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Guide to the Study of Intelligence
A project of AFIO's
Academic Exchange Program (AEP) |
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Project Director: Peter C. Oleson
Chair, AFIO Academic
Exchange Program
Associate Professor,
The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) |
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This Guide to the Study of Intelligence offers suggestions for instructors teaching various topics for which intelligence is an important component. The intent is to remove some of the veil that has made the secret history of intelligence opaque and obscured many of the complexities of the intelligence field. The target audience includes secondary school teachers of American History, Civics, or current events and undergraduate professors of History, Political Science, International Relations, and related topics, particularly those with no or limited professional experience in the field. The authors of the individual articles in The Guide try to identify the important learning points for students and the materials that an instructor can use to teach. AFIO solicited its members, academics, and experts to contribute to The Guide.
The Guide’s articles address the following areas:
- • The role and influence of intelligence in history from ancient times to the modern world.
• Intelligence theory, techniques, and applications, including an explanation of the various collection disciplines (such as human source intelligence), types of analysis, and support to various missions.
• Intelligence and policy, addressing intelligence as an instrument of national power, the threat of espionage against the United States, the issues of counterintelligence, counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, and the employment of covert action.
• The management of intelligence, including organizational and reform issues and oversight by the Executive Branch, Congress, Judiciary, and the press.
• Intelligence and ethics, addressing issues of domestic intelligence and free societies, covert action, and perceptions versus reality in popular culture and its impact.
• Appendices will address acronyms, useful bibliographies, webliography, and foreign intelligence services.
As more articles are published about the field of intelligence and relevant declassified sources become available, the website will be used to keep The Guide readers up-to-date.
The explosion of books about intelligence by former practitioners, journalists, and others—including many by AFIO members—poses a problem of selection for educators. We hope to provide a solution, or at least make an educator’s task easier. Our assumption is that those who will rely most on The Guide have little to no experience in the intelligence field. The field is extremely broad. Most former members of the intelligence community have been associated with one or at most two agencies and are unlikely to have had in-depth exposure to multiple disciplines. For those former intelligence community members who are now teaching, we hope that this Guide will supplement their personal experiences and knowledge and thereby benefit their students.
Much that has been written about intelligence is speculative, inaccurate, or reflects a philosophical bias. We strive with The Guide to identify sources of educational material that are accurate and reliable in a field chock-a-block with strong opinions. We note, however, that many details about intelligence topics remain classified, so often only part of the story is known or can be shared. Educators need to understand this and remember that over time, as more facts become known, observations and conclusions about past events may change.
In order to be useful to instructors, we have attempted to be brief with each article. Of course, this means that the topics addressed in The Guide are not comprehensive. The Guide is intended as a starting point for educators to gain an understanding of the most significant learning objectives and relevant books, articles, and other materials. Our hope is as time passes that instructors will contribute their insights and recommendations to the AFIO website associated with The Guide to the Study of Intelligence by sending their suggestions and comments to us via email at guide@afio.com.
AFIO is indebted to its members, scholars, and former practitioners who have contributed articles and comments for The Guide. Thank you.
Contents
Professor Peter Oleson’s initial article, “Getting Started,” and this additional explanation I provided with release of Part III, is aimed principally at those who know little about intelligence, except for what has been depicted in popular media or the news. He identifies the extensive use of intelligence today in support of national and homeland security, law enforcement, and business. He highlights several books and Internet sources that provide reliable information and insight into the intelligence field that are a good starting place for educators.
Historical articles include:
• In her “A Guide to Intelligence from Antiquity to Rome” Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, PhD, a history professor at Virginia Military Institute, gives substance to the adage that intelligence is the world’s second oldest profession.
• “A Guide to the History of Intelligence in the Age of Empires, 1500-1800” by Professor Douglas Wheeler, PhD, professor emeritus of history at the University of New Hampshire, addresses the use of intelligence by England, France, and Prussia.
• Professor Wheeler continues to provide historical insights on the international evolution of intelligence in his “Guide to the History of Intelligence: 1800-1918," which addresses the age of industrialization and the establishment of nation-states’ permanent intelligence organizations.
• Professor Wheeler provides further historical insights with his "Intelligence Between the World Wars, 1919-1939 - A World Made Safe For Deaths Of Democracy."
• Penn State professor, Dr. Edward J. Glantz, P.E., outlines the use of intelligence in the American Civil War. His “Guide to Civil War Intelligence” addresses human agents on both sides and the growth of signals intercepts and technical means (i.e., balloons) for intelligence gathering.
• In his “A Note About Historiography,” Professor Wheeler cautions readers about the inherent limitations of intelligence histories and emphasizes the need to distinguish between fact and opinion and truth and fiction.
• Thomas Spencer and F.W. Rustmann, Jr. in their article The History of the States Secret Privilege address the conflict between our open society and state secrets. They detail the conflicts that emerged early in our constitutional history and cases that have shaped today's secrecy policies.
Articles describing various intelligence disciplines and analysis include:
• Covert action is what captures students' (and the public's) imagination when discussing intelligence. Long time operative, diplomat, policymaker, and academic Jon A. Wiant demystifies the subject with his Guide article A Guide to Teaching About Covert Action. He explains the link of covert action to national security policy, much of its history, governing policies, and presents a rich reading list for the interested.
• The “Guide to Imagery Intelligence (IMINT)” by retired Air Force imagery specialist Robert E. Dupré covers the growth of imagery intelligence from the invention of photography in the 1830s through the world wars to today’s multispectral and radar imagery and commercial imagery satellites.
• Professor Robert Norton provides an introduction to the use of openly available information for intelligence purposes in his “Guide to Open Source Intelligence.” His detailed footnotes and bibliography provide many avenues for further research and reading.
• Florian Schaurer and Jan Storger provide a European viewpoint regarding the growth and challenges of open source intelligence.
• Appreciating signals intelligence can be difficult for students. In “A Guide to Teaching Signals Intelligence,” Lawrence Dietz presents different approaches for teaching the topic and practical exercises for students.
• “Analysis is the most important aspect of intelligence,” writes former Assistant DCI for Analysis and Production, Dr. Mark Lowenthal in his “Intelligence Analysis, Guide to Its Study.” He highlights the analytical process and its challenges.
• Dr. Tom Fingar was the first Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis. Many of the current Intelligence Community initiatives for analysis began on his watch. His article, “All-Source Analysis,” provides a snapshot of the current state of national intelligence analysis, addresses the many modern challenges, and the rationale underlying today’s analytical transformation.
• Political scientist Tobias Gibson outlines in his article, "A Guide to Intelligence Oversight Design," the complex oversight that exists within the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of the US Government.
Articles related to how intelligence supports specific missions or needs and to intelligence issues include:
• In "Intelligence Support for Military Operations," former Military Intelligence officer and Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, Karl Haigler addresses the complex topic of intelligence support for military operations. He addresses today’s challenges of intelligence support to counterinsurgency and cyber threats.
• An interesting contrast to Haigler’s article is Air Force Major Petitjean’s discussion of how intelligence has been used in humanitarian operations and for disaster relief. She highlights Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haitian earthquake.
• University of Maryland Professor Bill Nolte was the first chancellor of the National Intelligence University and career National Security Agency official. He reviews the never-ending efforts to “reform” intelligence that began soon after the enactment of the National Security Act in 1947 and the consequent reorganizations of the Intelligence Community.
• Numerous books have been written about the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency; far fewer about their community counterpart, the Defense Intelligence Agency. In “The History of the Defense Intelligence Agency” its 17th director, LTG Ronald Burgess, recounts the development and evolution of the organization.
• Arthur E. Gerringer and Josh Bart examine law enforcement intelligence in their article, "A Guide to Law Enforcement Intelligence," and explain some of the similarities and differences with national security intelligence.
Articles concerning foreign nations’ intelligence services and topics include:
• Dr. Robert W. Pringle is an expert on the Russian intelligence services. His article, “Guide to Soviet and Russian Intelligence Services,” addresses their long history from the time of Tsars to today’s Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR), the foreign intelligence service, and Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (FSB), the internal federal security service.
• Canada and the United States share a long border and many of the same security concerns. Canadian scholars Stéphane Lefebvre and Jeremy Littlewood, Ph.D. in their “Guide to Canadian Intelligence Issues” explain the Canadian intelligence system. Readers in the US will note some similarities and distinct differences in the approach to intelligence taken in Canada. The authors present a rich menu for further reading.
Other articles of interest to instructors and teachers include:
- • Stephen H. Campbell, a Research Associate in the International Security Studies Program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, has written about intelligence in the post-Cold War period. His first article, entitled "Guide to Intelligence in the Post-Cold War Period, Part I – The Changed Environment," explores how and why intelligence has changed so significantly. In his second article, "Guide to Intelligence in the Post-Cold War Period, Part II - The Impact of Technology," Campbell surveys the enormous impact of a variety of technologies on the field of intelligence, in some cases revolutionizing collection, processing, and analysis.
• Dr. Edward Mickolus previously was a CIA recruiter. His article on popular books that have shaped students’ opinions of intelligence provides a unique perspective for teachers and instructors.
• Dr. Stephen Marrin, a professor of intelligence studies at Brunel University, London, and former intelligence analyst, in his article "Why Teach About Intelligence" discusses the evolution of intelligence studies and how such studies contribute to more traditional courses on civics, comparative government, history, and other fields.
The Guide to the Study of Intelligence remains a work in progress. Comments on specific articles and suggestions for additional articles should be addressed to Peter Oleson, chairman of the Academic Exchange Program and editor of The Guide at guide@afio.com.
© 2011 AFIO - Association of Former Intelligence Officers, All Rights Reserved.
