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 intelligence gathering. DIA employees are well-trained in areas of military history and doctrine, political science, economics, world history, and computer sciences, among others. They also get to work with other professionals in foreign countries, which gives them an opportunity to obtain relevant information. Unlike the CIA, the DIA works with these professionals on an official capacity. Employees at the DIA get to work in different parts of the world, especially under the regional combatant commands. For instance, employees under the US Africa command get to work with military professionals in Africa and can protect the US national interests (United States Africa Command n.d.). Through this regional command, the DIA has access to military intelligence from different African countries. They can gather information about the types of weaponry available in the region, as well as any existing threats to US national security or US interests in the region. The combatant commands also provide support in maritime operations and help deployed forces in responding to instabilities in the regions. It is through such combatant commands that the US has been able to participate in promoting stability in countries that are facing political instability, such as Somalia, and address potential terrorist threats on US interests from such countries. These interactions with foreign military professionals give the DIA official access to professional networks that other agencies might lack. As such, through these regional combatant commands, the DIA can specifically provide military intelligence to warfighters and force planners, making it a very fundamental contributor in the intelligence community.[. Ibid.] [. United States Africa Command, “What We Do,” United States Africa Command, n.d., /what-we-do (accessed August 6, 2020).]
There are different types/sources of intelligence that the intelligence community relies on. One key type is human intelligence, which is obtained from human sources. It is the earliest type of information and has been the primary source of information until it was overtaken by the technology revolution in the 29th century. The DIA still collects human intelligence through its human intelligence mission, which has often been compared and lost, to that of the CIA. In fact, this has also been another reason why it has been questioned whether the DIA has become redundant. The DIA obtains human intelligence through overt and clandestine operations. Their overt operations are through the off...