CIA and Intel

[nadinbrzezinski]

yes, they are behind usually the power curve. There is a reason for that. HUMINT. We have relied on the shiny toys, such as SIGINT... Signals Intelligence for you folks. But we really have not done, FOR DECADES this thing called Human Intelligence. We really have no clue what goes inside places from readying tea leaves from oh Nile TV... we need to have people on the ground.

This is not just Egypt... this is all over the place. Yes, we can read YOUR paper from orbit... yep, we can follow you around if we chose to do such, from well, ORBIT. We can do all those wonderful things where reams of SIgnals come in... alas the context of much of this is missed.

Now this is not the CIA. This is the US. We really LUVE our expensive toys... and trust me, them satellites ARE expensive, and shiny. But the grunt work, that requires far less sophisticated means that are as old as well... the craft... we don't invest in this as much.

As much as we, as a nation, rely on the shiny and keep forgetting the grunt we will continue to be well... surprised.

By the way, remember 1989? You know why Team B came to be? Because the HUMINT side kept telling our people that the USSR was close to collapse, but of couse they could not be right.

Alas, if my name is Boeing, I cannot sell local shoe shine boys to the US in insert country here... but damn that shinny new satellite that now can read all the way down to TImes Roman 6 point... yes that I can. What do you think my people in DC will try to sell? Which speaks to some of OUR OWN corruption,

[Newest Reality]

1. All hail the great shiny thing

that bestows great profit to those who lead us! The Lemming god approves.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Yep and those shoe shine boys

really don't cost much...

(I am using them since yes, they are usually sources for a lot of stuff. So much is said in front of them)