4.4 The Development of US Intelligence

Required Reading

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:

• Why did the US not develop a formal intelligence establishment until relatively recently?
• Must a threat based foreign policy continue to be the mainstay of US foreign policy?
• Are there other alternatives to competitive analysis?
• What is the optimal relationship between producers and consumers of intelligence?
• How does the issue of "a heavy reliance" on technology relate to geospatial intelligence?

Read NGA History fact sheet.

As you read, note:

• The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is responsible within the US intelligence community for imagery intelligence (as Lowenthal would term it - it is more correctly referred to as geospatial intelligence).
• You will read about the NGA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Strategy (NGS) next week.
• Reading the fact sheet will help you familiarize yourself with the history of the NGA.