The National Open Source Enterprise (NOSC) of April 2006 is all that is left of the Jardines Fiasco. Here are our comments.
1. Illustration is wrong. OSINT is both its own discipline and the FOUNDATION for all of the other disciplines. It is especially valuable as a gap filler and in taking care of all the consumers that do not get classified decision support. That needs to be central message.
2. Imperative for Open Source fails to cite the Aspin-Brown Commission that found IC to be “severely deficient” and recommended that OSINT be a “top priority” for both DCI attention and for funding. It also fails to cite the 9-11 Commission Report, pages 23 and 413, calling for a separate Open Source Agency co-equal to and independent form the CIA.
3. The five goals are good ones. The DNI Open Source Center is inflated in Goal Two and should be removed. In Goal 3 there has been no inventory of open source capability and this needs to be a priority, recommend DIOSPO point this out and volunteer to take on the task. OSC cannot be trusted with this task for multiple reasons.
4. Requirements system must be BOTH part of the all-source system and also available at the unclassified level to all consumers including foreign governments and non-governmental organizations. Requirements entered at the high side that can be cleared for the low side should go there, and all requirements at the low side should be mirrored to the high side. Ben has it right at SOCOM—using COLUSEUM not only got the analysts used to putting in OSINT requirements, but it gave Ben the satisfaction metrics he needed to prove 40% of ALL SOF GWOT EII are being answered by OSINT.
5. No progress appears to have been made on harvesting state and local information, that probably needs its own committee, consider bringing in a National Guard Colonel on reserve duty, ideally with a law enforcement badge in real life, to run that NOSC sub-committee.
6. Ditto on international partnerships. The UN would be the perfect partner for DIA, via the Situation Centre.
7. Goal Four: OSC is in violation of the broadest possible dissemination. Anything that is classified should not be allowed to count toward OSINT production.
8. Goal Five: Stupid to use a Lockheed sales mark (SkunkWorks®). Change to Innovation Center. Goal 5.2 needs to be beefed up. EarthGame™ as designed by Medard Gabel, #2 to Buckminster Fuller, is perfectly suited to meeting and furthering goals 5.3 and 5.4. The UN State of the Future project and Millenium Goals can be tied into this.
