Waking up on another September 12th: implications for intelligence reform

Abstract

After 9/11 the US Government tried to ‘fix’ intelligence by adopting the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA). Resources increased and, to varying degrees, performance improved – particularly in counterterrorism. This article, however, argues that the constellation of Intelligence Community authorities and organizations, either created or left in place by the IRTPA, coupled with the challenges of a complex security environment, leaves us ill-prepared to deal with the Country’s twenty-first century intelligence requirements. Should that critique prove accurate, and should future intelligence failure(s) be judged strategically and politically unacceptable, the second half of the article provides a framework for revising the IRTPA; the proposals substantially increase the authority of the head of the Intelligence Community, consolidate structures, and create centers of analytic critical mass necessary to meet the knowledge requirements for both regional and transnational security issues. Reflecting the Intelligence Community’s long standing tradition of questioning assumptions, the article is meant to foster reflection and debate about whether the Intelligence Community is postured to meet the needs of the Country, and if not, what needs to change.     

Mortgaging Security for Economic Gain: U.S. Arms Policy in an Insecure World

Similar to other consumer sectors of the global economy, the transfer of advanced conventional weapons and military technologies has entered the globalization process, a process that has qualitatively and quantitatively altered the composition and structure of U.S. national security policymaking. By injecting the decisionmaking process governing arms transfers into the global market place, U.S. policy makers must now reconcile maintaining economic competitiveness within the global system without jeopardizing U.S. national security interests. By subordinating national security interests to global economic imperatives, U.S. decisionmakers are at risk of mortgaging the political, societal, and security welfare of its citizenry for profit.     

A Longitudinal Study of Modifying Influences in the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment

The increased risk of child maltreatment in the presence of domestic violence is well documented, but much remains unknown about factors that modify this relationship. This study investigates the roles of risk and protective factors in the relationship between domestic violence and being reported to the Department of Social Services for child maltreatment. Consistent with the literature, we find a significant overlap between domestic violence and maltreatment. Young maternal age, low education, low income, and lack of involvement in a religious community add to the risk for maltreatment associated with domestic violence. Separation between the maternal caregiver and her partner significantly reduces the risk for maltreatment when domestic violence is reported. A significant reduction in the risk for maltreatment is also found with higher levels of support from the maternal caregiver reported by the child in the context of domestic violence.     

THE ECOLOGY OF GANG TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES*

Within any type of system, the actors in the system inevitably compete over resources. With competition comes the possibility of conflict. To minimize such effects, actors often will partition the system into geographic territories. It is against the larger ecological backdrop of competition and conflict that we examine territory formation among urban street gangs. Although previous studies have examined the social and built environment where gangs form, and how the presence of a gang influences local levels of violence, we know little about how competitive interactions are tied to the formation and maintenance of gang territories. We use formal spatial Lotka–Volterra competition models to derive hypotheses about competition‐driven territory formation. By using data on 563 between‐gang shootings, involving 13 rival street gangs in the Hollenbeck Policing Division of Los Angeles, we show that violence strongly clusters along the boundaries between gangs in a way that is quantitatively predicted by the theory. The results suggest that even weak competitive interactions between gangs are sufficient to drive gang territory formation without recourse to other processes or assumptions.     

Copper toxicity following massive ingestion of coins

Two hundred seventy-five United States coins were discovered in the stomach of a mentally disturbed individual at autopsy. Many coins containing copper were corroded by prolonged contact with gastric juice, with subsequent absorption and deposition of copper in the liver and kidneys. The patient died from complications related to the acute toxic phase of chronic copper poisoning. A discussion of the case, foreign-body ingestion, gastric bezoars and the mechanism of copper toxicity is presented. To our knowledge, this is the first death due to copper intoxication following a massive ingestion of coins.     

High cyanide level in a homicide victim burned after death: evidence of post-mortem diffusion.

Elevated levels of carbon monoxide and cyanide serve as evidence of intravital burning in fire victims. Hydrogen cyanide is released by combustion of nitrogen-containing organic material such as plastics and wool. We present a case of a man who died of haemopneumothorax caused by a stab wound. According to several eye witnesses the body was wrapped in a plastic sheet and burned 2 days after death with the aid of gasoline. No coal pigment was observed in the mucosa of the upper airways at autopsy. The blood sample taken from the pulmonary vessels 6 days after death disclosed a level of blood carboxyhaemoglobin of 4% and of blood cyanide of 10 mg/l. The low carboxy-haemoglobin level was consistent with the smoking habits of the victim. The thoracic cavity had been opened by burning of the intercostal soft tissue. This allowed hydrogen cyanide gas to enter the thoracic cavity and diffuse into the blood probably causing the high blood-cyanide level.