Verified Document

Intelligence Research Paper

IV-3). Each of these topics represents a crucial part of the larger evacuation plan, because as will be discussed in greater detail below, each single element of the plan influences and affects every other. All of this information should already be included in the embassy's emergency action plan, but it would likely be supplemented in a noncombatant evacuation plan with information and intelligence available via the Department of Defense and the relevant intelligence agencies and divisions, such as satellite imagery, more in-depth threat assessments, and more recent information regarding security forces and domestic military leadership. This last topic is particularly important, because in many ways the regional commanders of U.S. forces act as a kind of diplomatic corps to the military command of the country in question, so they would likely be able to contribute relevant information to the noncombatant evacuation plan that might not be available through other means. Once again, coordination between the State Department and the Department of Defense remains the defining variable that can make or break the execution of a noncombatant evacuation plan.

In addition, the noncombatant evacuation plan must include more detailed information regarding key military and combat personnel that will be conducting the operation, including the intelligence officer, responsible for coordinating and disseminating relevant intelligence regarding everything from the weather to hostile elements, the operations officer, responsible for coordinating with the State Department and assessing "the requirement for deployment of combat forces," the logistics officer, responsible for ensuring the logistical capability of the operation, and the communications officer, responsible for setting up and maintaining communications equipment as well as coordinating the use of alternative communications such as domestic phone lines (DOD, 1997, p. V-3,4). Depending on the particular operation, additional key personnel might be needed, such as explosive ordnance disposal technicians, fire support officers, psychological operations officers, and others. Every one of these roles must be determined and clearly defined in advanced so as to reduce the time between an evacuation being ordered and the plan being put in motion.

From a Strategies-to-Task perspective, one may view each of these different officers as representative of a different operational task, which are the individual actions that make up the overall operational objective (in this case, the successful evacuation of noncombatants), just as the operational objective makes up one part of the larger campaign objective. One of the most important aspects of the Strategies-to-Task paradigm is the way it highlights the "cascading" nature of these tasks and objectives, because a failure at any level reverberates throughout the hierarchy; for example, the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 may be seen as a cautionary tale regarding the need for robust planning at every level of the objective hierarchy when it comes to evacuation planning, because not only did the crisis result in a failure at the operational task level culminating in the deaths of eight Americans, the effects of the crisis arguably reverberated all the way to the top of the hierarchy, costing Jimmy Carter his reelection (Ryan, 1985, p. 82-84). This is not meant to be a comparison of the death of eight Americans with a politician losing an election, but rather a means of demonstrating the interconnected nature of the hierarchy of objectives and the way in which changes or failures at one level may be felt throughout. Thus, robust information regarding each of the operational tasks represented by their respective officers listed above is crucial to the noncombatant evacuation plan, because the plan is only as strong as its weakest link, which in this case could be any of the wide variety of disparate tasks that go into executing the evacuation plan.

One should expect all of the information discussed above to be included in the preexisting noncombatant evacuation plan, so the first step in the task of refining the plan for a future contingency is to identify those topics most...

Some issues will change rapidly, but if everything is already in place according to the plan, then these changes will have already been noted. For example, if the intelligence officer is doing his or her job successfully, then climatic changes and their ramifications for the plan will be noted as they occur. Other changes likely require more in-depth research, such as shifting border disputes, the changing allegiances of local governments and security forces, or the availability of certain supplies and other logistical concerns.
Thankfully, the interconnected nature of the objectives and strategies discussed here means that these necessary intelligence updates will likely occur regularly so long as the communication between different organizations and individuals remains robust. While at times this analysis may have made it seem like the interconnected nature of objectives and strategy makes the entire hierarchy extremely fragile, this is not the case. While it is true that a failure at any single level can cascade through the entire hierarchy, this interconnection also means that success in one area contributes to success in another. Thus, the local embassy might be able to provide information unavailable to local commanders, local commanders might be able to offer advice and insights into embassies' emergency action plans, and both sides could benefit from a coherent enunciation of strategy throughout the entire chain of command as well as the kind of robust, redundant lines of communication that develop when individuals and organizations are aware of the true extent of their interdependence and interconnection.

Applying the Strategies-to-Task paradigm to this complex issue reveals not only the specific information required for maintaining an effective noncombatant evacuation plan in the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular, but also the logistical, organizational, and communicative needs of any objective at any level, because one of the major points of the Strategies-to-Task paradigm is to reveal the interrelationships between seemingly disparate objectives and tasks. Thus, while this essay has focused on a single issue, its application of the Strategies-to-Task can also be viewed as an example of the kind of broad perspective needed when confronting any kind of goal, whether it be a military operation, a diplomatic endeavor, or a political objective.

References

CIA. (2012). CIA worldbook: Republic of congo. Retrieved from website:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html

Department of Defense, (1990). Noncombatant evacuation operations. Retrieved from website:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/d302514x.htm

Department of Defense, (1997). Joint tactics, techniques, and procedures for noncombatant evacuation operations (Joint Publication 3-07.5). Retrieved from website:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/jp3_07_5.pdf

Department of Defense, (2007). Noncombatant evacuation operations (Joint Publication 3-68).

Retrieved from website: http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3-68.pdf

Department of Defense, USF South Korea. (2009). Noncombatant evacuation operation. Retrieved from website: http://www.usfk.mil/usfk/Uploads/120/NEO101.pdf

Ham, C. House of Representatives, Armed Services Committe. (2011). Posture statement. Retrieved from website: http://www.africom.mil/pdfFiles/2011PostureStatement.pdf

Paul, R. (1985). The iranian rescue mission: why it failed. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.

Rhodes, C., Hagen, J., & Westergen, M. (2007). A strategies-to-tasks framework for planning and executing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (isr) operations. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2007/RAND_TR434.pdf

Thaler, D. (1993). Strategies to task: a framework for linking means and ends. Santa Monica,

CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2006/MR300.pdf

Sources used in this document:
References

CIA. (2012). CIA worldbook: Republic of congo. Retrieved from website:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html

Department of Defense, (1990). Noncombatant evacuation operations. Retrieved from website:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/d302514x.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/jp3_07_5.pdf
Retrieved from website: http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3-68.pdf
Department of Defense, USF South Korea. (2009). Noncombatant evacuation operation. Retrieved from website: http://www.usfk.mil/usfk/Uploads/120/NEO101.pdf
Ham, C. House of Representatives, Armed Services Committe. (2011). Posture statement. Retrieved from website: http://www.africom.mil/pdfFiles/2011PostureStatement.pdf
Rhodes, C., Hagen, J., & Westergen, M. (2007). A strategies-to-tasks framework for planning and executing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (isr) operations. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2007/RAND_TR434.pdf
CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2006/MR300.pdf
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Intelligence Policy Political Factors That
Words: 3186 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

The necessity to safeguard intelligence information from parochialism and political pressures will be a strong argument in promoting a centralized and strong capability. This is contrary to leaving decisions that affect critical intelligence related concerns solely to the makers of policy. Centralization of policymaking process faces the politicization risk that stems from the department of DCI. It is only the Congress, the President, and Senior National Security Officials who can

Intelligence Pathologies the Church Committee
Words: 3119 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

The Church Committee concluded that these activities made the intelligence community a secret government that was illegal, unethical, and improper and did not reflect the people or the nation of America. Secret intelligence actions were used to disrupt, harass, and destroy domestic law-abiding citizens and groups. At the time, people were spied on with excessive intrusion with the methods being illegal. In addition, the intelligence agencies carried out secret infiltration

Intelligence Community
Words: 3077 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Intelligence Community Many divergent global forecasts relating to the Intelligence Community have been fronted where relative harmony dominates market economies and democracies but the use of military force is diminishing among internationally relating nations. This is driven by rising political, military and economic competition along the borders of major culture and civilization, increasing the breakdown of order as states implodes, rogue states arming themselves with unconventional weaponry and competition among multiple

Intelligence Defining, Identifying and Cultivating Childhood Intelligence...
Words: 865 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Intelligence Defining, Identifying and Cultivating Childhood Intelligence Intelligence is a complex and nuanced subject. Once evaluated under fairly rigid terms using standardized intelligence quotient (IQ) testing, intelligence is now understood in a far more varied and flexible way, with concepts such as emotional intelligence, technical intelligence and artistic intelligence undermining a singular perspective on that which defines the concept. As this subject has widened in its scope, so too have discussions about

Intelligence Testing
Words: 1312 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

Intelligence Testing Few concepts in psychology are more hotly debated than the idea of what constitutes human intelligence. The definition of intelligence has become part of current culture wars as well as an area of intense scientific debate. This paper examines one popular theory of intelligence, Howard Gardner's concept of 'multiple intelligences,' which has been proposed as an alternative to the theory of 'general intelligence,' or intelligence as a concept that

Intelligence & Counterterrorism the Intelligence
Words: 2527 Length: 9 Document Type: Literature Review

Yaphe compares America's invasion with that of the British experience, at the end of World War I. According to Yaphe, he parallels between the two are remarkable, showing how Iraq's ethno diverse territory gives rise to violence and cruelty against others. What Yaphe saw was a common course of political division that was present in both Britain 1917 incursion in Iraq, as well as in America's 2003 invasion. The different

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now