Strategic Intel Collection – Respond to each statement (150+ words for each)

 

1.  The Role of the Collection Management Function:        

            The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is divided into four main directorates: the National Clandestine Service (NCS), the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), the Directorate of Science and Technology (DST), and the Directorate of Mission Support (DMS).  The NCS is responsible for “strengthening national security and foreign policy objectives through the clandestine collection of human intelligence and the conduct of covert action.” Within the NCS, there are case officers (CO) and collection management officers (CMO).  (D’Andrea; Wippl. 2010)

 

            Where the CO is in charge of recruiting and handling human intelligence (HUMINT), CMOs enable the “collection, evaluation, classification, and dissemination of foreign intelligence developed from clandestine sources.” So basically, the CMO directs the collection of intelligence, for current and future analysis/production, carried out by COs and their sources. The CMO also identifies intelligence gaps and essentially task COs to gather intelligence.  (D’Andrea; Wippl. 2010)

 

The primary responsibility of the CMO is to certify the quality of the CIA’s clandestine intelligence report.  To do so, they have certain standards they must meet. Those standards are: collected intelligence must be foreign, not domestic; it has to add new clandestine information to an issue under discussion; collected information must be secret; and the information must be factual and verifiable.  (D’Andrea; Wippl. 2010)

 

2.  What is the role of the Collection Management function? Does the CIA model work, given that analysts are separated from the National Clandestine Service

“According to the CIA Website, CMOs ‘‘oversee and facilitate the collection, evaluation, classification, and dissemination of foreign intelligence developed from clandestine sources.’’ The CIA credits CMOs with playing a critical role in ‘‘ensuring that foreign intelligence collected by clandestine sources is relevant, timely, and addresses the highest foreign policy and national security needs of the nation” (Wippl & D’Andrea 2010).

The CMO function is to make sure that CO’s information is valid which is passed from the field. The CMO is tasked with analyzing the information and weeding out any fabrications before that information is presented to policy holders. The CIA model of this process works because the CMO has the ability to look at a CO’s work with unbais eyes and see if there is any inconsistencies with the work that the CO is passing or with the agent that the CO’s is gathering intelligence from.  The model also works with other functions within the CIA. The security elements fall under the DSM while the CO’s fall under the NCS. The security elements may protect CO’s in the field of operations and even though the CO is in charge of the operation that is being conducted; security elements do have the ability to abort an operation if they feel an operation is too dangerous to conduct and the information being gained from the operation is not worth the risk. This is the CIA’s way of conducting checks and balances and keeping everyone safe.

 

Works Cited:

Joseph, W; D, D’Andrea (2010). “The CMO in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service”. International Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence