Vision 2015 And The Definition Of Intelligence (DNI.gov)

The Director of National intelligence (DNI) has just released Vision 2015: A Globally Networked and Integrated Intelligence Enterprise. I am just now making my way through it and there seems to be much good thinking and an interesting vision articulated here. The first page, for example, states that the IC's mission is to "Create Decision Advantage". This, to me at least, seems to closely mirror my own thoughts that intelligence should reduce the level of uncertainty for a decisionmaker. I am not vain enough to think that anything I have ever written had any impact on anything in this document. I AM vain enough, however, to think that maybe this is a case of great minds thinking alike...

Other highlights include the Vision of a "globally networked and integrated intelligence enterprise" and the Strategy of integrating "foreign, military and domestic capabilities through policy, personnel and technology actions to provide decision advantage to policy makers, warfighters, homeland security officials and law enforcement personnel." All of this operates under the Values of "Commitment, Courage and Collaboration."

I intend to explore the document in a good bit more detail over the next several days but one final thing struck me in Mike McConnell's introductory letter to the document: "Our commitment to this Vision will be manifested in our budget priorities and implementation plans." Sounds like "get on board or get left behind" to me.

Related Posts:
What Is Intelligence?

Leverage Points: Places To Intervene In A System (Via Architectures Of Control)

The Architectures of Control blog pointed to a very interesting article by Donella Meadows on the optimal places to intervene in a system. Her 21 page article titled "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene In A System" not only provides a good introduction to systems theory but provides very useful guidance on what she calls the "leverage points" in a system. In all, it is a very useful piece of background knowledge to have.

A Very Good Day, Indeed

Much of my adult working life was spent in and around the Balkans helping (I hope) mitigate or clean up after the misery caused by the Balkan Wars of the 1990's. Evil men on all sides of the conflict murdered innocents in the name of their own ambitions. When the international community decided to bring the force of law (rather than mere force) to bear on the crimes committed in those awful years, I was glad. I am not sure that either I or the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was always successful but I am sure that I am proud of the work the US did to help the ICTY. For Allen, Jessica, Cliff, David, Ray, Laura and all of the hard working investigators and lawyers at the ICTY, today is a very good day.

If you don't know what I am talking about see this Times Online story and this reaction piece.