5.1 Overview

This lesson continues our broad look at the US intelligence community, focusing in on the role of policymakers, the evolution of priorities, and thus the organization of the intelligence community, and, quite importantly, ethical issues in intelligence. We will also zero in on the role and place of GEOINT in the community. This is another heavy reading week, with more of those quizzes you are learning to love. Once again, we are going to leverage the knowledge and experience of Mark Lowenthal and his textbook Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy. We are also going to examine NGA's foundational doctrinal manual: NGA Publication 1.0 Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Basic Doctrine, published in April 2018 (link listed under Required Readings). Government doctrinal publications are authoritative in that they provide official definitions, delineate roles and responsibilities, and articulate techniques, procedures, and processes. Much of the underlying authority for doctrine comes from US federal law, as codified in the US Code. Recognize, however, that in the US, "doctrine is not dogma." In other words, doctrine is a guide that coordinates the efforts of agencies and provides guidance on how to conduct business, but operational variation from doctrine is allowed as long as one does not violate the law and is successful.

My teaching approach this week is the same as last week in that you have to read four chapters from the textbook and scan NGA Pub 1.0. I want you to read the book in conjunction with the online lesson. I will provide a brief pre-read commentary for each chapter that asks you to contemplate several questions as you read and provides some other perspectives for comparison. At the end of this module you can take Lesson 5 - GRADED Quiz (#4) one time for your lesson grade. 

I suggest that if you have the time, you read the rest of Lowenthal's book. The chapters I did not assign on Counterintelligence, Covert Action, Oversight and Accountability, and Foreign Intelligence Services make for fascinating reading.

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• identify the relationship of policymakers and intelligence professionals (Chapter 9);
• recognize the impact and legacy of the Cold War on the US intelligence community (focusing on the role of imagery analysis) (Chapter 12);
• indicate examples of the new intelligence agenda in the Post Cold War/September 11 Era, and discuss the impact of new challenges on the geospatial intelligence community (Chapter 12);
• examine Lowenthal's insider views on "Ethical and Moral Issues in Intelligence" (Chapter 13);
• recognize efforts at intelligence reform, focusing on possible impacts on the geospatial intelligence community (Chapter 14);
• recognize the evolving role of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) in the context of the overall role of geospatial intelligence in support of US national security (NGA Pub 1.0).