The Problem of Disobedience and the Intelligence Community

Abstract

Over the last two decades the intelligence community has been the focus of national debate involving problems of ethics. Dissecting ethical dilemmas requires consideration of three factors: the varying ethical traditions that have shaped American moral culture, the impact of the Founders' architecture and the popular perception of the threat. While intelligence agencies have encouraged ethical behavior as part of their effort to master the security problem, the focus may be too narrow. To be sure, there are means of dissent outside of the extreme path the Rosenbergs travelled. Yet, defining ethical as obedient is a shortcut that fails to recognize not only the breadth of American ethical tradition but, in a society with a constitutional distrust of political authority, obedience alone has a hollow ring. Keywords: Intelligence/espionage; Political philosophy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA228759

Entities

People

  • R. G. Lyman

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Christianity
  • Communism
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • Law
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Philosophy
  • Political Systems
  • Treaties
  • United States

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Systems Analysis and Design