Legitimate use of military force against state-sponsored - Air University

to establish the linkage required under the standard of sufficient evidence is to improve
intelligence capabilities.
How to Improve Intelligence Gathering?
Counterterrorism, especially when countermeasures involving military force are
concerned, requires the best intelligence. Intelligence is needed not only to choose the target,
estimate possibilities of success or failure, and weigh the dangers of incidental civilian loss and
damage, but also to establish direct ties between international terrorist incidents and the nation or
organization behind them. Brian Jenkins, terrorism expert with the Rand Corporation, explains
why evidence as to linkage is so fundamental. “Here the target is not the terrorist group, which
may exist only as a voice on the telephone, but the patron state. To justify the use of force
against another country, intelligence must prove the connection between the patron state and the
terrorist perpetrators, a difficult task that takes time.” 55 The task is difficult because of the
inherent nature of terrorist groups and their activities. As William Casey once observed,
terrorist groups are very tough nuts for intelligence to crack. That is almost selfevident.
They are small, not easily penetrated, and their operations are closely
held and compartmented. Only a few people in the organization are privy to
specific operations, they move quickly, and place a very high premium on secrecy
and surprise. 56
Faced with this challenge, intelligence can and must be improved. Human intelligence
(HUMINT) is of particular importance when it comes to terrorism. “White satellites and other
technological gadgetry are necessary to collect intelligence to fight conventional and nuclear
wars, accurate and timely human intelligence is necessary to wage war against terrorism.” 57 Yet,
as the organization and mode of operation of terrorist groups demonstrate, HUMINT is difficult
to obtain. The effort, nonetheless, should be there. Intelligence can be obtained from direct
observation, analysis of past terrorist events, evaluation of known terrorist personalities, and
studies of known terrorist groups by government and private organizations and citizens. But the
best source of information will come from captured and defecting terrorists and from infiltrating
active or potential terrorist groups. A major problem associated with infiltration, one which
terrorists are well aware of is: will the infiltrator be permitted to commit a crime? A kidnapping?
A murder? Terrorists will, no doubt, use the commission of a crime as dues for membership.
The question, then, is, how far should governments go to gather intelligence? Guidelines
must be clear, and democracies, by their nature, are severely disadvantaged. 58 Also those who
gather intelligence, the United States as well as international agencies, need to increase their
levels of coordination and cooperation. Obtaining intelligence on terrorism is difficult. The
intelligence acquired must be put to maximum use by analyzing pieces of information in
conjunction with other available intelligence.
Former Senator Jeremiah Denton, while chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and
Terrorism of the Senate Judiciary Committee, found the coordination and cooperation among the
Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency