Mathew Pasqual

Govt 139G
Midterm
Question 1

“Intelligence deals with all the things which should be known in advance of initiating a
course of action.” The art of Intelligence has been around man since biblical times, when Moses
was sent out by “God” to “spy on the land of Canaan” and assess the resources and capabilities
of the dwellers of the land. (Dulles) The purpose of obtaining intelligence is to aid decision
makers by providing useful information that increases their ability to address an issue.
Intelligence can be seen as a craft because of the nature of the profession and how it came to be
shaped it into an art form. (Dulles)

The craft of intelligence can be broken down to a simple cycle called the intelligence
cycle. The intelligence cycle, according to Richelson, “is the process by which information is
acquired, converted into finished intelligence and made available to policy makers”. The
intelligence cycle is the process of the transformation of intelligence, from gathering, analysis
and the development into a finished product ready for consumption. Key management is
important to successful intelligence operations, from establishing the subject of analysis to the
final creation of the intelligence product, this process is referred by Richelson as Planning and
Direction. Collection of Intelligence is the backbone of the whole operation, with an emphasis
on collecting as much information from as many sources as possible to allow for the analysis of
the information (Richelson,4). This analysis will be then prepared and delivered to awaited
policy makers. While key analysis is needed to deliver exceptional information, the importance
of raw information cannot be dismissed (Richelson,4).

One source of information is material that can be found in public domains such as
newspapers, televisions, magazines, government journals, the internet and any other material
available to the public. While public information is available to everyone, it doesn’t stop the fact
that intelligence can be gathered and used from such sources; using both means of Human and
technical resources to obtain it. (Richelson,2). The acquisition of private data, clandestine
collection, is an important source of information because it allows for the analysis of information
that can give a party superior strategic leverage. Governments are aware of the technological
advances that allow other countries to obtain this type of information; such as the United States
(SIGNINT) programs that obtain space imagers, and their inability to stop such collection. The
inability to control the collection of such information such as troop movement using technology
can probably explain the extreme reaction of governments to human intelligence gathering.
(Richelson,2).

There are several different types of information that can be obtained by intelligence
gathering methods that decision makers are after ; Political, Scientific and technical, economic
and sociological intelligence are all fields that policy makers pay attention to . Political
intelligence involves that analysis of both foreign and domestic politics that have the ability to
Mathew Pasqual
Govt 139G
Midterm
Question 1

impact other countries such as Mexican drug war that is currently raging beneath our border but
overflows past it. Military intelligence is needed in this anarchic system to determine the
military capabilities of other countries in order to set the requirements of our own to maintain the
balance of power (Richelson,6). Scientific and technical intelligence is valuable information for
a State because it can increase a nation’s ability to increase its technological capabilities such as
the employment of modern agricultural practices and the improvement that it has on states
agriculture. These advancements can also lead to military advancements; such is the emphasis
found in atomic energy intelligence. Economic intelligence is used to understand the economic
wellness of each every country and is also useful for the analysis of resource markets throughout
the world. Sociological intelligence can be used to assess group interaction on other countries
and used to prevent tragedies such as Rwanada and Darfur. Intelligence is focused on whatever
subject the policy makers are looking into, and has value in a variety of uses. (Richelson,6)

Intelligence is used by policy makers to make military, economic and foreign relation
policy choices in order to pursue their agendas. Intelligence is used in decision making as a
determining factor on the choices that are made, with an example being the revised estimated of
soviet submarines after the discovery of their reported capabilities exceeded by intelligence
reports. (Richelson,8) The use of information can is almost infinite, and while it is up to the
analyst how to shape it, it is up to policy and decision makers on how to use it. (Richelson,8)

While the evolution of intelligence has increased rapidly over the years with the
advancement of technology and the experiences of states in the past, this profession is still an art.
Intelligence requires a combination of skills acquired through experiences and specialized
knowledge acquired through apprentice and one on one leadership. Intelligence is seen as a craft
because of the nature of its beginnings. Based on a system of learning the trade secrets from one
another, it became a set of skills that evolved throughout the centuries. (Dulles)
Mathew Pasqual
Govt 139G
Midterm
Question 1

Work Cited

Dulles, Allen W. The Craft of Intelligence. Boulder: Guilford, 1963. (Dulles)

Richelson, Jeffrey t. The US Intelligence Communitty. 5th ed. Boulder: Westview Pressn.d.