Paradigm Shift: U.S. Strategic Intelligence in the 1990's
Abstract
Intelligence in the 1990's and beyond will be more complicated, not easier. as a result of the end of the Cold War. At the same time. expectations of intelligence will be even higher. In the past, the intelligence community's primary job as to 'know' the Soviet Union. With the loss of the Soviet paradigm. other security issues have moved up in relative priority, and the built-in excuse for not concentrating on them is gone. Customers will be asking the intelligence community for information on a broader spectrum of issues than ever before. Their requirements will reflect a considerably different emphasis than during the Cold War -- away from a focus on military 'bean counting' and toward more sophisticated, forward looking, integrated analysis taking into account political, economic, military, technological, cultural, and even environmental developments and trends worldwide. Intelligence will be asked to explore nontraditional areas such as global environmental issues and support to maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness. At the same time, the community will still be required to provide detailed, encyclopedic-type data in support of such activities as U.S. military operations or arms control monitoring. Such diverse requirements will stretch intelligence resources, as well as demand more flexibility in planning. In cooperation with decisionmakers. the intelligence community needs to redefine its core missions. Otherwise, it runs the risk of doing nothing well, and the potential for serious failure become higher
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 06, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA263584
Entities
People
- Karren E. Scott
Organizations
- United States Army War College