Intelligence Issues for Congress
Collection Capabilities
Intelligence agencies collect vast quantities of information on a
daily, even an hourly basis. The
ability to locate fixed installations and moving targets has become
an integral component of U.S.
military capabilities. On almost any subject, the Intelligence
Community can provide a wealth of
knowledge within short time frames. Inevitably, there are
“mysteries” that remain unknowable—
the effects of unforeseeable developments and the intentions of
foreign leaders. The emergence of
the international terrorist threat has posed major challenges to
intelligence agencies largely
designed to gather information about nation states and their armed
forces. Sophisticated terrorist
groups in some cases relay information only via agents in order to
avoid having their
communications intercepted. Human collection has been widely
perceived as inadequate,
especially in regard to terrorism; the Intelligence Reform Act
stated the Sense of Congress that,
while humint officers have performed admirably and honorably, there
must be an increased
emphasis on and greater resources applied to enhancing the depth and
breadth of human
intelligence capabilities. In October 2005, the National Clandestine
Service was established at
CIA to undertake humint operations by CIA and coordinate humint
efforts by other intelligence
agencies.
There are also congressional concerns regarding major technical
systems—especially
reconnaissance satellites. These programs have substantial budgetary
implications. Whereas the
Intelligence Community was a major technological innovator during
the Cold War, today both
intelligence agencies and their potential targets make extensive use
of commercial technologies,
including sophisticated encryption systems. Filtering out “chaff”
from the ocean of data that can
be collected remains, however, a major challenge. Consensus has yet
to be reached on acquisition
programs for a new generation of satellites.
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