In “The Way of the Knife”, by Mark Mazzetti he discusses the role the C.I.A. played in American Warfare following the September 11 attacks. When the C.I.A. was first established its main mission was to “collect and analyze intelligence so that American presidents could know each day about the various threats facing the United States” (Mazzetti 2014). With the aftermath of September 11, their mission began to change and it started to turn its focus towards terrorism. They began running a secret war that was being led by the White House. The agency had previously ignored the Counterterrorist Center, because they did not see it as a top priority. However, during the war it had become the new headquarters. In fact, the Counterterrorist Center …show more content…
today and how their mission is continually changing. The book is only four years old, but with a new president in office the mission of the C.I.A. has shifted some since the Obama administration. In the book, there is a clear of view of their mission following September 11. The goal of the C.I.A. was to locate al Qaeda and its prominent officers. The article shows a clear shift from seeking out al Qaeda to now looking to seek out rebels all over the war. We are willing to become more aggressive in our fight against terrorism when using the C.I.A. Again, using the C.I.A. in American warfare has several positive aspects. It is more convenient and can possibly be cheaper, but a new reason to involve the C.I.A. in warfare is to appeal to the public. According to Ken Stiles, American’s do not care if the C.I.A. is waging a covert war, but they will care if there are 50,000 troops being used. Since 2001 we have last at least 18 members of the C.I.A due to fighting in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, President Trump is encouraging the C.I.A. to take more risks as long as they are deemed as rational. His overall goal is “to make the C.I.A. faster and more aggressive” (Gibbons-Neff
Throughout The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town, the murder of Ernst Winter in Konitz is very much a reflection of the overall attitudes of many Europeans during the early 20th century. It was clear that once the anti-Semitic attitudes started to become prominent in society, they spiraled out of control and started to take over entire communities. The Jewish people were blamed for crimes they did not commit, were excluded from society, and suffered from acts of violence and hate speech. Wild stories began to be spread all over town and people started to believe everything they heard, even if there was no substance behind it. This caused lots of problems in Germany, as well as Europe in general, since many people got
When a young boy is found brutally murdered in a small Prussian town called Konitz, once part of Germany, now part of Poland, the Christians residing in the town lash out by inciting riots and demonstrations. Citing the incident as an act of Jewish ritual murder, better known as blood libel, Christians rendered blame on the Jews. Helmut Walser’s Smith, The Butcher’s Tale, details the murder account and the malicious consequences of superstitious belief combined with slander and exaggerated press propaganda. Foreshadowing the persecution of Jews which would take place three decades later, Smith analyzes and explains the cause and effect of anti-Semitism in Imperial Germany at the turn of the century. Utilizing Smith’s book as a primary source,
Following the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Unites States found itself in a search for answers and revenge against those that had brought about this atrocity. The attack that has been compared to that of Pearl-Harbor elevated the tracking and collecting of terrorism from barely a priority, to the forefront of the American radar. I honestly believe that terrorism as the #1 priority is destined to remain at the top for the foreseeable future. The elemental thoughts on almost all American minds following the attacks were who had the strength and capability to could carry out such an attack on a country with the world’s strongest military and what led to their focus to attack the Untied States: In short, who attacked us, and why do they hate us? The Untied States formed a bi-partisan 9/11 Commission was formed to trace the roots of Al-Qa’ida, investigate the history of the 19 hijackers, examine missed opportunities of law enforcement officials to avert the disaster, and make recommendations to clean up the faulty incoherent intelligence-gathering operation. The 500+ page 9/11 Commission Report contained thirteen chapters of historical narratives, analysis and recommendations. All ten members of the bi-partisan commission signed off on the report, which has arguably become a national historical document. Just as the 9/11 Commission was created to find answers and recommend necessary follow steps to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself, Lawrence Wright sought answers as to why 3000 American lives were lost in the attacks on September 11th. An experienced traveler to the region, Lawrence Wright endeavored to do his own investigative study into the history, ideology and circumstances behind this large-...
“President Bush has stated that about a hundred detainees were held under the Central Intelligence Agency secret detention program, about a third of whom were questioned using “enhanced interrogation techniques. The CIA has a way of very publicly blowing their cover seeming to pop up wherever turmoil, and political problems arise. The CIA exists to prevent threats, its operations involve covert actions or spying through various means to gather critical intelligence data. The CIA dates back to 1947. The qualifications and skills are above average. The job of the CIA is to anticipate and quickly assess rapidly evolving international developments and their impact, both positive and negative, on US policy concerns. When researching the career of
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) was established in November 1952 to provide a cryptologic organization for the civilian and military leaders of the United States and to provide them with timely information. The National Security Agency (NSA) coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to produce foreign intelligence information and protect United States information systems through two main missions, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Information Assurance (IA). The Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) mission uses cryptologic machines to break foreign codes to find out what they know and what they are doing. The biggest accomplishment publicly known was when they broke the Japanese military code in World War II and learned that Japan had plans of invading Midway Island. This allowed us to attack and destroy Japan’s superior fleet. With this intelligence, it was said to have shortened the Pacific war by over one year.
...the previous Act. The last Act is the FISA Act of 2008 “The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act”, which allows intelligence professionals to monitor terrorist communications, while protecting civil liberties of Americans, more quickly and efficiently. (USDOJ) These legal changes have allowed not only the investigation and prosecution of terrorists to be more proficient, but it has also help change the structure of the operations of agencies to enhance counter-terrorism efforts.
...e community have had conflicting views and opposing agendas. Lack of cooperation and communication between intelligence agencies; such as the FBI and the CIA refusing to share information prior to the terrorist attacks of 2001, resulted in limited information and failure on the part of the intelligence community and policy decisions regarding US safeguards against terrorist.
Historical Significance: The September 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, orchestrated by Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, were the events that launched the U.S. War on Terrorism. Al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States was carried out by members of radicalized Islamic groups, whose objective was to spread jihad against the secular influence of the West. This tragic event provided the historical b...
The Night of Long Knives, one of most noteworthy events during Hitler’s rule, was a purge that occurred on the 30th June 1934. Hitler ordered the murders of conspicuous Conservative anti-Nazis such as Kurt Von Schleicher and Gustav Ritter von Kahr, Left wing Nazis such as Gregor Strasser and many members of the SA including its leader Ernst Rohm. It could be claimed that the murders were significant as they ended a possible takeover by the SA, deterred and intimidated Conservative critics while gaining their support, saw the rise of the SS, introduced terror and dictatorship into mainstream life and reassured the elites and the army.
The United States has endured numerous security breaches and high security threats over the past two decades. After the attacks on 9/11, the office of Intelligence became a vital source in retrieving sensitive data and tracking down potential terrorists and their networks which could pose a threat to the American people and then forwarding that vital information to the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies. Intelligence became a key role in “assessing threats to critical American infrastructures, bio-and nuclear terrorism, pandemic diseases, threats to the borders to the nation, and radicalization within American society” (Randol, 2009, p. 7). The sharing of homeland security intelligence has become a precedence for Congress and the government. Our nation must be one step ahead of any potential terrorists that want to harm our turf. Within this text the capabilities and limitations of both domestic and foreign intelligence in supporting homeland security efforts will be explained;
... Sept. 11th, 2001, terrorist attack on theWorld Trade Center and the unreliability of U.S. intelligence onWeapons of mass Destruction in Iraq have been a focus of intense scrutiny in the U.S. in 2004 particularly in the context of the 9/11 Commision , the continuing armed resistance against U.S. occupation of Iraq, and the widely perceived need for systematic review of the respective roles of the CIA, FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency. On July 9th, 2004 the Senate report of Pre-war Intelligenceon Iraq of the Senate Intelligence Committe stated that the CIA described the danger presented by Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq in an unreasonable way, largely unsupported by the available intelligence. In a briefing held Sept 15th, 2001 George Tenet presented the Worldwide Attack Matrix, a "top-secret" document describing covert CIA anti-terror operations in 80 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The actions, underway or being recommended, would range from "routine propaganda to lethal covert action in preparation for military attacks". The plans, if carried out, "would give the CIA the broadest and most lethal authority in its history".
One of the main failures of law enforcement and intelligence agencies identified by both the authors of “The Cell” and Senator Richard Shelby was that the F.B.I. and C.I.A. acted in competition with one another to produce results, as opposed to in centralized collaboration. Gladwell points out that the intelligence community was structured in this manner in response to the failures of the Bay of Pigs operation, which had been based on highly centralized intelligence gathering. In turn, the structure of intelligence agencies at the time of the Bay of Pigs was in response to the failure of decentralized intelligence to identify the threat of an attack on Pearl Harbor. The iterative cycle of intelligence failures and subsequent reform efforts ignores the premise that the failures do not represent evidence of the limitations of intelligence agencies, but rather the limitations of intelligence itself. As Gladwell states, “in our zeal to correct what we believe to be the problems of the past, we end up creating new problems for the
Certain words or images can trigger an emotional connection or a memory and in the poem, Knife by Mary Oliver, I personally had some of those connections. “Whatever goes flashing by”, I envision my childhood, specifically the days where I would station myself right in front of the television during the weekends at my grandparents. I was typically with my older brother and sister for the most part since were all two years apart and we would binge watch the shows from channels like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. In the background I can imagine the sound of a rocking chair that my grandma would sit on. “When I sit like this, quiet”, this relates to a personal experience of mine. This quote would take me back to high school where I would begin
The Central Intelligence Agency is the President’s independent foreign intelligence arm, responsible to him through the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Council, and accountable to the people of the United States by interaction with the intelligence oversight committees of Congress. The CIA has many duties within those boundaries and performs a variety of functions through many forms of intelligence. They employ people from all backgrounds of academic study, from linguists to economists, along with people from varied ethnic backgrounds to work as specialists. It is a large agency with many responsibilities, but most importantly they perform critical work for the President regarding international intelligence.
8) ?After the Attack?The War on Terrorism? (2001). Online at: <http://www.monthlyreview.org/1101edit.htm>, consulted on March 29th, 2004.