-- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://www.lrz.de/~ui22204/">leitl</a> ______________________________________________________________ ICBMTO : N48 10'07'' E011 33'53'' http://www.lrz.de/~ui22204 57F9CFD3: ED90 0433 EB74 E4A9 537F CFF5 86E7 629B 57F9 CFD3 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 08:25:22 -0400 From: David Farber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: IP: [ I take it back djf ] U.S. Intelligence Gathering Reviewed >U.S. Intelligence Gathering Reviewed > >By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > > > >Filed at 7:11 a.m. ET > >NEW YORK (AP) -- A current emphasis on technology over human >intelligence-gathering, a funding shortage and an information >overload may help explain U.S. intelligence agencies' failure to >forestall the worst terror attack on American soil. > >``Our raw intelligence has gotten weaker, partly because we're not >hiring, we're not paying and we're not analyzing what we're >collecting,'' said Anthony Cordesman, an anti-terrorism expert with >the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International >Studies. > >His comments echoed those of former Secretary of State James A. >Baker III, who told CNN that ``it would be well ... to consider >beefing up some of our intelligence capabilities, particularly in >the areas of human intelligence.'' > >That's easier said than done, said Gideon Rose, managing editor of >Foreign Affairs magazine. > >``It's incredibly difficult to find the right people who can >infiltrate these groups,'' Rose said. ``As far as making other >changes, it means going up against Washington's bureaucratic >inertia.'' > >During the Cold War, the United States began pouring billions into >satellite imagery, communications interception and reconnaissance >equipment. The tools were also useful in monitoring the moves of >organizations such as the PLO and the IRA -- which had traditional, >low-tech structures that were relatively easy to follow. > >But the extraordinary costs meant cutbacks in personnel at the CIA >and the National Security Agency, the nation's international >eavesdropping arm. > >As the Cold War came to a close, the number of threatening groups >increased tenfold just as the digital revolution hit, making global >communications suddenly very cheap and secure. Meanwhile, the >numbers of people working in U.S. intelligence remained constant. > >These days, terrorists can download sophisticated encryption >software on the Internet for free, making it increasingly difficult >to tap into their communications. > >One recent report said Osama bin Laden, a suspect in Tuesday's >attacks, has used complex digital masking technology called >steganography to send photos over the Internet bearing hidden >messages. > >The head of NSA, Gen. Mike Hayden, acknowledged in an interview >with CBS' ``60 Minutes II'' earlier this year that his agency is >``behind the curve in keeping up with the global telecommunications >revolution,'' adding that bin Laden ``has better technology'' than >the agency. > >Former national security adviser Sandy Berger said Wednesday that >the terrorists responsible for Tuesday's carnage displayed ``a >level of sophistication that is beyond what any intelligence outfit >thought was possible.'' Yet, many believe the perpetrators used >low-tech methods to elude Western intelligence. > >Wayne Madsen, a former NSA intelligence officer, said he believes >the terrorists shunned e-mail and mobile phones, using couriers and >safe houses instead. He said it was likely the terrorists in each >of Tuesday's four hijacked planes didn't know the others existed. > >Terrorist ``cells are kept small and very independent so >intelligence agencies can't establish any sort of network,'' Madsen >said. > >Others say the big problem is not the technological shortcomings >but the inability to get inside tightly-knit organizations such as >bin Laden's. > >``It's not easy to knock on bin Laden's cave and say we'd like to >join,'' said Frank Cilluffo, a senior analyst at the Center for >Strategic and International Studies. ``These are hard targets for >Americans to infiltrate and we need to recruit the kind of people >who have the language and the cultural understanding to gain access >to these organizations.'' > >Eugene Carroll, a Navy admiral and a defense expert, agreed. >``These people can only be countered by superb intelligence. The >U.S. doesn't have it,'' he said. > >Experts say intelligence-gathering, to be effective, must involve >close coordination between eavesdropping and spying. In practical >terms, this means cooperation between the NSA and CIA. > >Madsen said there is reason to believe the NSA received some good >intelligence showing bin Laden's involvement in Tuesday's attacks >but that it wasn't recognized as such. > >``There's an information overload out there and not surprisingly it >becomes very hard to process, prioritize it and share it,'' said >Ian Lesser at the Rand Corporation think tank. > >Others said that some of the best intelligence people had been lost >to the dot.com boom while promising junior personnel were pushed >out by inflexible veterans. > >``The intelligence community needs to do a lot more to retain the >best and the brightest, who are lured away to companies that can >offer the kinds of incentives and salary that government jobs just >don't have right now,'' Cilluffo said. > >^------ > >AP writers Steve Gutkin and Jim Krane contributed to this >report. > >http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Attacks-Intelligence.html?ex=1001393242&ei=1&en=73b5a7098dba6d03 For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/