StratFor analyzes the cyclical nature of counter-terrorist operations in both the FBI and CIA:
(It) was a lack of intelligence that helped fuel the fear that led the Bush administration to authorize enhanced interrogation techniques. Ironically, the current investigation into those techniques and other practices (such as renditions) may very well lead to significant gaps in terrorism-related intelligence from both internal and liaison sources — again, not primarily because of the prohibition of torture, but because of larger implications.
When these implications are combined with the long-standing institutional aversion of U.S. government agencies toward counterterrorism, and with the difficulty of finding and retaining good people willing to serve in counterterrorism roles, the U.S. counterterrorism community may soon be facing challenges even more daunting than those posed by its already difficult mission.
Dirty work no matter how you cut it, and probably harder than ever in the current environment.
For those not inclined to click…do so.
The report covers the issue from a variety of angles.
Can you say “BOHICA?”
With all due respect to STRATFOR’s precious “inside sources,” bullsh*t.
To caveat, I don’t work on the clandestine side (to those who aren’t familiar with the differences between clandestine, covert and overt ops, please look them up). BLUF: Clandestine ops make little to no sense in the CT world, and rarely produce anything of value. For various legal reasons, they are almost entirely the province of CIA. Most everything of value comes out of the covert and overt realms. On the HUMINT side, which is what STRATFOR is discussing without saying, the key is finding and cultivating reliable sources with access. A lot of folks are far, far better at that than CIA, and that goes back a lot farther than the release of some memos last month. Think: if you were a member of a terrorist group or close to one, and you thought what they were doing was wrong and needed to be stopped, who would you trust your throat to? CIA? And yet their field agents are rated by the number of sources they develop, not the quality of the sources. Which makes the whole enterprise suspect.
As an all-source CT analyst, I can only say here that CIA’s reporting practices for HUMINT are out-of-synch with the rest of the Intelligence community, are designed to prevent any outsider from honestly evaluating that source’s reporting, and that any request for further information goes into a black hole–they will not even let you know they received your request, much less answer it. CIA’s dedicated CT branch, the CTC, has truly bizarre business practices, not the least of which is incredibly over-classified assessments. Products they write are intended for no one but themselves.
FBI’s methodology isn’t much better, but at least FBI actually tries to provide a means of evaluating their sources and will answer your questions if you ask.
As far as the “shock waves” relating to special handling of detainees, those waves aren’t new. We had clear rules going into OIF, but Abu Ghraib especially put everything into a straitjacket. Nothing that’s on the table now is going to do anything more than has already been done.
Zane,
I’m out for just one year! One year without seeing that stupid moronic BLUF and you post it here. The EAST COAST acronym that defines the meaning of stupid waste of time.
I always countered with BLAB.
East coast? Negative, sir. I never used it in all my Navy commands, and still don’t. I learned it doing three years in a joint (Army) command. It’s the foot-stomp that senior officers need to get them to pay attention. But it just kinda fit here, to spare those readers who don’t have the time in their day to read my whole rambling comments.
In all fairness, I should add that the much-ridiculed NSA has far and away changed the most to adapt to counter-terrorism requirements. They follow the laws as written, and still bust their asses to get the word out. I can’t say enough on their behalf for what they’ve done over the past seven years.
Consultants are always needed (or were…):
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7471217&page=1
B2
“It’s clear that these psychologists had an important role in developing what became the CIA’s torture program,” said Jameel Jaffer, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Jameel Jaffar is leading the charge. Just sayin’.
As to the safety of waterboarding, Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are still alive with all their extremities intact and the teeth they entered Gitmo with. Seems we’ve settled the safety question pretty clearly.
Interesting article, b2.
“The new documents show the CIA later came to learn that the two psychologists’ waterboarding “expertise” was probably “misrepresented” and thus, there was no reason to believe it was “medically safe” or effective. The waterboarding used on al Qaeda detainees was far more intense than the brief sessions used on U.S. military personnel in the training classes.
- – -
The new memos also show waterboarding was used “with far greater frequency than initially indicated” to even those in the CIA.
Abu Zubaydah was water boarded at least 83 times and Khalid Sheikh Mohamed at least 183 times.”
Assuming I ever actually had a point in that whole waterboarding/torture debate, that would have been it.
re “was far more intense than the brief sessions used on U.S. military personnel in the training classes.”
Ohh, I get it Michelle. Because we only got it once in training (once is enough I say) it’s nothing eh?
Poor Sheik…LOL with malice…NOT. I hear ya Zane.
more:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5980
How about this I can’t vouch for?:
http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/23391/48/media/OnDemand/navypilot-lettertopresident.pdf
It may seem like a game to civvies and nimrods like Obama who have never missed lunch, but it ain’t..It’s deadly serious.
b2
I regulary get email recruiting for very special persons to join a very special body supporting a very special force and mission. Hoo-boy! But that tent in my trousers deflates completely when I reach that small print bottom line: Training in advanced SERE techniques is a requirement. That’s right. Advanced SERE. There are two more levels beyond what your links describe. I get the feeling the only people who will get hired are the former military who already have the advanced SERE quals, I don’t see civilians lining up for months of the stuff.