An Analysis of the Defense Intelligence Agency Usefulness

An Analysis of the Defense Intelligence Agency Usefulness
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An Analysis of the Defense Intelligence Agency Usefulness
The United States (US) is at risk of threats from within and from beyond the border. Since the Cold War ended, the US continues to face new threats that change as times change. Technological developments have also changed the nature of threats that the US faces and the intelligence community in the US is responsible for identifying and stopping possible threats. Decision-makers rely heavily on the intelligence provided by the intelligence community. The intelligence community, led by the Director of National Intelligence, is made up of 17 elements, all of which work closely together and independently to protect national security. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is one of the key members of the US intelligence community. The DIA has been instrumental in contributing to the national security agenda but in this era of tight budget controls and increased oversight from Congress, its role in the intelligence community has been questioned. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of the DIA within the intelligence community to determine its usefulness, especially when compared to other elements of the intelligence community.[. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “What We Do,” Office of the Director of National Intelligence, n.d., /index.php/what-we-do (accessed August 6, 2020).]
The key role of the DIA is to provide “military intelligence to warfighters, defense policymakers and force planners in the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community, in support of U.S. military planning and operations and weapon systems acquisition. Through their role, the DIA utilizes both the proactive and reactive approaches. The proactive approach involves gathering military intelligence to prevent crises or war with foreign militaries, thus maintaining peace with other countries. The reactive approach involves collecting intelligence on how to plan and win wars when necessary. The DIA’s role is very specific in the sense that it provides military intelligence, unlike the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which provides national security intelligence. Such intelligence may include but is not limited to military intelligence. Also, the DIA is the primary source of military intelligence, which is used in both combat and non-combat mission. Being the primary source of such intelligence makes the DIA a very central and crucial element of the intelligence community. As long as the DIA continues providing military intelligence, it will continue being relevant in the intelligence community and more so in the attainment of the national security agenda.[. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), “About DIA,” Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), n.d., /About/ (accessed August 6, 2020).] [. Ibid.]
Given its key role, the DIA has invested in a diverse workforce. This workforce includes people who have training in the Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, and civilians in the department of defense. Each group of employees provides the DIA with a set of specialized capabilities, which are crucial in its role in military intell...