Getting good intelligence

[tim_duncan2000]

If I remember right, some of the information about Saddam's weapons programs came from some people who had escaped from Iraq and hated Saddam. A lot of people have wondered if they just said what they said so that something would happen to Saddam and his regime.

Because of things like this, I don't really know how you can know if you have a good source. Sometimes, the source might have an axe to grind and their information may or may not pan out. I also know that you also are not usually dealing with the Boy Scouts here when you are trying to get information. I understand that they often have some shady characters working for the US, but sometimes there aren't a lot of choices.

I don't really know how to balance all this so that you get more reliable intelligence. It also is somewhat of a gamble because you might not know that the information was not that good until afterwards. I don't really know the answers, but I hope that it gets better in the future.

 

[_dmp_]

What do you know about National Security and Intelligence-Gathering?

It comes from more sources than 'escapees'.

 

[tim_duncan2000]

I didn't mean to imply that they were the only sources. But the complaint from some people has been that that sometimes there are unsavory characters who might have other reasons for wanting the US involved. But sometimes, it's either that or nothing, and some people don't seem to realize this. They think that it's black and white and that you should only deal with respectable, honest people with nothing to hide, but it's not black and white. Sometimes it is necessary to be involved with some of these people, but there sometimes are problems, and I was interested to hear how they can be avoided.

 

[tim_duncan2000]

Anyone?

 

[Zhukov]

Problems like that can't be completely avoided. That is why intelligence agencies analyze information from a variety of disparate sources and try to find areas where they agree.

 

[Hobbit]

Why do you think there are hundreds of people on staff at the CIA? They analyze all the data and try to sift out the facts from the fiction. They do a good job, but are still only human and make mistakes.

 

[tim_duncan2000]

Hey, I'm not blaming them for all of this, and I know there are other sources then the people I'm talking about. My point was how these groups that may or may not have an axe to grind could have valuable information. Some people might say that the US should always stay away from people like that, but I'm not so sure. Yes, you have to be careful and I suppose you don't ever truly know if those groups aren't just telling you what you want to hear, but I think it would be foolish not to use those sources at all because of that. It's not as black and white as some want it to be.