Newsweek: U.S. Intel Can't Keep Up With New Technology

Newsweek ^ | Aug. 6 2007 | Mark Hosenball

[notbackingdown]

Aug. 6, 2007 issue - Six years after 9/11 , U.S. intel officials are complaining about the emergence of a major "gap" in their ability to secretly eavesdrop on suspected terrorist plotters. In a series of increasingly anxious pleas to Congress, intel "czar" Mike McConnell has argued that the nation's spook community is "missing a significant portion of what we should be getting" from electronic eavesdropping on possible terror plots. Rep. Heather Wilson, a GOP member of the House intelligence community, told NEWSWEEK she has learned of "specific cases where U.S. lives have been put at risk" as a result. Intel agency spokespeople declined to elaborate.

[snowsislander]

Ironically, if the intelligence agencies reverted to more human intelligence, they might be able to ride the technology waves a bit better.

[gondramB]

Another irony is that the administrations attempts to expand intelligence gathering have led to mistrust making it unlikely to get legal authorization for increased intelligence gathering.

[notbackingdown]

Sadly, there's been a dearth in those very valuable human operatives working abroad. One thing technology will never replace is the priceless and intimate relationship that exists in a face-to-face intelligence sharing operation.
Terrorists aren't stupid. The more we rely on technology, the more terrorists will either try to skirt the detection, or just use more human-based information sharing methods. You're absolutely right.

[bmwcyle]

The problem is that consistent in every government effort. Too much money is wasted with duplication, contracts given to the wrong companies, too many government workers they can’t fire, narrow equipment purchasing guidelines, power and control struggles causing programs to be shifted between groups, and too much money being handed out by too many government hands. This does not cover all the programs we just don’t need. We would keep up with technology but the government is broke.

[notbackingdown]

Great insight.

[bmwcyle]

I see it Monday through Friday.

[notbackingdown]

I did as well for a short time. My condolences to you. A member of my immediate family has to deal with these sorts of bureaucracies M-F also, and while he never reveals any specific details (or general for that matter) I can sense the annoyance at having to go through various channels and hoops when sometimes it should just be about knocking on a door.

[Rummyfan]

I think it's more like

U.S. Intel can't keep up with Congrsssional efforts to impede it!

[MNJohnnie]

Gee you suppose part of the reason might be the relentless, reckless way the Democrat Congressional Leadership, mindlessly cheered on by their drones at politically corrupt “News Media” outlets like Newsweak, has of trying to manufacture as many legal/political roadblocks in the way of this Administration might bear a large portion of the blame?

No of course not. Nothing is ever the Hysteric Left’s fault according to the mindlessly twits in the US Junk Media.

[RightWhale]

if the intelligence agencies reverted to more human intelligence

Without a doubt. Data is not knowledge.

[MNJohnnie]

Wrong. The mindlessly hysteria and knee jerk ignorant political demagoguery about this Administration by the usual Internet clown posse of mindless critics, and their buddies in the Idiot wing of the Democrat party, has so manufacture such out right demagoguery and lies about this Administration efforts that it is having a hard time getting the tools it needs to fight a war that both the Neo Isolationists on the Right, and the Hysteric Whiners on the Left, simply refuse to admit is being waged against us.

[Smokin' Joe]

Remember when Madeline Albrights's bunch lost a couple of unencrypted nonsecure laptops with the names of intel contacts somewhere near Bosnia (iirc)?

Then the State Dept under Clinton announced the loss on CNN, et al, and made the data there the winning lotto ticket for whomever found them?

Iirc, Humint assets started going off the radar in the region pretty quickly after that, and the computers were not recovered.

[MNJohnnie]

Don’t forget the relentless politicing to justify ever expanded budgets. Seems that most Govt employees simply work on projects to justify why they need more money to the more projects.

Reagan knew the secret. Amazing how much dead wood you clean out when you don’t just LIMIT a burecrats budget, but actually reduce it and keep it reduced.

[gondramB]

When you say I’m wrong do you mean that you don’t think it will be hard to get legislation expanding intelligence powers?

[MNJohnnie]

For example this article from today’s NY Time which repeats the Democrat Party’s Big Lie about “ease dropping without warrants”.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873347/posts

Mining of Data Prompted Fight Over U.S. Spying

[gondramB]

Right and I’m saying its gonna be hard to get expanded powers any time soon.

[bmwcyle]

So much money is wasted on failed projects that pride will not let fail. Sometimes they will stop a program with too much money is lost but some programs just continue and you can’t kill them even though they produce very little or nothing.

I am saying everything is a waste but when they waste money it can be large sums of money.

[Kevmo]

B4L8r

[notbackingdown]

Huh?