employee.
“I remember sitting in the lobby near the Agency seal and thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m here. This is like something out of a movie,’” Rachel said.
“I really enjoyed hearing stories from senior Agency employees,” Katie said. “It was clear that they loved their careers, were passionate about their work, and proud to play a role in the Agency’s mission.”
It’s common for new employees to have misconceptions about the Agency. These are often dispelled during the first week of work.
“I thought my office would have a very formal atmosphere: men in black suits and clipped, whispered conversations in the hallway,” Rachel said. “It’s nothing like that. We’re very casual here because we work in a lab and get messy.”
Others have no idea what to expect.
“Up until my first day at work, the only exposure I had to the CIA was in the movies,” Katie said. “I realized that there’s a balance between the real world and movie portrayals.”
“I had no idea just how large an organization the Agency is,” Joshua said. “I also wasn’t sure what the Agency did and why they would need scientists.”
Amazing Experiences
Katie, Rachel and Joshua cannot say enough good things about their time at the Agency.
“My job is what little kids dream about,” Rachel said. “We can build anything. I’ve seen things that I did not think were possible.”
“I have the coolest job in the world,” Katie said. “It combines biology, chemistry, optics and acoustics. I’m getting to do things I never thought I would.”
“I look forward to working overseas someday and applying my expertise there,” said Joshua.
In addition to their great work experiences, all of them spoke of the unique travel, training, and mentoring opportunities available to them as CIA officers.
“The travel opportunities I've had were eye opening,” Katie said. “I’ve been able to go places that I wouldn’t necessarily go on vacation. I’m seeing the world as it truly is instead of how the tourism industry portrays it.”
“The mentors are really wonderful about helping with projects,” Rachel said. “They’ll walk through the lab and ask what you’re working on and offer some help and guidance. You don’t have to be scared to ask them for help.”
“I've had the opportunity to travel, interact in the academic arena familiar to me, and see what's on the forefront of technology,” Joshua said.
Words of Wisdom
Katie, Rachel and Joshua hope that their exciting experiences have inspired you to consider a career with the CIA. These three DS&T Technical Intelligence Officers offer a few words of advice and encouragement for prospective applicants:
“Think about your motivation to work for the Agency,” Katie said. “If you want to serve your country, then this is the right place for you.”
“If you’re still in school, apply for the co-op or fellowship programs,” Rachel said. “It’s the best way to get your foot in the door.”
“Be patient,” Joshua said. “And be sure to apply for a position where your talents can be utilized to their full potential.”
Do you think a career in the DS&T is for you? If so, take a look at DS&T positions available. You could be working alongside Katie, Rachel and Joshua to produce technology that impacts our nation.
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Director's Statement: Memorial Day
Statement to Employees by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon E. Panetta on Memorial Day
May 27, 2010
This weekend, America will pay tribute to its military heroes—patriots in an unbroken line of valor from the Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan—who have died in service to their country. Because of their courage and dedication, we live in freedom.
As we at CIA honor their memory, we solemnly recall our own heroes whose stars grace our Memorial Wall. We remember those whose stars are newly added, and all who have over the years given their lives in the line of duty. Our officers never expect recognition beyond our Agency family. But, when the public does learn the details of their sacrifice, the support for our people and mission is deeply inspiring.
Since the attack in Khowst last December, we have seen countless expressions of gratitude and sympathy throughout America. On Monday, the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, New York, will send a historic B-17 bomber to drop flowers into the waters off Manhattan—near the site of the World Trade Center—in memory of the seven men and women we lost. Tributes like that celebrate not only the CIA heroes known to the American people, but those whose names and accomplishments must remain secret.
On Memorial Day 2010, we at CIA reaffirm our sacred commitment to carry on the vital work of our fallen colleagues, and to protect the great nation for which they and so many of their brothers and sisters in uniform have given their lives. Our nation is safer because of their sacrifice. We must never forget what true patriotism is all about.
Leon E. Panetta
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