CIA Guide to Analysis of Insurgency, and Other Resources
A Central Intelligence Agency publication on the analysis of insurgencies that has often been cited but not widely circulated was recently released by CIA under the Freedom of Information Act.
“This pamphlet contains key definitions and analytic guides applicable to any insurgency…. Among other things, this guide is designed to assist in conducting a net assessment of the overall status or progress of a specific conflict,” the document (pdf) states. The CIA “Guide to the Analysis of Insurgency” is undated, but may have been written in the 1980s.
Update: See also this 2012 revision of the “Guide to the Analysis of Insurgency.”
U.S. military intelligence agencies should follow the lead of Federal Express and other corporations and use “operations research” tools to guide their investment decisions and resource allocations, according to a new study by the Defense Science Board. See “Operations Research Applications for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance” (pdf), January 2009.
The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AF ISR Agency) is a little-known successor of the former Air Intelligence Agency, and its mission is described in this January 27, 2009 Air Force directive (pdf).
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.
Extreme heat poses serious and growing risks to children’s health, safety, and education. Yet, schools and childcare facilities are unprepared to handle rising temperatures.