Category: Information

Iran: Info Quality

    U.S. Is Said To Expand Covert Operations In Iran
    (Washington Post)…Joby Warrick
    The Bush administration told Congress last year of a secret plan to dramatically expand covert operations inside Iran as part of a long-running effort to destabilize the country’s ruling regime, according to a report published yesterday.
    320,000 Graves To Be Dug For Enemies
    (Washington Times)…Agence France-Presse
    Iran is to dig 320,000 graves in border districts to allow for the burial of enemy soldiers in the event of any attack on its territory, a top commander said on Sunday.
    Tehran Reportedly Reviewing Incentives
    (Baltimore Sun)…Unattributed
    Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that officials are still reviewing an international package of economic incentives designed to get Tehran to curb its nuclear program.

Internet Awareness

Military Looking For Signs Of Attack, (Washington Times)…Shaun Waterman, United Press International

The U.S. military is looking for a contractor to patrol cyberspace, watching for warning signs of forthcoming terrorist attacks or other hostile activity on the Web.

"If someone wants to blow us up, we want to know about it," Robert Hembrook, the deputy intelligence chief of the U.S. Army´s Fifth Signal Command in Mannheim, Germany, told United Press International.

In a solicitation posted on the Web last week, the command said it was looking for a contractor to provide "Internet awareness services" to support "force protection," meaning the security of U.S. military installations and personnel.

Iraq: Strategic Planning

Military Success In Iraq Masks Failures On Other Goals
(USA Today)…Editorial, July 1, 2008, Pg. 10

…Those are striking measures of military success, and they form the storyline of most importance to both Americans and to Iraqis. For good reason. Without reasonable security, little other success can be attained. But there is another storyline — one about the fragility of the recent successes — and it tells a deeper, more complex tale.

It was outlined most effectively last week by Congress’ investigative arm, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, in a finely detailed report that got less attention than it deserved. Its central conclusion was more than a little bit worrisome: The U.S. lacks a convincing strategic plan for capitalizing on recent success, an echo of the lack of planning that turned victory into chaos after the invasion of Iraq five years ago.

The Pentagon and the State Department quickly disputed the GAO’s conclusion, but the report nevertheless points to challenging problems for which the GAO investigators, at least, did not see a cohesive, convincing response:  Continued violence… Iraqi competence … . Refugees ..  Al-Qaeda in Iraq. …  Iraqi government failings … .  Overlap among U.S. agencies … Worries about Sunnis. 

Information Mgmt in War

A Former Marine Discusses IT In Iraq
(Wall Street Journal)…Lee Gomes, July 1, 2008, Pg. B6

The U.S. military has been as enthusiastic about information technology as U.S. businesses have been, making computers, email and instant messaging part of everyday life for troops in Iraq. But the question of whether IT makes people better at what they do seems just as mixed a picture in combat as it is in the office.

The goal in war has always been to get as much intelligence to headquarters as quickly as possible, then to process it and get it back into the field. So, obviously, when you’re in the military and living in the Information Age, you want to take advantage of whatever technology is available. Radio is still the primary means of communication. With email, though, if anybody writes something, it’s a lot easier to read it later.

Facts, Ideals, Leadership

OPINION: Liars’ Round-Up, On Security, Facts Matter,  New York Post, By Ralph Peters, June 28, 2008, Pg. 19

Whopper No. 1: America is less safe today than it was on Sept. 10, 2001.

Whopper No. 2: Al Qaeda is stronger than ever.

Whopper No. 3: Success in Iraq is an illusion – the surge failed.

Whopper No. 4: Iran is stronger than ever.

Whopper No. 5: The US-European relationship is a disaster.

Whopper No. 6: As president, Barack Obama would bring positive change to our foreign policy – and John McCain’s too old to get it.

 Whopper No. 7: Our troops are all coming home as psychos victimized by their participation in military atrocities.

Political systems usually result in sub-optimal outcomes, e.g.  somebody wins, somebody loses.  The long-term outcomes generally result in sustaining the status quo. 

Breaking the cycle to achieve more optimum outcomes requires agreement on  facts, ideals and common causes.  Interpretation of the facts that range from the conservative (see Whoppers above) to liberal, should be recognized and overcome. 

"Transformation" from the old paradigm to new requires Quality Leaders who can successfully manage and reduce variation.

YouTube, War on Terror

Fight Terror With YouTube (New York Times)…Daniel Kimmage

AL QAEDA made its name in blood and pixels, with deadly attacks and an avalanche of electronic news media. Recent news articles depict an online terrorist juggernaut that has defied the best efforts by the United States government to counter it. While these articles are themselves a testimony to Al Qaeda’s media savvy, they don’t tell the whole story.

Ideological Engagement

How To Win The War Of Ideas, (Wall Street Journal)…James K. Glassman, June 24, 2008

 “In the long run, winning the War on Terror means winning the battle of ideas.”

Many of the strongest supporters of ideological engagement can be found in the Department of Defense, starting with Secretary Robert Gates, who reminded senators earlier this year that the Cold War was “as much a war of ideas as it was of military power.” Unfortunately, since the rise of Islamic terror, we haven’t done enough on this front.

What we seek is a world in which the use of violence to achieve political, religious or social objectives is no longer considered acceptable, efforts to radicalize and recruit new members are no longer successful, and the perpetrators of violent extremism are condemned and isolated.

Military success is necessary, but it is not sufficient – for the simple reason that we face as an enemy not a single nation, or even a coalition, but a stateless global movement. Without a vigorous war of ideas, as we kill such adversaries others will take their place.

Prison Escape

Coalition Hunts For Escaped Afghan Inmates, (Houston Chronicle)…Noor Khan and Jason Straziuso, Associated Press, June 15, 2008

U.S. and NATO troops aided Afghan forces with reconnaissance in a hunt Saturday for 870 inmates who escaped prison after a sophisticated Taliban assault that even NATO conceded was a success for the militants.

Special cause variation.

The President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

Covert Board Called Crucial To Presidents, (Washington Times)…Bill Gertz June 16, 2008, Pg. 1

Presidents need to rely on a little-known group of intelligence advisers that since the 1950s has helped guide policies and oversee the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy, according to a report by former intelligence officials.

The book-length report to be released today is an exhaustive historical study of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), which was created during the Eisenhower administration and has been used by presidents in different capacities ever since.

The report, "The President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board: Learning Lessons from its Past to Shape Its Future," was written by former intelligence and national security officials Kenneth M. Absher, Michael Desch and Roman Popadiuk.

Air Force Leadership Changes: Variation Principle

Moseley: We Need A Failsafe To Human Error (Air Force Times)…Vago Muradian, June 9, 2008  Pg. 12

A day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation June 5, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley gave this exclusive interview to staff writer Vago Muradian. 

…  Following the Minot incident, I would say more than 95 percent of my focus has been about getting this right, and we had a commander-directed inquiry. I commissioned Maj. Gen. [Polly] Peyer to conduct a blue ribbon review, which gave us 120 or so specific things to address.

My fundamental tasking to her was, “Is there something bigger here? Is this just an isolated case of a human frailty or are there systemic bigger issues that we have to find and fix?”

Relative to the variation principle, reference to “isolated case” refers to special cause variation. Reference to “systemic” refers to common cause variation.   If the problem is due to common causes, a permanent and fundamental change is needed. A special cause refers to a temporary or fleeting event.  Required action would be ensuring execution on existing policies and procedures.

A second article, Air Force Shake-Up May Lead To Deeper Overhaul
(Christian Science Monitor)…Gordon Lubold, June 9, 2008, infers a systemic issue. “Extraordinary” refers to special cause variation.

…Gates’s nominee for Air Force secretary will reportedly be Michael Donley, now a top Pentagon aide. He will have to examine the institutional culture that led to the incidents in the first place. A Pentagon investigation directed by Gates in March concluded that there were systemic problems the service had failed to address.

The US Air Force must undertake a wholesale assessment of itself in the wake of the extraordinary firings last week of its top two officials, say analysts.