For some, the very act of intelligence gathering seems illegitimate when applied to the crime of terrorism.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Intelligence collection is not confined to the communications of adversaries or of the guilty. Rather, it's about gaining information otherwise unavailable that would help keep Americans safe and free.
Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.
Terrorists continue to exploit divisions between law enforcement and the intelligence communities that limit the sharing of vital counterterrorism information.
There's been intelligence that terrorists would look to programs such as the visa waiver program to exploit.
In the aftermath of September 11, and as the 9/11 Commission report so aptly demonstrates, it is clear that our intelligence system is not working the way that it should.
The terrorist uses surprise and stealth, and the only way to defeat that is by having accurate and timely intelligence.
I've always been baffled by critics of the CIA, who are horrified that it does illegal things. That is the purpose of an intelligence service: to perform illegal acts.
Intelligence services exist to do things that are illegal abroad. They exist to tell lies.
By definition, intelligence deals with the unclear, the unknown, the deliberately hidden. What the enemies of the United States hope to deny we work to reveal.
I think all governments engage in intelligence gathering vis-a-vis other governments.