This lesson will take a broad look at the history, organizations, and functions of the US intelligence community. Let me give you fair warning that this week is primarily a reading week. We are going to leverage the knowledge and experience of Mark Lowenthal, who wrote your textbook Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, now in its ninth edition. Dr. Lowenthal has thirty years of intelligence experience in both the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as in the private sector. He retired in 2005 from the government, having served three years as both the Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production and Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council for Evaluation. He now runs a national security education, training, and consulting firm called the Intelligence and Security Academy, and he is an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
My teaching approach this week is to have you read six chapters from the textbook. Fortunately, this book is very well written, the chapters are concise (short and to the point), and I found it very interesting and enjoyable reading. I want you to read the book in conjunction with the online lesson. I will provide questions to contemplate and guide you as you read each chapter. After you have read the chapter, you will complete the Lesson 4 - GRADED Quiz (#3), which you can take one time for your lesson grade.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
If you have any questions now or at any point during this week, please feel free to post them to the GEOG 882 - General Discussion Forum in Canvas.
Lesson 4 will take us one week to complete. Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific time frames and due dates. Specific directions for the assignments below can be found within this lesson.
Language has power. Those who get to determine definitions often get to determine the scope of "legitimate" discussion for a particular topic. Thus, certain discourses are legitimate and privileged, certain discourses are marginalized as less important, and some discourses may be tainted as illegitimate and not worthy or allowable for discussion. The legitimacy and privilege of a discourse is critical when it comes to resource allocation. Those with privileged discourse win, while those with marginalized or illegitimate discourses lose, to a lesser or greater degree.
Read Lowenthal's Chapter 1: "What is Intelligence?" in Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy.
As you read, do some critical thinking and ask yourself:
Prepare for the quiz by answering the following questions.
Read Lowenthal's Chapter 2: "The Development of US Intelligence" in Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy.
As you read chapter 2, do some critical thinking and ask yourself:
Read NGA History fact sheet [1].
As you read, note:
Prepare for the quiz answering the following questions.
Read Lowenthal's Chapter 3: "The US Intelligence Community" in Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy.
As you read, think critically and ask yourself:
From the Armed Forces to the NSA to the Treasury Department, PostTV breaks down the 16 different agencies and organizations that collect intelligence for the U.S. government—and the 17th office that oversees them all. Watch the video below. (Davin Coburn / The Washington Post)
Prepare for the quiz by answering the following questions.
Read Lowenthal's Chapter 4: "The Intelligence Process - A Macro Look: Who Does What for Whom?" in Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy.
As you read this chapter 4, do some critical thinking and ask yourself:
Reference the second bullet above on analyst's training; the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) puts great emphasis on training their analysts. As an example, NGA manages the GEOINT Professional Certification Program (GPC), part of a broader initiative to professionalize the Department of Defense Intelligence Enterprise workforce. Certifications are based upon a set of competencies associated with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully execute the mission. Earning a GPC credential demonstrates proficiency in the content areas in the essential body of knowledge for that certification. These certifications promote interoperability across the GEOINT community and enable practitioners to demonstrate proficiency in the competencies that are common to their specific geospatial intelligence discipline. For additional information about this program, visit GEOINT Professional Certification [4].
GPC credentials are categorized as either proficiency at the fundamental level or within a specific GEOINT discipline or tradecraft. According to the GPC essential body of knowledge, core competencies at the fundamental level are:
The U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft. USGIF supports academic programs and accredits colleges and universities that offer geospatial intelligence certificate and degree programs. A list of accredited schools and the programs they offer can be found here: USGIF Academic Programs [5]. Penn State's program was one of the first to be offered and accredited. An article about the beginning of this program is below.
Why are multiple programs offered in geospatial intelligence? Are these programs redundant, or do they fulfill different educational functions? Going back to your critical approach, do the different cultural filters and agendas of NGA versus academic programs influence the programs?Penn State Begins First Online Geospatial Intelligence Program
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
University Park, Pa. — In light of a greatly increased demand for qualified analysts in the intelligence, defense and emergency management fields, Penn State has developed a new online certificate program in geospatial intelligence (GEOINT). The ... program is designed to provide students with the core competencies required to effectively and ethically provide geospatial analysis to key decision makers at defense, governmental, business and nongovernmental organizations. (para.1)
Rather than simply developing students' proficiency with technology, Penn State's geography faculty want to develop students' abilities in critical thinking and spatial analysis, while promoting cultural sensitivity and high ethical standards to students in the field. (para. 5)
Penn State's Geospatial Intelligence Certificate program [6] is the first online program of its kind in the nation. (para. 9)
Reference
Penn State begins first online geospatial intelligence program. (2007, June 20). https://www.psu.edu/news/university-park/story/penn-state-begins-first-o... [7]
Prepare for the quiz answering the following questions.
Read Lowenthal's Chapter 5: "Collection and the Collection Disciplines" in Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy.
As you read, do some critical thinking and ask yourself:
Prepare for the quiz answering the following questions.
Read Lowenthal's Chapter 6: "Analysis" in Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy.
As you read this chapter, do some critical thinking and ask yourself:
Prepare for the quiz answering the following questions.
We had a lot of reading this week. Understanding the basics about the US intelligence community is an important foundation so you can ultimately understand where geospatial intelligence fits into the intelligence community and contributes to national security. Our six chapters covered:
Remember that what you read was written by a national security insider who is a veteran of the CIA. His personal history and experience give him a particular cultural filter. Your challenge as a critical thinker is to recognize from where he comes, consider alternative approaches, and keep an open mind. Nevertheless, the US national security intelligence community is the most sophisticated, best funded, and far reaching intelligence establishment on the planet. Thus, it does rate our careful study and understanding even as we focus in on geospatial intelligence in both national security and other applications.
Your last challenge this week is to take Lesson 4 - GRADED Quiz (#3) on this week's readings.
Return to Lesson 4 in Canvas. Look for the Lesson 4 - GRADED Quiz (#3), where you will find the twenty-five-question quiz on this week's readings. Each question is worth two points. You will have unlimited time, and it is open book, but be forewarned. This is a tough quiz. To do well, you must have read and studied the readings.
Before you move on to Lesson 5, double-check the Lesson 4 Checklist [8] to make sure you have completed all the required activities for this lesson.
I hope you like Lowenthal's book, because our next lesson is another reading week. Now that we understand the basics of how the US intelligence community works, in our next lesson, we are going to consider:
But first, you have to get through the Lesson 4 - GRADED Quiz (#3) successfully. Good Luck!
Links
[1] http://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog882/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog882/files/file/nga_history.pdf
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFIG6k4B3zg
[4] https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nga.mil%2Fresources%2FGEOINT_Professional_Certification.html&data=05%7C01%7Cgat5%40psu.edu%7C90ef1e103138496c0e6808dbbe9c5749%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C638313350907384327%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=HxONU1elWHRk4JLYY1GXlnogadnoUJWen8Va3ON%2B9rA%3D&reserved=0
[5] https://usgif.org/education/
[6] http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/geo
[7] https://www.psu.edu/news/university-park/story/penn-state-begins-first-online-geospatial-intelligence-program/
[8] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog882_2023/node/1736