Why Open Source Intelligence Is So Important

An Army report clearly explains why our right to know what’s being done in our name is such a necessity.The Importance Of Open Source IntelligenceBy Cliff Montgomery – May 11th, 2007The American citizen’s right to know what is being done in their name is not only necessary for liberty, but for security as well.We quote from this December 2006 Army report below:“American military professionals have collected, translated, and studied articles, books, and periodicals to gain knowledge and understanding of foreign lands and armies for over 200 years. The value of publicly available information as a source of intelligence has, however, often been overlooked in Army intelligence operations.”Though always available, the exponential growth in computer technology and the Internet over the past two decades has placed more public information and processing power at the finger tips of soldiers than at any time in our past. A body of knowledge on culture, economics, geography, military affairs, and politics that was once the domain of grey-beard scholars now rest in the hands of high school graduates.”For intelligence personnel, this combination of technology and information enables them to access a large body of information that they need to answer their unit’s intelligence requirements. As the following quote illustrates, our reliance on classified databases and external support has, however, often left our soldiers uninformed and ill-prepared to capitalize on the huge reservoir of unclassified information available from open sources.“‘I am deploying to El Salvador in a few months, and will be serving as the S2 Noncommissioned Officer in Charge for the task force there. I need to put together some information for the Task Force Commander on the country and the situation there. Although I have served in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM I, I have no idea how to go about this, for when we deployed to Iraq the country brief was pretty much handed to us.’––Sergeant, S2 Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Engineer Group“From El Salvador to Iraq, the US Army operates in diverse operational environments around the World. These diverse operational environments mean the development and use of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) is not a luxury but a necessity.Open sources possess much of the information that we need to understand the physical and human factors of the operational environments in which we conduct or may conduct military operations. In truth, much of our understanding of these environments, our World, is based on publicly available information that we learned from educators, journalists, news anchors, and scholars.”The US Army Intelligence and Security Command’s (INSCOM) Asian Studies Detachment demonstrates the characteristics and the power of sustained OSINT operations. Since 1947, the Detachment has collected, processed, and analyzed publicly available information on capabilities, disposition, and readiness of military forces of China, North Korea, and other potential adversaries. It has also reported on the economic, environmental, political, and social conditions within the region.”In recent years, the Asian Studies Detachment has reported on elevated tensions between China and Taiwan during the Taiwan presidential elections in 2004; security threats to US, allied forces conducting humanitarian relief operations in Indonesia following the December 2004 tsunami devastation; and strategy and tactics employed during the August 2005 Sino-Russian combined counterterrorism Exercise PEACE MISSION 2005.”As testimony to the high value of OSINT analysis and reporting, Asian Studies Detachment’s intelligence information reports since 2003 have received 28 “Major Significance” evaluations from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), and the US Air Force’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) on topics ranging from North Korean underground facilities to Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force air and space science and technology (S&T) developments.”At the tactical level, some units are task organizing their assets into OSINT organizations. The following is an example from the 3d Infantry Division’s deployment to Iraq in 2005. It illustrates how intelligence personnel adapt to and succeed at new missions. In the example, the company commander task organized his common ground station (CGS) team into an OSINT team.”‘With their four to five interpreters (two of which are American citizens) and a steady flow of radio, television and newspaper reports, the open source intelligence team produced a daily rollup with analysis. Their office consisted of one television with local and international cable, one laptop connected to the non-secure Internet protocol router network, an amplitude and frequency modulated radio and the daily newspapers, usually ten to fifteen papers per day.‘Also, the team acquired a video camera recorder and digital video device player to study confiscated propaganda and other media. They understand the importance of local reporting to the success of the brigade combat team campaign and have made it a point to conduct thorough research on topics of local importance. Their product was studied and further analyzed by the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance analysis team at the brigade combat team tactical operations center prior to submission to the brigade combat team S2 and dissemination to battalions or division.’–– Captain, MI Company Commander, Brigade Combat Team”