A History of the Defense Intelligence Agency - Cryptocomb

The Future
of Defense Intelligence
DIA’s contributions to national security have been
instrumental in shaping many of the significant
events in U.S. history. From the first major challenges
it faced during the Cuban Missile Crisis
to the current perils presented by international
terrorism and arms proliferation, DIA has played a
central role in gathering, processing, and producing
intelligence used to defend the United States
from foreign aggression. In doing so, it has also
served as an effective force multiplier, allowing U.S.
military leaders to project power that is greater
than the sum of its parts.
DIA has evolved as the nature of national security
threats has changed. During the Cold War, it
was faced with more conventional threats from the
Soviet Union and its allies. In response, DIA efforts
focused on defeating state-sponsored militaries that
adhered to informal, but generally accepted rules
of conduct. The unconventional, organic nature of
global, transnational terrorism and counterinsurgency
has meant that Agency personnel have had
to adjust to new challenges, building a more agile
organization to provide intelligence warnings and to
pass information quickly to combat forces.
The Intelligence Community as a whole has
become more integrated to confront this new challenge,
and DIA has been a major part of this unification
of effort. The Agency also has more than 11,000
military and civilian employees deployed around the
world to support a wide range of military operations.
It is increasing its investment in the development
of HUMINT and technical collection capabilities
to further improve its surveillance and warning
capabilities. The multi-dimensional nature of
twenty-first century threats means that the Agency
must be prepared for rapid changes in an unpredictable
and unstable global environment.
40 Defense Intelligence Agency