The Workplace

Is it smart outsourcing of intelligence?

Another reality of the growth of post-9/11 intelligence capability analysis is outsourcing. We have entrusted the management of the programs to collect technical billlion U.S. dollars, and have contracted intelligence analysts.

The National Reconnaissance Office is much more than an office, perhaps the biggest budget of all U.S. intelligence agencies. It may also be the best example of how government contractors including U.S., namely the private sector, are supported by the government and costing us billions of unnecessary dollars. The purchase NRO spy satellites. During the last decade, much of the experience of public employees has been virtually eliminated through the exchange of experts for career military personnel rotate in a few years. Instead of having an Air Force officer worked on satellites of ten or fifteen years making decisions, the NRO began bringing agents two-and three-year mission. Someone who got the tires last year was the acquisition of satellite systems that make up this year. The result was contractors in the aerospace industry gained greater influence in major decisions, not only because they were the only ones left with experience, but also because the NRO has decided to transfer much of its own program management responsibility to a single large contractor.

At the same time, with delivery responsibility Administration the contractor in late 1990 and the first five years of this decade, the NRO and Aerospace plans to spend tens of billions dollars in a new generation of spy satellites with more wonderful capabilities. The winner was contractor Boeing, which has undertaken the construction of thousands of millions of dollars of new spy satellites with additional capabilities in future project called Images of Architecture, or FLA. The higher costs, dates delivery slipped several years, but continued the NRO. Finally submitted bills larger and more recent times, the NRO canceled under pressure Congress of the FIA. Billions of dollars had been wasted.38

These new spacecraft are built side not so much because we had to use their skills, but because if we spend money, we would keep the industrial base alive by recent satellite orders and better quality. It has become a perpetual motion machine: no must stop the construction of satellites a bit more capable of increased cost, increased spending on research to develop more capabilities, even if these functions do not deal with the collection of important information needs. I was part of this cycle of thirty years, when, during my year as an employee of a contractor defense, I was told by the NRO that has developed a new feature that could lead to a new satellite. My work at the NRO, was to arrive at a problem that could use the new technology. In other words, I would understand the need for the new satellite will meet the requirement. This process in reverse (the first developing technology and understand why it is necessary) has been ongoing for decades.

After that you can see very small objects, then satellite synthetic aperture radar that can take pictures at night, when you can take any signal in the radio spectrum released, what is really necessary? When most communication in the world is moving electrons through the air to the photons in optical fiber cables, when satellite data allow business to private companies to sell images for recognition, maybe we should consider moving unless the satellites, no more? Perhaps what need is larger, cheaper spy satellites can be launched quickly to increase existing satellite crisis or replace the satellites that fail or be destroyed. Although national intelligence agency by satellite will not make another part of the Department of Defense. In addition to expensive satellite NRO, the Air Force plans to build the cheapest, fastest launched as part of an additional program birds.

We have to keep an industrial base of knowledge innovation platforms for intelligence in space, but what we have done is destroy the government of professional experience and work keys to business organization giants. These companies have so much influence in Congress that feed the beast becomes the condition, rather than the collection of information we need at a cost reasonable, so that funds can be spent on other needs.

In the field of analysis, the number of entrepreneurs have also increased. Not content with doubling the number of CIA analysts the intelligence community want access to more people. The intelligence community turned to the private sector, or at least companies private. Many of the companies involved, such as Lockheed Martin, won almost all his money by selling to governments. Others, like Booz Allen Hamilton also have a line corporate business. Consulting companies, arms manufacturers, software developers and business support. What they have in common is that they have applied the analysis intelligence personnel who are under contract with various intelligence agencies.

A drive across northern Virginia reveals many new skyscrapers construction in the private firms to employ intelligence analysts do the work previously done by government employees. In the buildings, suites of high security, Analysts have authorization in writing top secret intelligence analysis of the CIA, DIA and other agencies. Often, tests are only slightly changed by government employees before being sent to policy makers. A former official told me that the original draft of a national intelligence estimate was written by an analyst that has not been a government employee would have been slightly revised by the government. When the analysis is performed by a contractor, the company logo is usually replaced by the head of the CIA and the decision maker often unaware that the CIA did not really produce the analysis, a nonprofit corporation.

Intelligence agents Private companies are not only high-rise. A lot of work "on the site," which means to go to intelligence agencies and work with their counterparts governmental organizations doing work similar. As Father Sebastian, an alumnus of Harvard and now with the Associated Press, said, "which led to a phenomenon known as "seat butss – contractors literally sitting next to their public sector counterparts and perform equivalent tasks. According to [former CIA agent John] Gannon, 'butts into the seats in analytic community… Is really a post-9/11 phenomenon, for the most part. John Brennan, former acting director of National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) and currently president and CEO of TAC, said that more than half of the 200 private sector analysts are NCTC while he was there. . . the vast majority of intelligence activities Booz Allen is not classic management consulting, but simply to offer. butts in the seats the intelligence community 39.

One of my colleagues for a visit to the National Center for combating terrorism (NCTC) expressed surprise at the number of people who work there and was told that "most of them are entrepreneurs." It could be saying the same intelligence analysis division for national security and many other organizations in and around Washington. RJ Hillhouse is the concern of information on subcontracting. She writes: "For all practical purposes, effective control of the NSA is with private companies, which makes their support and management functions. . . more than 70 percent of unit staff's most recent intelligence Pentagon CIFA (Counterintelligence Field Activity), consists subcontractors of the company. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) lawyers revealed at a conference May that contractors make up 51 percent of staff in the offices of the DIA. At the CIA, the situation is similar. Between 50 and 60 percent of the workforce management of the most important of the CIA, the National Clandestine Service (NCS), responsible for collecting human intelligence, is composed of employees of 40 profit companies.

Head a program for private intelligence analysis proudly told me that hundreds of analysts in their division on average over many years experience and young analysts at the CIA. Why the experienced officers have left the government to essentially the same work in a private company? Belief popular is that the result is better. For vice presidents and business partners, as is the case. Almost all senior officials in the intelligence agencies for twenty years or again, "retired" to increase federal retirement and are also paid for his new employer in the private sector, often more than double his salary above the federal level. For the analyst generally, however, Private pay is the same as what he or she would be paid "within." Analysts say that I talked them prefer the business environment, because "it's just better run" or "wimp there is less bureaucracy." Their supervisors seem to agree say they have "more time to focus on issues" and "more power to choose only the staff and a really good time to get rid easier of those not working. "

But it costs more money than if the government's work were made by government employees? Some studies show that a contract for a number of times that analysts are more expensive than paying a similar number of government employees. Entrepreneurs, but lack mourn, and notes that in an all-in comparison, including support costs (IT systems, buildings and overhead), the cost of private sector analysts is substantially the same. There are, it had a margin of profit from the contracts. Premiums given heavy staff outsourcing firms and profitability were made public, are costs that have accrued, or job has been done internally within government agencies. Cost however is not the determining factor in the increased recruitment external. Ease of application is probably the driving test. After 9 / 11, when money flowed quickly and in large are the intelligence agencies, was the path of least resistance to sign contracts rather than simply rebuilding the intelligence community reflexively, with a long-term strategic plan.41

senior intelligence managers have found it easier and quicker to turn to private companies to hire and internal staff to develop their own systems recruitment agencies. Recruitment problems and dismissal of officials who are often given as a justification for outsourcing, not really. staff intelligence agencies are exempt from the regular staff of the Public Service rules. Could be better paid than other government employees. Can quickly discarded without cause at any time an agency believes are a work of inferior quality or experience is more in demand. The government could easily rent office space to most analysts. It was easier for a director of the intelligence agency to a contractor to do everything.

The result of all these decisions must take the easy way out and sign contracts, we have created a system of two levels of intelligence analysis. For now, at least, analysts are often companies with more experience in the result, which aspires to be among the ranks of highly paid bosses days. And their highly paid bosses are motivated to persuade the intelligence agencies, where they worked before, the need to continue their contract. And many patterns in the intelligence agencies are considering what they will do when they worked for twenty years and can begin to bring down a government pension. Given this dynamic, it is unlikely that the post-9/11 growth of intelligence analysis is invested in Outsourcing the short term. The CIA, however, promised in 2007 that there would be a 10 percent reduction in outsourcing soon.42 will, of course, difficult to know whether this actually happens.

What is more likely to occur is that the dramatic growth of the intelligence budget and the budget will be slow, perhaps even to withdraw, taking into account the global realities federal prosecutor. When the reductions must be made in the If past trends continue, the directors of the Agency to reduce their contracts before reducing its own staff and other activities. So what you may discover that many of the best analysts we had, those with institutional memory, no longer work on important problems.

The above is an excerpt from his government
by Richard A. Clarke
Published by HarperCollins, May 2008, $ 25.95US / $ 27.95CAN 978-0-06-147462-0
Copyright © 2008 Richard A. Clarke

For more information about the film inspired by this book if Please visit www.richardaclarke.net .

About the Author

Richard A. Clarke served the Pentagon, the State Department, the intelligence community, and the National Security Council for thirty years. His eleven years of consecutive White House service on national security, for three presidents, is unprecedented. In the Reagan administration he was a deputy assistant secretary for Intelligence. In the Bush (41) administration he was confirmed by the Senate as an assistant secretary of state. In the Clinton and Bush (43) administrations he served as national coordinator for security and counter-terrorism. Since leaving government, Richard Clarke has taught at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, authored several books (including the number one best-seller Against All Enemies), been an on-air analyst for ABC News, written columns for the New York Times and other papers, and formed the security-risk management firm Good Harbor Consulting.

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