Notes on the lectures from the course (2023) Intelligence Revolutions. INCLUDES notes from lectures
1-7 (Total: 27 pages).
Intelligence Revolutions Lecture Notes (Lectures 1-7)
Table of Contents
Lecture 1: From Gatherers to Hunters (Unrestricted Warfare After 9/11) 1
Lecture 2: Spy-Tech Cyber-Espionage & Cyber Sabotage 6
Lecture 3: Torture & Assassination as Counterterrorism Tactics 8
Lecture 4: Intelligence, Surveillance & Privacy in a Digital Age 15
Lecture 6: The Privatisation of Intelligence 19
Lecture 7: Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Intelligence Agencies 22
, 1
Lecture 1: From Gatherers to Hunters (Unrestricted Warfare After 9/11)
Intelligence Revolutions
9/11 helped shift intelligence → tactical intelligence, the convergence of military techniques &
counterterrorism.
What is an “Intelligence Revolution”?
● Cyber Revolutions (Kello): Defined in terms of systemic disruption, systemic revision &
systems change.
● Intelligence Revolution (Gioe, Goodman & Stevens): Consists of 3 specific features:
1. Rapid change in nature & practice of intelligence work.
2. Nature of change would be systematically disruptive.
3. Reordering of global intelligence capabilities.
Why study “Intelligence Revolutions”/change?
● Continuity vs. change = understanding the universal fundamentals & shifting identities of
intelligence (original/contemporary purposes, cultures).
● Ethical conundrums & societal impact of major “revolutions”.
● Understanding the overlap & impact of technological revolution/change on intelligence.
Before & After 9/11: What changed about intelligence?
How has intel changed since 9/11?
● Greater overlap between foreign & domestic (e.g., Internet).
● The Patriot Act granted intelligence agencies a lot more power.
● Gatherers to hunters → blurred line between analysts/operations.
● State to non-state → focus on non-state actors.
● Post-Westphalian world → global intelligence networks, intervention in domestic affairs &
violation of sovereignty.
● Cyberspace & bulk dataveillance.
● Shift away from sovietology → counter-terrorism & the Middle East.
● Intelligence sharing & expertise between countries.
● Secrecy → public relations & the disclosure of intelligence as a form of international
signalling/global embarrassment.
● Denial to deception → more open operations revolving around misinformation rather than
plausible deniability.
“Before 9/11 and after 9/11: it is as if the history and future of international relations were disappeared by
this temporal rift. Old rules of statecraft, diplomacy and warfare have been thrown out by terrorist and
anti-terrorist alike [...].” (Der Derian, In Terrorem: Before and After 9/11).
A History of CIA Covert Action in Cold War As Prehistory to War on Terror?
, 2
Covert Action (1994 National Security
Act): US Government’s activities to
influence foreign political, economic,
or military conditions, where its role
will NOT be acknowledged publicly
(i.e., plausible deniability, political
action, propaganda/psychological
warfare, military assistance,
paramilitary operations, coups).
➔ Timeline:
◆ “Golden Age” of CIA covert action (1950s/60s) = under DCI Allen Dulles’
leadership, the CIA:
● Instigated coups (e.g., Iran, Guatemala).
● Sponsored operations in Indonesia.
● Plotted (although never succeeded in carrying out) numerous
assassination attempts against Fidel Castro & Patrice Lumumba.
◆ CIA pushback following the 1961 Bay of Pigs.
◆ 1975 scandal/congressional enquiry = 2 congressional enquiries & 1 Presidential
commission investigating the CIA’s activities (e.g., Senate Church Commission, led
by Senator Church).
◆ President Ford’s Executive Order 11905 imposes new oversight on the intelligence
community & outlaws assassination.
◆ Less covert action = President Carter appoints Admiral Stansfield Turner as DCI to
clean up the CIA’s image.
◆ New President Reagan (with future DCI, William Casey) = promised to “unleash”
the CIA with increased covert action in Latin America & Afghanistan.
◆ Scandal & decreased covert action = Oliver North testifies at Iran-Contra hearings.
◆ 9/11 = event increased covert action that was followed by scandals/inquiries (e.g.,
Guantanamo Bay).
◆ New President Trump = provides more powers to launch cyber covert ops via 2020
Presidential findings. Leads to a new age of aggressive cyber ops against China &
Iran. Assassination remains a key tool of US foreign policy.
Why do states engage in covert action?
● It is a nimble, flexible & cheap force multiplier (Cormac).
● It removes the military chain of command (e.g., the CIA reports directly to the President).
● It avoids media scrutiny (e.g., unlike Vietnam).
● As a pressure valve, providing options short of war.
Disaster in the Desert: Eagle Claw and the Rise of JSOC
Operation Eagle Claw (1980): Disastrous attempt by Delta Force (authorised by President Carter) to
rescue US hostages in Iran.
➔ Historical Significance:
1-7 (Total: 27 pages).
Intelligence Revolutions Lecture Notes (Lectures 1-7)
Table of Contents
Lecture 1: From Gatherers to Hunters (Unrestricted Warfare After 9/11) 1
Lecture 2: Spy-Tech Cyber-Espionage & Cyber Sabotage 6
Lecture 3: Torture & Assassination as Counterterrorism Tactics 8
Lecture 4: Intelligence, Surveillance & Privacy in a Digital Age 15
Lecture 6: The Privatisation of Intelligence 19
Lecture 7: Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Intelligence Agencies 22
, 1
Lecture 1: From Gatherers to Hunters (Unrestricted Warfare After 9/11)
Intelligence Revolutions
9/11 helped shift intelligence → tactical intelligence, the convergence of military techniques &
counterterrorism.
What is an “Intelligence Revolution”?
● Cyber Revolutions (Kello): Defined in terms of systemic disruption, systemic revision &
systems change.
● Intelligence Revolution (Gioe, Goodman & Stevens): Consists of 3 specific features:
1. Rapid change in nature & practice of intelligence work.
2. Nature of change would be systematically disruptive.
3. Reordering of global intelligence capabilities.
Why study “Intelligence Revolutions”/change?
● Continuity vs. change = understanding the universal fundamentals & shifting identities of
intelligence (original/contemporary purposes, cultures).
● Ethical conundrums & societal impact of major “revolutions”.
● Understanding the overlap & impact of technological revolution/change on intelligence.
Before & After 9/11: What changed about intelligence?
How has intel changed since 9/11?
● Greater overlap between foreign & domestic (e.g., Internet).
● The Patriot Act granted intelligence agencies a lot more power.
● Gatherers to hunters → blurred line between analysts/operations.
● State to non-state → focus on non-state actors.
● Post-Westphalian world → global intelligence networks, intervention in domestic affairs &
violation of sovereignty.
● Cyberspace & bulk dataveillance.
● Shift away from sovietology → counter-terrorism & the Middle East.
● Intelligence sharing & expertise between countries.
● Secrecy → public relations & the disclosure of intelligence as a form of international
signalling/global embarrassment.
● Denial to deception → more open operations revolving around misinformation rather than
plausible deniability.
“Before 9/11 and after 9/11: it is as if the history and future of international relations were disappeared by
this temporal rift. Old rules of statecraft, diplomacy and warfare have been thrown out by terrorist and
anti-terrorist alike [...].” (Der Derian, In Terrorem: Before and After 9/11).
A History of CIA Covert Action in Cold War As Prehistory to War on Terror?
, 2
Covert Action (1994 National Security
Act): US Government’s activities to
influence foreign political, economic,
or military conditions, where its role
will NOT be acknowledged publicly
(i.e., plausible deniability, political
action, propaganda/psychological
warfare, military assistance,
paramilitary operations, coups).
➔ Timeline:
◆ “Golden Age” of CIA covert action (1950s/60s) = under DCI Allen Dulles’
leadership, the CIA:
● Instigated coups (e.g., Iran, Guatemala).
● Sponsored operations in Indonesia.
● Plotted (although never succeeded in carrying out) numerous
assassination attempts against Fidel Castro & Patrice Lumumba.
◆ CIA pushback following the 1961 Bay of Pigs.
◆ 1975 scandal/congressional enquiry = 2 congressional enquiries & 1 Presidential
commission investigating the CIA’s activities (e.g., Senate Church Commission, led
by Senator Church).
◆ President Ford’s Executive Order 11905 imposes new oversight on the intelligence
community & outlaws assassination.
◆ Less covert action = President Carter appoints Admiral Stansfield Turner as DCI to
clean up the CIA’s image.
◆ New President Reagan (with future DCI, William Casey) = promised to “unleash”
the CIA with increased covert action in Latin America & Afghanistan.
◆ Scandal & decreased covert action = Oliver North testifies at Iran-Contra hearings.
◆ 9/11 = event increased covert action that was followed by scandals/inquiries (e.g.,
Guantanamo Bay).
◆ New President Trump = provides more powers to launch cyber covert ops via 2020
Presidential findings. Leads to a new age of aggressive cyber ops against China &
Iran. Assassination remains a key tool of US foreign policy.
Why do states engage in covert action?
● It is a nimble, flexible & cheap force multiplier (Cormac).
● It removes the military chain of command (e.g., the CIA reports directly to the President).
● It avoids media scrutiny (e.g., unlike Vietnam).
● As a pressure valve, providing options short of war.
Disaster in the Desert: Eagle Claw and the Rise of JSOC
Operation Eagle Claw (1980): Disastrous attempt by Delta Force (authorised by President Carter) to
rescue US hostages in Iran.
➔ Historical Significance:
