"Covert Action" - Confrontation or Collaboration? - or Meme?

By Aki J. Peritz and Eric Rosenbach - Posting #211

A report or more cultural programming? Should the CIA have briefed Congress on secret intelligence programs? What is the legal basis for the President's electronic surveillance program? Is the DNI actually in charge of the Intelligence Community?

Debate about intelligence issues has dominated public discourse since the attacks on 9/11. Unfortunately, the size, complexity and closed nature of the U.S. Intelligence Community often stymie individuals from differentiating fact and fiction on intelligence issues. The vast majority of members of Congress face an even more daunting task: They must provide important oversight with only a very limited background on intelligence. As the 9/11 Commission noted, "Few members of Congress have the broad knowledge of intelligence activities or the know-how about technologies employed."

The former Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Bob Graham, believed that members of Congress needed a non-partisan, objective reference that would provide a foundation for improving basic knowledge of intelligence issues currently facing this country. Hence, Eric Rosenbach and Aki J. Peritz, drafted Confrontation or Collaboration? Congress and the Intelligence Community at the Harvard Kennedy School in order to meet that need.

The revised version of Confrontation or Collaboration provides the public with a similar reference. Each chapter is a succinct memo that highlights important information about the Intelligence Community or an issue critical to our national security. The book begins by presenting basic organizational and legal issues pertinent to the Intelligence Community. Next, it traces the history of controversial topics like electronic surveillance and interrogations. Finally, it closes by highlighting new and current challenges that will undoubtedly dominate policymakers' agendas in the next several years.

The goal of Confrontation or Collaboration is to provide a guide to the complexities of the Intelligence Community to policymakers, legislators, students and the public. We hope this book leads to more informed debates and decisions about critical national security issues facing our nation.

CONTENTS

Background Memos

Intelligence Basics
Organization of the Intelligence Community
Congressional Oversight of the Intelligence Community
The Congressional Authorization and Appropriation Processes
Informing Congress of Intelligence Activities
Covert Action
National Intelligence Estimates
Defense Intelligence
Domestic Intelligence
Intelligence and International Cooperation

Issue Memos

Intelligence Reform
Interrogations and Intelligence
Electronic Surveillance and FISA
Cyber Security and the Intelligence Community
Overhead Surveillance
The National Interest, Energy Security and the Intelligence Community
Terrorist Safehavens and the Intelligence Community
The Role of Private Corporations in the Intelligence Community
The USA-PATRIOT Act
State and Local Fusion Centers

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!....Its "OUR" country!!!

Love "Light" and Energy

_Don 　

References:

The Ominous Parallels Report [Full Report]

Confrontation or Collaboration? Congress and the Intelligence Community [Full Report]