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Sept. 12, 2007 The above is attributed to Harry Stimpson when he took over the US State Departments information section during the pre war period. Shortly after wards Japan launched its attack on Pearl Harbor completely surprising most of the US government, the few exceptions helpless to do any thing about it. Japan attacked the US in order to prevent it going to the aid of the British and Dutch in the East Indies. Roosevelt had placed an embargo on US oil going to Japan because of the massacres of Chinese citizens in Nanjing province, forcing Japan to obtain other sources of oil. If the gentlemanly policy had been ignored the attack on Pearl Harbor would probably never have happened as US agents would have had wind of the Japanese governments frame of mind. 1947 saw the founding of the CIA which oversees all US intelligence activities; the 1947 National security act specifying a Director of Intelligence (DCI), under him a Deputy Director (DDCI), both appointed by the President and endorsed by the Congress. In 1952 the National Security Agency (NSA) was set up under Truman. Its mandate was military surveillance comprising electronic, communications, and signal intelligence (ELINT, COMINT SIGINT). This agency was (and still is) Chief coordinator for US intelligence with 1000+ intercept stations around the world with machines in space, on the ground, and in the air. Eisenhower endorsed the CIA, Nixon regarded in as too liberal, and Carter cut covert and HUMINT (human intelligence)parts. The FBI counter intelligence section was allocated - 1% of the intelligence budget. Due to the constraints placed upon the other agencies by the Monroe Doctrine this is the only agency allowed by law to gather intelligence within the continental USA, Canada, Mexico and South and Central America before the setting up of the Home land Security Agency. Following the Watergate hearings the Church and Pike committees wiped out most of the intelligence agencies HUMINT activities. This was replaced by machines. The 1975 Investigation uncovered few violations, only some improprieties inconsistent with US law. The Freedom of information Act was passed; analysis suffered due to the increased reliance placed upon machines; there was a drop in morale with the appointments of DCI's Schlesinger and then Colby during the 1970’s period. During the Johnston and Nixon era’s DCI Helms was unable to persuade the military minded leaders to place more emphasis upon the civilian aspect of war fighting. DCI Bush, while not an intelligence specialist, proved a morale booster as he was willing to learn and was an important figure within the Republican party. In 1982 the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was passed protecting agents but subject to shift in congressional mood.
In 1997 the FBI opened up 74 investigations concerning
chemical and biological warfare (CBW). Traditional
terrorists rejected CBW as its use would bring down
the wrath of the surviving victims while the non
traditional ones did not have the expertise to
weaponize chemical agents. In 1999 Clinton’s speech to
Academy of Science proposed a federal budget
allocation of 1.6 billion for CBW protection.
1980 US intelligence figures for personnel/budget
allocation.
• CIA 12%-15% With the election of Bill Clinton political considerations had to be addressed as he had run for election on an anti CIA platform. This resulted in the stripping away of most of the CIA’s power. BUSH II reasserted some of them on becoming president. On the 20th of August 1998 Clinton launched cruise missiles at Khartoum so as to destroy a factory said to be producing EMPTA,an known precursor of the VX nerve agent. Ahmed Salem, a Jordanian engineer responsible for the putting together the complex has stated that the factory could not have produced chemical weapons, as it was designed for the production of medicines for humans and animals. During a routine Senate committee meeting on economic sabotage in 1997 the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) stated that an inspector hostile to the west could falsely claim that a facility was producing banned substances, or if not actually producing them, had the capability of producing chemical weapons. It is time to put the emphasis back on the HUMINT aspect of intelligence gathering. Most of the US’s problems concerning lack of sufficient warning and the intentions of possible enemies are due to its lack of trained agents. The bombing of the chemical factory in the Sudan could have been avoided if there were trained dedicated agents on the ground in the Sudan. At present few are likely to volunteer to be agents as in order to succeed one would in effect be committing suicide. Every time an operation is planned it is overlooked by Congressional and Senate committees putting up to a thousand people in on the operations. Also detrimental to the CIA is the fact that foreign intelligence agencies are loath to reveal their secrets to them as they too would then be subject to these committees.
It it time for the US to cease being so gentlemanly
and place more human agents in the field of espionage.
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