Policy Autonomy Across Committees and The Document’s Impact on US Intelligence Community

Research Paper Instructions:

This is a research paper, in the format of a staff study, focused on one of the Presidential or national commission reports listed below as assigned. Very briefly summarize the historical and organizational context and rationale for the study (Customer Note:Aspin-Brown Commission Report:Uploaded attachment), its participants and methodology, and the major enduring issues it addressed, particularly as they relate to the management challenges facing today’s US Intelligence Community. To that end, examine three of the commission’s major recommendations most relevant to IC management and oversight (Customer Note: Provided below with some references already obtained). Some of the recommendations are broadly stated, encompassing several disparate issues and actions. In that case, tighten your focus on one of them to allow a more deep and comprehensive analysis within the space allowed. Summarize the issues or problems the recommendations were intended to address, the alternatives considered, and the support or opposition of major stakeholders at the time. Your analysis of the assigned report must be informed and supported by specific reference (e.g. by page number) to at least a dozen other authoritative sources (besides the assigned report). List only those references explicitly cited in the paper. Any non-course references used must be from online sources and must be traceable or they cannot be used. For any reference not readily and freely accessible on the web, attach a short extract of the section cited to the end of the paper, following the Reference List. (Not included in the page count). Rather than cut and pasting extensive quotations from the assigned study, I would prefer you thoroughly paraphrase that content, and integrate it with your own analysis and perhaps that of other sources. Where possible, provide an actual or hypothetical illustration of the item at issue. Evaluate the immediate and longer term impact of the implementation (or lack thereof) of each recommendation, the advantages and disadvantages that have become apparent since, and assess if each has been as effective as intended as well as any unintended consequences, positive or adverse. Your conclusions should be a value judgment based on specific criteria relevant to IC management and oversight, rooted in the comprehension and appreciation gained from the application, analysis, and synthesis of the content of your sources.

Preparing for the 21^st Century: An Appraisal of U.S. Intelligence (1996), commissioned by Congress to examine the state of US intelligence. Also referred to as the Aspin-Brown Commission report.

Your paper should be in the format of a modified staff study (guidance attached):

Approximately 14-15 pages in length (not counting the Reference List and any additional notes), double space, "Times New Roman,” 12-point font. (Word or compatible).
Use the proper APA citation style, with citation within the text specifying page numbers; from sources that do not contain pages. Instead, please use the best available substitute identifying element that makes sense: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Some works (like Congressional Bills) may use special location identifiers. A last resort may be the position in a line count.
Attach a Reference List of those sources actually cited, annotated to very briefly evaluate the value of each reference used.
Refer to at least a dozen other authoritative sources, besides the assigned study, at least six of which are course references. Possibly these six would be those identified in your tentative selection of course references to be used for the final paper for Weeks 3 , 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. (Note: cite each document in a collection or anthology such as Litt's, with different authors, as a separate source.)

Customer Note: The three recommendations this paper is to cover (page number of the Aspin Brown Report included for your reference):

1) The DCI should have two Deputies, each appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate: one Deputy (to supersede the existing Deputy Director of Central Intelligence) to be designated Deputy Director for the Intelligence Community, serving at the pleasure of the President and as acting DCI in the absence of the DCI; a second Deputy to be designated Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency, and appointed for a term not to exceed six years (with the President reappointing the Deputy every two years). Each Deputy must be provided sufficient professional staff to assist in the execution of his or her responsibilities. pg. 56

2) The Commission recommends that the President issue a new Executive Order to govern U.S. intelligence activities. The new Executive Order should incorporate the recommended structural and procedural changes for the oversight, management, and conduct of intelligence activities contained in this report as well as ensure consistency with the statutory changes affecting the Intelligence Community enacted since 1981. pg. 140

3) The Commission recommends that the Intelligence Oversight Board be constituted with a greater degree of independence from the PFIAB because its functions are qualitatively different. pg. 145

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Aspin-Brown Commission Report
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name
Abstract
The Aspin/Brown document illuminated the condition of intelligence agencies in the United States in the years that followed after the end of the Cold War. The historical and organizational context of Aspin/Brown, its participants, and methodology, and the central issues highlighted in the document provide insights on the importance of policy autonomy across committees. The recommendations provided will offer significant conclusions regarding the document’s impact on the intelligence community of the United States. Aspin-Brown Commission Report Introduction The period of 1995-1996 observed the United States performing significant investigations into the condition of the country’s intelligence organizations. Conducted by a supreme level committee, the committee was headed by Les Aspin, a retired secretary of defense, and Harold Brown. The central intention of the document was to ascertain how appropriately the Intelligence Committee was shaped in regards to the changing world after the conclusion of the Cold War. Aspin-Brown was designed as a commission on the functions and competencies of the United States Intelligence Community (Brown & Rudman, 1996, p. 6). It was established to consider the impending course, main concerns, and organization of the Intelligence Community(IC) in the post- Cold War era. Besides, the document accomplished various roles, such as national security and domestic politics (Johnson, The Aspin-Brown Intelligence Inquiry: Behind the Closed Doors of a Blue Ribbon Commission, 1995, p. 1). What follows is a detailed discussion of the historical and organizational environment of the Aspin/Brown document, its participants and methodology as well as the major concerns it tackled. Besides, the paper evaluates three of the commission's recommendations appropriate in the management of the US Intelligence Community. Historical and Organizational Context America gripped global duties during the Second World War but neither the White House nor the Congress had a complete visual on how to accomplish them. Truman’s administration had diverse ideas regarding accurate intelligence to reinforce policymakers and commanders. Eventually, the National Security Act of 1947 arranged these ideas and established the direction of American Intelligence (Best, 2004, p. 3). The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) would be at the top of the developed intelligence network to direct information to military policymakers and senior civilians and create national intelligence from the bulk of data access to the government (Nolte, 2012, p. 57). Further, the DCI would report to a committee of cabinet secretaries to guarantee that no single department could excessively shape the form of intelligence established (Snider, 1998, p. 44). Apart from that, the Act merged the armed operations, secretary of Defense, autonomous Air Force, the CIA, and the National Security Council (NSC). President Truman selected Adm. Souers as the pioneer DCI, chairing Central Intelligence Group in January 1946 (Jones, 2005, p. 8). The DCI was tasked to compl...

Updated on January 26, 2024

Get the Whole Paper!

Not exactly what you need?

Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:

Order

Policy Autonomy Across Committees and The Document’s Impact on US Intelligence Community

You Might Also Like Other Topics Related to cold war: