DailyPost 111
Where is the ‘INTELLIGENCE’
Russian hacking and the President elect Trump’s not buying the intelligence story has put the US Intelligence Agencies / fraternity into one of its kind embarrassing situation, which they would find difficult to come out. The nature of intelligence collection, its analysis, the immense role of the human element is further confounded by the complexities and intricacies of digital communication and the present abysmal state of Cyber Security globally.
From the raw information to a final judgement is a processing which has come to shape after decades of painstaking work with Human Resources, technology, deep understanding of processes worldwide and the final reasoning, which is so exclusive to the intelligence fraternity. Ideally on the strength of this intelligence, informed policy decisions and concrete executive action can be taken.
For the more than a dozen intelligence agencies, the President of the US is the final customer and if he in public spat with this fraternity, it does augur well for either and certainly not the nation. The finality in investigation can only put the final lid on Russian hacking saga and also on the credibility of the US Intelligence Agencies. With the best of human, technical, financial resources and the reach, they can certainly deliver, as they have done in the past.
Challenges are meant to taken in our stride and opportunities are meant to grabbed. It’s the time for the intelligence agencies to redeem themselves; only irrefutable data and irrefutable analysis can provide the succour. Internal turf wars and lack of will and capability to collaborate, would further weaken the foundations, on which it is built, so painstakingly. Public memory is so short as presumed by the government agencies, the ghost of Iraq and the Snowden episode will certainly play on the minds of US citizens and people around the globe.
PUBLIC SCRUTINY OF THE NITTY GRITTY OF INTELLIGENCE FUNCTIONING CAN BE SUICIDAL.
Sanjay Sahay