US Department of Defense,
WASHINGTON: America's top intelligence official unveiled the blueprint for improving the intelligence community's information gathering and assessment capabilities for the 21st century.
That blueprint is contained in a document titled, “The National Intelligence Strategy of the United States of America: Transformation through Integration and Innovation.”
“This strategy is a statement of our fundamental values, highest priorities and orientation toward the future, but it is an action document as well,” National Intelligence Director John D. Negroponte said in a news release.
He said it is time to change America's intelligence apparatus as the United States continues the fight against global terrorists. The strategy's twin objectives call for improving the intelligence community's ability to predict threats and dialing up efficiencies in the way it does business, the release said.
The way ahead for U.S. intelligence emphasizes increased teamwork among the 15 different government organizations involved in clandestine business, the release said. Lack of intelligence-sharing is cited in some official reports as a reason why al Qaeda-backed terrorists were able to successfully execute the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Negroponte said that issue is being addressed by senior-leader emphasis on more integration and collaboration among the nation's intelligence agencies.
Some key objectives include:
-Defeating terrorists at home and abroad by disarming their operational capabilities, while seizing the initiative by promoting the growth of freedom and democracy;
-Preventing and countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction;
-Developing methods to infiltrate and analyze tough intelligence targets; and
-Anticipating threats and identifying opportunities and vulnerabilities for decision makers.
Concurrently, the intelligence community will:
-Construct an integrated intelligence infrastructure that will address threats to the American homeland;
-Bolster analytic skills and develop a system to consider other viewpoints, and
-Attract and unify an innovative, results-focused intelligence community workforce.
Transforming the nation's intelligence community will require interagency cooperation and the implementation of advanced technology, Negroponte said.
“It relies on our nation's tradition of teamwork and technological innovation to integrate the work of our distinct components into collaborative success,” he said.
Click here for the National Intelligence Strategy of the United States of America on the DNI website (PDF format – Get Adobe PDF Reader HERE )
