The Intelligence Process
Threats Facing the United States
The Intelligence Community at Work
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The threat to
the United States that the Intelligence Community must mitigate
takes several forms. In addition to conventional military threats
that have challenged us in the past, new transnational problems
involve the possibilities of:
Terrorism
Terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated
against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine
agents, usually intended to influence an audience - violence as
evidenced in the US on 11 September 2001. Search the National Counterterrorism Center's (NCTC) Worldwide Incidents Tracking System for in-depth information on terrorist incidents, groups, and trials.
Proliferation
Proliferation refers to the provision of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons and/or technology by states that possess them to states that do not.
Chemical
Warfare
Chemical Warfare (CW) can be considered the military use of toxic
substances such that the chemical effects of these substances on
exposed personnel result in incapacitation or death. It is the impact
of chemical effects instead of physical effects that distinguishes
chemical weapons from conventional weapons, even though both contain
chemicals. A chemical weapon comprises two main parts: the agent
and a means to deliver it. Optimally, the delivery system disseminates
the agent as a cloud of fine droplets. This permits coverage of
a broad amount of territory evenly and efficiently.
Biological
Warfare
Biological Warfare (BW) is the deliberate use of pathogens or toxins for military or terrorism purposes. BW agents can be more toxic than chemical warfare (CW) nerve agents on a weight-for-weight basis and can potentially provide broader coverage per pound of payload than CW agents. BW attacks can also be masked as naturally-occurring epidemics due to the presence of BW agents such as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) in the environment.
Information
Infrastructure Attack
Political activism on the Internet has generated a wide range of
activity, from using e-mail and web sites to organize, to web page
defacements and denial-of-service attacks. These computer-based
attacks are usually referred to as hacktivism, a marriage of hacking
and political activism.
Narcotics
Trafficking
Drug dependence is a chronic, relapsing disorder that exacts an
enormous cost on individuals, families, businesses, communities,
and nations. Addicted individuals frequently engage in self-destructive
and criminal behavior. Along with prevention and treatment, law
enforcement is essential for reducing drug use. Illegal drug trafficking
inflicts violence and corruption on our communities. Law enforcement
is the first line of defense against such unacceptable activity.
The Intelligence Community must support this defense to the extent
feasible and allowable by law.
Counterintelligence
In addition
to collecting and processing intelligence about our enemies and
reporting to our consumers, the Intelligence Community is also faced
with the problem of identifying, understanding, prioritizing and
counteracting the intelligence threats (from foreign powers) that
are faced by the United States. This activity is known as counterintelligence.
Counterintelligence involves more than simply the catching of spies (counterespionage). It is, in fact, concerned with understanding, and possibly neutralizing, all aspects of the intelligence operations of foreign nations. As defined in Executive Order 12333, counterintelligence includes both "information gathered" and "activities conducted" in order to "to protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage or assassination conducted on behalf of foreign powers, organizations, or persons, or international terrorist activities but not including personnel, physical documents or communications security."
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Links
to Related Information
Mapping
the Global Future: Report of the National Intelligence Council's
2020 Project
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