Intelligence Theory and Method

Part 1

Intelligence is capable of being both beneficial and potentially harmful. Write a paper of 2–3 pages that clearly outlines the U.S. intelligence community and the history of U.S. intelligence and information sharing. Emphasis should be placed on the following:

• The theories of intelligence
• The issue of how the social sciences have attempted to explain intelligence phenomena
• Its structures and processes over time when there has been a clear need for more intelligence for protection and national security
• The history of the U.S. intelligence community
• How the United States came to the point it is at now

Part 2

The goal of intelligence is to gather information, process and analyze that information, and make it into a workable product to assist decision makers.

Intelligence needs to be timely, but above all, accurate. There have been many intelligence failures throughout history. Some of these failures are caused specifically by barriers to information gathering.

Assess the current performance of intelligence and information sharing in a paper of 1–2 pages that includes the following:

• Provide a brief summary of past intelligence failures.
• This assessment should also include 1 particular instance of failure that reflects on an intelligence component or barrier to information sharing.
  • Explain what occurred.
  • What went wrong?
  • Were there any specific barriers to information sharing that contributed to the failure?

For assistance, listen to the Webinar “Intelligence Theory and Method,” available in this Phase’s M.U.S.E. as well as the item on the Pearl Harbor attacks