Requirements For Effective United States Counterintelligence

Date of Graduation

Fall 1993

Degree

Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies

Department

Defense and Strategic Studies

Committee Chair

William Van Cleave

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact is posing new problems for the United States Government concerning the missions, priorities, and organization of its intelligence effort. Counterintelligence is the essential ingredient to any successful intelligence effort, yet U.S. counterintelligence capabilities are relatively weak. A loose confederation of federal bureaucracies, formally codified in the National Security Act developed following World War II, has been ineffective in negating hostile intelligence gathering efforts. This thesis examines the entire structure of the modern U.S. counterintelligence effort to explain that the less than satisfactory performance has been the result of poor planning, bureaucratic structure, a general misunderstanding of the nature of the craft, and a low priority placed on counterintelligence by the United States. The thesis goes on to explain the necessary organization and requirements to promote more effective counterintelligence in the future.

Subject Categories

Defense and Security Studies

Copyright

© Kevin P Sparks

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

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