MASINT and Global War on Terror

1. WEEK 3: MASINT AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
Tracey Percifield
INTEL502 B004 Sum 12
07/18/2012
MASINT and the Global War on Terror
We all know that gathered information by any means can be an important factor in making
decisions when our Nation and our military needs are concern, and millions of lives rest in the
hands of the policy makers that give the go ahead to invade, bomb, rescue or pull out.
MASINT (Measurement and Signature Intelligence) collects more of a scientific and technical
approach for strategic and tactical purposes. This type of information builds and analyzes models
that help aide in strategies and tactical categories of data. The biggest problem with this type of
information is that it is complicated and hard to apply when you need it right away. The ones that
more so understand this process are the IT, Forensic Science and projecting and analyzing for
future purposes as in communities and regions of populations (House of Representatives, n.d.).
Having this basic information and function we’ll view an investigation in which President Bush
signed into action Executive Order 13328 on 6 February 2004 and implementing the
investigation and assessing the Intelligence Community in how they function in various areas.
The Commission on Intelligence Group was challenged to address the capabilities and functions
of the Intelligence Committee (IC) and their function of collecting, processing, analyzing, and
other areas of expertise in relations to foreign countries (Stone, 2006).
These challenges and inquiry into the investigation was brought aboutby the invasion to the Iraq
and the need to capture Saddam Hussein and his Weapons of Mass Destruction, fearing that he
would help support terrorist groups and supply them for their missions. When the report was
completed there were seventy-four areas that needed improving and President Bush ordered
seventy-one of them to be reformed in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
(IRTPA) on December of 2004 (Stone, 2006). This Act established two things; the director of the
Intelligence and for the Counterterrorism Center and implemented information sharing between
Intelligence Committee members (Stone, 2006).
This was an important step because the use of various forms of Intelligence gathering affects the
changes we have today. In the use of MASINT we share and rely on technology, analysis,
building of models, strategic strategy and for population and regions that will be affected in areas
of war. The question now becomes, “how does this have an effect on the Global War of Terror
and what role will it play.”
Technology plays a huge portion in all we do; we rely in it in every aspect of our lives from our
energy needs to protecting our nation to supplying our information needs in a global way. In
providing our information needs we also realize that other individuals and groups use
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2. WEEK 3: MASINT AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
information for their own advantage, their own mission and to create global terror and crime.
The easiest way to do this is through the internet. We already know the capabilities of
Cyberspace, it is unlimited and endless. We already know about the new virus “Flame” and its
limitless Cyber-Weapon intentions and capabilities; we have just established the Global War of
Terror (ITU, 2012).
How to counterattack this issue? Since there is no limit to technology as there is no limit to
MASINT or the internetwe can begin by looking at pathways, plotting, planning analyzing
projects to evaluate issues now and apply them to our future or potential issues that may or can
occur. When using all the sources related to MASINT we can track and use criminals networking
system which in many aspects cross terrorist networks. Where there is crime there is always
much more to follow. This technology plays the game that many criminals and terrorist play and
by using their own networks against them helps play a part in counterintelligence attack to the
problem and grabbing a whole on it in the future. Brigadier General (Ret.) Howard agrees with
this theory and is the founder director of Jebsen Center for Counter Terrorism Studies and has
researched this area and agrees, this is one consideration in the approach to terrorist and the
terror the inflict upon individuals and countries. Either way you look at defeating the Global War
on Terror it will have to be played some way using their own technology against them and
MASINT will provide much of the way (Howard, 2007).
In conclusion Intelligence sources will keep changing and methods that are currently used will be
redefined and replaced with newer technology. With new technology and scientific capabilities
being proved and more effective than older techniques our way of sourcing information is going
to change. In this change we will rely on hands on technique and different formulas for counter
attacks using new technology and perhaps using technology created from the enemy against
them to defeat them. There’s no limit and ideas are endless so the future is a work in progress for
all to visualize.
House of Representatives, . "IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century." Gpo.gov.
Gpo.gov, n.d.. Web. 11 Jun 2012. <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-IC21/html/GPO-IC21-
7.html>.
Howard, Russell D. Global Security, US Military Department. (2007). Intelligence in denied
areas: New concepts for a changing security enviroment. Retrieved from Joint Special
Operations University website:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2007/0712_jsou-report-07-10.pdf
ITU, . International Telecommunication Union. United Nations. Faqs on Flame. Geneva,
Switzerland: United Nations, 2012. Web.
<http://www.itu.int/cybersecurity/Articles/FAQs_on_FLAME.pdf>
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3. WEEK 3: MASINT AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
Stone, Cristina M. US Federal Government, (2006). Air force intelligence role in combating
weapons of mass destruction (Maxwell Paper No. 39). Retrieved from US Air Force website:
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/maxwell/mp39.pdf
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