The Inaugural Report of the Global Maritime and Air Communities of Interest Intelligence Enterprises
Abstract
This constitutes the first report on the status of the Global Maritime and Air Intelligence Communities of Interest intelligence enterprises, and on the strategic progress of Global Maritime and Air Intelligence Integration (GMAII). GMAII is a result of the 9/11 Commission's efforts to seek an integrated Intelligence Community (IC) able to "connect the dots" in advance to prevent a catastrophic terrorist attack on the Homeland. The immediacy of this mission is reflected in the persistent threat of global terrorism that has continued to exist since the Commission's findings. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that our economic vulnerability has increased due to greater dependence on international trade and the onset of the global economic downturn. The economy's inherent lack of resiliency to a major Global Supply Chain (GSC) disruption event and the current fragility of the world's economy presents a substantial opportunity for those who seek to attack our institutions asymmetrically. Our enemies' ultimate goal would be to create a "tipping point" that results in a cascade effect toward economic chaos and political destabilization on a global scale. One potential scenario would include an attack on one or more maritime ports using a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) or a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD). The stringent precautions required (and most likely demanded) to prevent another such attack would bring global trade to a halt, threatening the world with economic collapse and resultant trans-continental political instability. Those circumstances could be brought about by the use of the GSC as a means of weapons delivery, or a direct attack on its intermodal jugular points. It is instructive to note that when West Coast ports, including the Port of Long Beach, were shut down for just 10 days due to a contract dispute in 2002, it resulted in a loss to the U.S. economy of between $10 billion and $20 billion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA530729
Entities
Organizations
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence