U.S. Intelligence Revolution

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that the transformations that occurred in the intelligence field after the Second World War and during the Cold War brought up what can be called an intelligence revolution because of the nature of these transformations. The writer points out that the United States experienced a rapid growth in military technique, but there was also an unprecedented international willingness to share intelligence. Considering these changes, the impact of the intelligence revolution on the evolution of the United States was considerable. The writer maintains that the technological developments in the intelligence field during the Cold War caused an intelligence revolution in the US which made it possible for the United States to have a great advantage over its enemies. The writer concludes that the supremacy of US intelligence has not been questioned until 2001, after the terrorist attacks. More and more voices now call for another intelligence revolution that would adapt the U.S. to the new circumstances.

From the Paper:

"Before the Second World War the American intelligence was at a very low level, at least comparing to what followed. There was little valuable intelligence information related to the Soviet Union, Germany or Japan which was taken directly from the source, through field agents. American intelligence was mostly directed against internal threats represented by communist supporters and later, Nazi agents. However, this was the period when the transformations in the intelligence field began. US agents were making strides in code breaking and the organization of intelligence services began to function a little more complex.
"The message encoding represented the first step towards a more elaborate intelligence. This was most noticeable after the Pearl Harbour attacks and was focused especially on the Japanese. US efforts for cracking Japanese military messages intensified after the attacks and the leader in this effort was the Combat Intelligence Unit belonging to the US Navy. Due to the technical evolution, the US military was able to crack the Japanese code and intercept thousands of messages during the World War II."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kahn, David. The Code-Breakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet. New York: Scribner, 1997
• Knight, Judson, CIA (United States Central Intelligence Agency), available at http://www.espionageinfo.com/Ch-Co/CIA-United-States-Central-Intelligence-Agency.html;
• O'Neal, Michael J., United States Intelligence, History, available at http://www.espionageinfo.com/Ul-Vo/United-States-Intelligence-History.html;
• O'Neal, Michael J., CIA, Formation and History, available at http://www.espionageinfo.com/Ch-Co/CIA-Formation-and-History.html;
• Sir Hinsley, Harry, The Intelligence Revolution: A Historical Perspective, 1988, available at http://www.usafa.af.mil/df/dfh/docs/Harmon31.doc;

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