Assessing the Tradecraft of Intelligence Analysis

Assessing the Tradecraft of Intelligence Analysis
Author: Gregory F. Treverton
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 75
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 083303958X

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This report assesses the tradecraft of intelligence analysis across the main U.S. intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, and recommends improvements. The report makes a number of recommendations for improving analysis for a world of threats very different from that of the Cold War. It focuses on the two essentials of analysis-first, people; second, the tools they have available. The December 2004 intelligence reform legislation set in motion initiatives that move in the right direction. The creation of a Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis will provide a real hub for developing tradecraft and tools and for framing critical tradeoffs. The establishment of a National Intelligence University will provide a focal point for training in analysis. The creation of a National Counterterrorism Center will shift intelligence analysis toward problems or issues, not agencies or sources. The building of a Long Term Analysis Unit at the National Intelligence Council can lead away from the prevailing dominance of current intelligence. And the formation of an Open Source Center can create a seed bed for making more creative use of open-source materials. These specific initiatives are promising but they are just the beginnings. For all the language about the importance of intelligence analysis, data-sharing, fusion, and the like, the national and Intelligence Community leadership today devalues intelligence analysis. A fundamental change is also needed in attitudes and existing organizational cultures.

Assessing the Tradecraft of Intelligence Analysis

Assessing the Tradecraft of Intelligence Analysis
Author: Gregory F. Treverton
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 75
Release: 2008-02-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0833046012

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This report assesses intelligence analysis across the main U.S. intelligence agencies and makes a number of recommendations, some of which parallel initiatives that have begun in the wake of the December 2004 legislation, for instance, create a Deputy Director of National Intelligence as a focal point for analysis, establish a National Intelligence University, build a Long Term Analysis Unit at the National Intelligence Council, and form an Open Source Center for making more creative use of open-source materials.

Intelligence Analysis Fundamentals

Intelligence Analysis Fundamentals
Author: Godfrey Garner
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2018-08-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351249339

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There are a limited number of intelligence analysis books available on the market. Intelligence Analysis Fundamentals is an introductory, accessible text for college level undergraduate and graduate level courses. While the principles outlined in the book largely follow military intelligence terminology and practice, concepts are presented to correlate with intelligence gathering and analysis performed in law enforcement, homeland security, and corporate and business security roles. Most of the existing texts on intelligence gathering and analysis focus on specific types of intelligence such as ‘target centric’ intelligence, and many of these, detail information from a position of prior knowledge. In other words, they are most valuable to the consumer who has a working-level knowledge of the subject. The book is general enough in nature that a lay student—interested in pursuing a career in intelligence, Homeland Security, or other related areas of law enforcement—will benefit from it. No prior knowledge of intelligence analysis, functions, or operations is assumed. Chapters illustrate methods and techniques that, over the years, have consistently demonstrate results, superior to those achieved with other means. Chapters describe such analytical methods that are most widely used in the intelligence community and serve as recognized standards and benchmarks in the practice of intelligence analysis. All techniques have been selected for inclusion for their specific application to homeland security, criminal investigations, and intelligence operations. Uses numerous hands-on activities—that can easily be modified by instructors to be more or less challenging depending on the course level—to reinforce concepts As current and active members of the intelligence community, the authors draw on their decades of experience in intelligence to offer real-world examples to illustrate concepts All methodologies reflect the latest trends in the intelligence communities assessment, analysis, and reporting processes with all presented being open source, non-classified information As such, the non-sensitive information presented is appropriate—and methods applicable—for use for education and training overseas and internationally Military-style collection and analysis methods are the primary ones presented, but all are directly correlated intelligence to current concepts, functions and practices within Homeland Security and the law communities Covers the counterterrorism environment where joint operations and investigative efforts combine military, private sector, and law enforcement action and information sharing The book will be a welcome addition to the body of literature available and a widely used reference for professionals and students alike.

Masters of Analytical Tradecraft

Masters of Analytical Tradecraft
Author: Department of Defense (Dod)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2019-08-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781687026026

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This paper explores analysis in intelligence and evaluates a proposal to certify and convey analytical rigor as it relates to intelligence products. To accomplish this, an examination of intelligence failures is conducted to assess the application of analytical rigor across historic case studies. The historic failures demonstrate gaps in standardization and insufficiencies in analytical rigor. This paper proposes establishing unit-level certified Masters of Analytic Tradecraft (MAT) analysts to be trained and entrusted to evaluate and rate the standards and analytical rigor of intelligence products prior to publication. This certification model is based on research of the structure of professional civilian corporations. Implementing the MAT analyst certification will allow decision makers to judge the robustness of analysis so that they can meter their trust accordingly. This certification will hold the intelligence community accountable for their adherence to established analytical standards, ensure compliance is properly conveyed, and promote quality of analysis.1. Introduction * 2. Background * 3. Sufficiency of Analytical Rigor * 4. Proposal * 5. Research Methodology * 6. Analysis/Evaluation * 7. RecommendationsThis compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.Unfortunately, examples of high-consequence, high-profile intelligence fails have been common, revealing a consistent lack of analytical sufficiency and raising concerns about the condition of US intelligence. The 2003 assessment of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is one example of a catastrophic failure on the part of the intelligence community (IC). The report from the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD Commission report) summarized the assessment failures that informed the 2003 invasion of Iraq: "This failure was in large part the result of analytical shortcomings; intelligence analysts were too wedded to their assumptions about Saddam's intentions... We conclude that the Intelligence Community was dead wrong in almost all of its pre-war judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction...[There existed] serious errors in analyzing... [and a] failure to make clear just how much of its analysis was based on assumptions, rather than good evidence."This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Intelligence Analysis and Assessment

Intelligence Analysis and Assessment
Author: David Charters
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135212384

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These essays cover: assessment systems now in place in Britain, the USA, Germany and Australia; the bureaucratic dynamics of analysis and assessment; the changing ground in intelligence; and the impact of new technologies and modes of communication on intelligence gathering and analysis.

A Tradecraft Primer: Structured Analytic Techniques for Improving Intelligence Analysis

A Tradecraft Primer: Structured Analytic Techniques for Improving Intelligence Analysis
Author: Center for the Study of Intelligence
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2012-05-28
Genre:
ISBN: 1105810887

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This primer highlights structured analytic techniques-some widely used in the private sector and academia, some unique to the intelligence profession. It is not a comprehensive overview of how intelligence officers conduct analysis. Rather, the primer highlights how structured analytic techniques can help one challenge judgments, identify mental mindsets, stimulate creativity, and manage uncertainty. In short, incorporating regular use of techniques such as these can enable one to structure thinking for wrestling with difficult questions. Originally published by the CIA in color. Previously available online only as an e-file.

Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow

Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2011-04-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309163420

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The intelligence community (IC) plays an essential role in the national security of the United States. Decision makers rely on IC analyses and predictions to reduce uncertainty and to provide warnings about everything from international diplomatic relations to overseas conflicts. In today's complex and rapidly changing world, it is more important than ever that analytic products be accurate and timely. Recognizing that need, the IC has been actively seeking ways to improve its performance and expand its capabilities. In 2008, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) asked the National Research Council (NRC) to establish a committee to synthesize and assess evidence from the behavioral and social sciences relevant to analytic methods and their potential application for the U.S. intelligence community. In Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow: Advances from the Behavioral and Social Sciences, the NRC offers the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) recommendations to address many of the IC's challenges. Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow asserts that one of the most important things that the IC can learn from the behavioral and social sciences is how to characterize and evaluate its analytic assumptions, methods, technologies, and management practices. Behavioral and social scientific knowledge can help the IC to understand and improve all phases of the analytic cycle: how to recruit, select, train, and motivate analysts; how to master and deploy the most suitable analytic methods; how to organize the day-to-day work of analysts, as individuals and teams; and how to communicate with its customers. The report makes five broad recommendations which offer practical ways to apply the behavioral and social sciences, which will bring the IC substantial immediate and longer-term benefits with modest costs and minimal disruption.

Intelligence Analysis

Intelligence Analysis
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2011-04-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309176980

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The U.S. intelligence community (IC) is a complex human enterprise whose success depends on how well the people in it perform their work. Although often aided by sophisticated technologies, these people ultimately rely on their own intellect to identify, synthesize, and communicate the information on which the nation's security depends. The IC's success depends on having trained, motivated, and thoughtful people working within organizations able to understand, value, and coordinate their capabilities. Intelligence Analysis provides up-to-date scientific guidance for the intelligence community (IC) so that it might improve individual and group judgments, communication between analysts, and analytic processes. The papers in this volume provide the detailed evidentiary base for the National Research Council's report, Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow: Advances from the Behavioral and Social Sciences. The opening chapter focuses on the structure, missions, operations, and characteristics of the IC while the following 12 papers provide in-depth reviews of key topics in three areas: analytic methods, analysts, and organizations. Informed by the IC's unique missions and constraints, each paper documents the latest advancements of the relevant science and is a stand-alone resource for the IC's leadership and workforce. The collection allows readers to focus on one area of interest (analytic methods, analysts, or organizations) or even one particular aspect of a category. As a collection, the volume provides a broad perspective of the issues involved in making difficult decisions, which is at the heart of intelligence analysis.

Masters of Analytical Tradecraft

Masters of Analytical Tradecraft
Author: J. Tucker Rojas
Publisher:
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2019
Genre: Intelligence officers
ISBN:

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"This paper explores analysis in intelligence and evaluates a proposal to certify and convey analytical rigor as it relates to intelligence products. To accomplish this, an examination of intelligence failures is conducted to assess the application of analytical rigor across historic case studies. The historic failures demonstrate gaps in standardization and insufficiencies in analytical rigor. This paper proposes establishing unit-level certified Masters of Analytic Tradecraft (MAT) analysts to be trained and entrusted to evaluate and rate the standards and analytical rigor of intelligence products prior to publication. This certification model is based on research of the structure of professional civilian corporations. Implementing the MAT analyst certification will allow decision makers to judge the robustness of analysis so that they can meter their trust accordingly. This certification will hold the intelligence community accountable for their adherence to established analytical standards, ensure compliance is properly conveyed, and promote quality of analysis"--Abstract.

Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis

Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis
Author: Richards J. Heuer Jr.
Publisher: CQ Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2014-05-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 148331202X

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In this Second Edition of Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis, authors Richards J. Heuer Jr. and Randolph H. Pherson showcase fifty-five structured analytic techniques—five new to this edition—that represent the most current best practices in intelligence, law enforcement, homeland security, and business analysis.