Department of Defense Intelligence Agency

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the U.S. Department of Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, whose original purpose was to coordinate the intelligence activities of the military services. The paper further describes some of the problems encountered by the agency due to its secretive function and competition among other intelligence organizations. These problems are analyzed in light of the agencies purpose and military affiliation. The paper concludes by illustrating the DIA's renaissance in the mid-1990's with the appointment of John M. Deutch as its new Director of Central Intelligence.

From the Paper:

"The DIA's history is a speckled one at best. Initially it was a rather obscure organization with very little real power. The reason for this was because it was supposed to be a coordinator of information gathered by other agencies, and even though the agencies were military in nature, as was the DIA, there was still a myriad of problems in gathering the respective data from those individual agencies. The agencies jealously protected their information, thereby rendering moot the DIA's attempts at clarification and enhancement of the data it was charged with coordinating."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beal, Clifford (2006) Chronic Underfunding of US HUMINT Plays Role in Intelligence Failures, http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jdw/jdw010911_1_n.shtml, accessed August 21, 2006
• Polmar, Norman and Allen, Thomas B. (1997) Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage. New York: Random House
• Powers, Thomas. (2002) Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to al-Qaeda. New York: The New York Review of Books

More papers on Department of Defense Intelligence Agency:

• Research Paper # 115632 : "Telecommuting in the Department of Defense"
• Essay # 47154 : "Activity-Based Cost in the Department of Defense"
• Term Paper # 109614 : "Mission, Vision and Values Paper"

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