More interesting followups in the top story at www.dso.com. Sounds like some IC fragmentation at top levels. -hedges- ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 22:45:14 -0800 From: "Sources Briefings & eJOURNAL, DSO Inc." <salesat_private> Subject: DEBATE IN THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ********IF YOU WISH TO BE REMOVED FROM THIS MAILING LIST, PLEASE REPLY WITH SUBJECT: "REMOVE"************ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: INFORMATION CONTACT:Cynthia Johnston 415 731-1905, prat_private REPORT IN SOURCES BRIEFINGS STIRS HEATED DEBATE IN INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY San Francisco, CA. SOURCES BRIEFINGS, a newsletter delivering raw intelligence, reported recently that CIA Inspector General Fredrick Hitz has declared open source intelligence ìa waste of time and moneyî -- and hit a raw nerve in the intelligence community. The CIA Inspector General, speaking about the CIA's role in todayís intelligence structure, admitted that he ìfeels threatened by the presence of those in private industry and in government who are pursuing intelligence in new ways. He says that private industry is actually ahead of the CIA in technologies such as satellite imaging and encryption,î according to the article in the current issue of SOURCES BRIEFINGS (www.dso.com). ìEven though Hitz says he finds the new computer encryption and information systems ëincredibly terrifying,í he dismisses open source intelligence, inside and outside of the government agencies, as merely ëa collection of newspaper storiesí on various issues...î SOURCES BRIEFINGS subscribers in the intelligence community were quick to challenge Hitzí assertions. A senior Pentagon official with access to the Secretary of Defense stated, ìMr. Hitz may have revealed more than he intended regarding the mindset that often holds the Intelligence Community (IC) hostage. Secrets can be addictive and like potato chips it is hard just to have one. It is easy to binge on them and end up without a well balanced intelligence diet. The IC gets addicted to its own secrets and [gets] fat on ëclassifiedí self-importance.î Robert Steele, CEO of Open Source Solutions Inc., joined the battle saying, ìWe are at a very important cross-roads in the history and maturity of the U.S. intelligence community... The Commission on Intelligence found that its access to open sources is ëseverely deficientí and should be a top priority... ìOpen sources are of proven value in tip-off, in guiding secret collection, in placing secret information in context, and in providing cover for secretly obtained information which must be shared with coalition partners to whom secret sources and methods cannot or should not be revealed.î An NSA officer on loan to the military said, ìThis guy's parochial, narrow-minded, elitist thinking (ëLeave it to the patrician professionals, you fumbling amateursí) perfectly embodies what is, and has for a long time, been wrong with the CIA. I suspect that one reason for this gentleman's self-admitted fear is that the CIA doesn't really have that many truly clandestine sources, and he's afraid people will learn just how much OSINT is a better value for dollars expended.î Responses to Hitzí remarks continue to pour in to SOURCES and the editors are preparing to devote space exclusively to this debate. A sample of SOURCES BRIEFINGS, as well as subscription information can be obtained online at http://www.dso.com or by calling 1-888-8-DSO-COM (1-888-8-376-266). For further information, or to set up interviews with SOURCESí seasoned investigative journalists, intelligence experts and banking specialists, please contact Cynthia Johnston at 415 731-1905 or at prat_private ###
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