Posted on 07/01/2002 7:36:10 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
In a bid to make the National Imagery and Mapping Agency more relevant, military and congressional leaders overseeing the organization want to address emerging homeland security requirements and exploit the potential of measurement and signature intelligence (Masint).The overhaul is also aimed at overcoming shortfalls that materialized late last year in support of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and operations in other areas. NIMA went on a war footing to support the military 24 hr. a day. But that "was a challenge" because the agency wasn't staffed for such intense operations, says NIMA Director James R. Clapper, Jr.
Clapper, who became NIMA's director on Sept. 13, also acknowledged the organization had to rush to meet military demands in Afghanistan since the country was not treated as a high priority. Preparedness "was poor," he noted bluntly. In fact, Clapper said the agency turned to industry and gave 12 companies source material to combine into the specialized maps required by military planners. It allowed NIMA to deliver products in a few weeks. If the organization had attempted to do so in-house, it would likely have taken months, Clapper said. So far, the agency has delivered about 37 million map products since Sept. 11, an output about four times higher than normal, he added.
One of the newer interest areas for NIMA is Masint. "It is incumbent on us that we scale this up more broadly," Clapper said. Masint encompasses a vast number of areas, including hyperspectral sensing, exploiting radar data beyond simple imagery and analyzing exhaust plumes or terrain elevation. There is "tremendous potential, here, in terms of what can be gleaned," he added. Masint, for instance, should be able to thwart many of the camouflage, concealment and deception techniques used to spoof U.S. surveillance systems. Additionally, the tools could be used to identify underground facilities or find targets under foliage, a technique that could aid U.S. operations in the Philippines.
One problem for an organization like NIMA in dealing with Masint is that the discipline requires personnel with diverse skill sets, including chemists, biologists and physicists. Moreover, it involves dealing with "huge volumes of data" that have to be processed, analyzed and disseminated, Clapper said. Another challenge, he noted, is finding ways to display the intelligence that is useful to military commanders.
LAWMAKERS, TOO, hope to see progress in turning Masint into an operational tool. The Senate intelligence committee this year listed Masint as a new addition to its priority list. In the past, lawmakers have expressed frustration that Masint hasn't fulfilled its promise.
The goal is to "make [Masint] something more than an interesting high school science project," Clapper stressed.
Another area where lawmakers and NIMA are trying to adapt is homeland security. Clapper has established within the agency a group focused on the domestic mission. Moreover, an element has been created to support the new Northern Command the Pentagon is setting up. Of benefit to this mission could be commercial satellite and airborne-collected imagery since it doesn't carry with it the classification problems associated with sharing data collected by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Other intelligence organizations have done the same, according to intelligence officials. The National Security Agency has also established a Homeland Security Office staffed by a small number of employees. The National Reconnaissance Office has bolstered its division concentrating on such issues.
NIMA and others have to contend with firewalls that bar them from obtaining imagery of the U.S. Waivers can be obtained if a group of government officials not directly involved in gathering the intelligence deem the request legitimate. However, the waiver process is decried by some as not responsive to security needs. Changes "will have to happen" to adjust policies and laws, Clapper said.
THE SENATE PANEL acknowledged that the current process is cumbersome, but lawmakers do not appear willing to give the intelligence community carte blanche to collect intelligence in the U.S. "With the prospect of increased imaging of the U.S. being necessary in support of homeland security and the war on terrorism, the committee is concerned that the checks and balances in place to ensure against improper imaging requests not be circumvented or otherwise diminished," the intelligence committee said. To help resolve the issue, the panel wants the intelligence community to report, by March, how the approval process to image the U.S. works and what changes are being sought. It also wants NIMA to semiannually report on the number and purposes for such waivers.
Other problems the agency is addressing is putting into place the infrastructure to disseminate its products. Clapper said the difficulty of doing so was highlighted during the Afghanistan operation. Eventually, NIMA wants to become all-digital so no paper products have to be shipped, but that capability isn't expected for some time.
NIMA also learned that while its decision to enter an exclusive deal with Space Imaging early in the Afghanistan campaign was worthwhile, such an arrangement would probably not be needed in future conflicts. The agency kept the deal in place for about 60 days. Clapper said such "checkbook shutter control" could also cause a backlash among other customers and hurt investment in commercial space companies.
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