Intelligence Community: Assessing Complementary Agency Contributions

This assignment analyzes the U.S. Intelligence Community, focusing on the roles of the National Security Agency (NSA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The author discusses how these agencies complement each other in collecting, analyzing, and distributing intelligence to combat terrorism and ensure national security. The assignment explores different intelligence disciplines, such as open-source intelligence and signal intelligence (SIGINT), and addresses the challenges in gathering accurate data and the limitations of the intelligence-gathering process, including filtering information and data analysis. The author proposes solutions such as combining open-source intelligence with traditional knowledge and the use of measurement and signature intelligence to overcome these challenges. The discussion highlights the importance of quick decision-making in security matters and the need for agencies to work together effectively.

Running head: INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
Intelligence community
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INTELLIGENC COMMUNITY 2
Post 1
Apart from the two agencies elaborated in this post the other complementary agency is
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) according to Kerr, Wolfe, Donegan & Pappas, (2018).
The reason why the Central Intelligence Agency is a complementary agency in this situation is
that the intelligence community is composed of various agency and each agency assists the other
in ensuring that security in the nation or worldwide. The above agency will complement the
work of other agency by collecting, analyzing, evaluating and distributing information relating to
foreign intelligence to the other two agencies. The two agencies will use the information to come
up with a crucial decision regarding the matter of security in the country. The process of
deciding is a very long step. However, security matters need quick decisions. Therefore, the
Central Intelligence Agency is the best suitable agency for analyzing issues for other agencies.
Post 2
In this second post, it has elaborated on NGA and DEA as the two agencies for fighting
terrorism acts and ensuring security for the United States. However, the other important agency
that can complement the two agencies is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. DEA and NGA aim
to detect terrorism acts through intelligence activities and give reports to other agencies in
reference to Pillar, (2018). Consequently, FBI has quality intelligence and law enforcement
activities. The agency will supplement other agencies in that; it will detect cyber-attacks, outside
operations and report it to the other agencies. When then three agencies come together the United
States would have high protection against terrorist acts. Apart from protecting the nation from
cyber-attacks, FBI will engage in maintenance of a list of terrorist communities hence informing
the government on their daily operations.

INTELLIGENC COMMUNITY 3
Post 3
The third post talks about various disciplines of intelligence the security agencies can
make use of to get information. The post focus on two intelligence disciplines that is open source
and the imager intelligence. Consequently, the challenge that is evident in this intelligence
process is collecting accurate data. One of the solutions is that the intelligence community can
make use of is the signal intelligence (SIGINT) according to Plater-Zyberk, (2017). The reason
why this type of knowledge proves to be the complementary knowledge is that many terrorist
groups make use of the signals to intercept information regarding the security of a particular
nation. Apart from that, the intelligence process can combine the open source intelligence with
the traditional knowledge to get a quality outcome.
Post 4
From the elaboration in this post, there exist various limitation of the intelligence
gathering process. For instance, the open source type of intelligence poses some challenges to the
intelligence group. One of the problems is that it requires the team to filter the insight from
noise. The filtering process takes too long for the intelligence group to come up with the
information they can provide to the intelligence community to assist in counter-terrorism. If it is
a terrorist group that is sharp in administering their activities, they can quickly get to the country
before the intelligence group receives the information. Another limitation of the intelligence
process is that it requires the team to collect accurate data. The data from the open source
intelligence need thorough analysis for the team to get quality intelligence information. The type
of knowledge that can solve such challenges is the use of measurement and signature intelligence
because it comprises both SIGINT and Imagery according to Richelson, (2018).

INTELLIGENC COMMUNITY 4
References
Kerr, R., Wolfe, T., Donegan, R., & Pappas, A. (2018). Intelligence collection and analysis on
Iraq: Issues for the intelligence community. In Intelligence and national security
policymaking on Iraq. Manchester University Press.
Pillar, P. R. (2018). Intelligence, policy, and the war in Iraq. In Intelligence and national security
policymaking on Iraq. Manchester University Press.
Plater-Zyberk, H. (2017). Intelligence security in the European Union: building a strategic
intelligence community.
Richelson, J. T. (2018). The US intelligence community. Routledge.