National Intelligence Strategy

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released the new National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) last Tuesday, the 22nd.  The NIS steers the course of action for the many different elements of the U.S. Intelligence Community.  It will be in effect through the end of 1922.   They should call it a four-year plan, but I suppose that might bring about unpleasant retrospection in some quarters.

Dan Coats, a former Republican Senator, was appointed by Cadet Bone Spurs.  And yet, he gives a couple of gentle slaps to Trump in this NIS document.

For one, Coats himself says directly:  "This strategy is based on the core principle of seeking the truth and speaking the truth to our policymakers...”.   Truth from the Intel Community is what our current policymaker-in-chief has never wanted to hear.  And also what one of his predecessors, President (snark) Cheney, never wanted to hear either.  I'll be interested if Coats follows through on this.

For the other slap, again Coats himself says:   “As a Community, we must become more agile, build and leverage partnerships,...".   By this I take it to mean Five-Eyes plus other intel partnerships such as NATO's JISD, the various intel agencies of Germany, Japan, South Korea, and many others.   Later in the document partnership is stressed as one of four core lodestars that our intel strategy should focus on:  "Partnerships - leveraging strong, unique, and valuable partnerships to support and enable national security outcomes."  And again this is in direct contradiction of Hair Furor's beliefs.

Other than the slaps, the remainder seems to be boilerplate.  I would have liked to see more emphasis on cyber.  ODNI does have a Cyber Threat Intel Integration Center, but there was no mention of it in the NIS.

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/item/1941-strategy-promotes-integration-innovation-partnerships-and-transparency-for-the-17-intelligence-elements

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_National_Intelligence#Core_mission

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

https://www.nato.int/docu/review/2017/also-in-2017/adapting-nato-intelligence-in-support-of-one-nato-security-military-terrorism/en/index.htm