The institutionalization of NCTC was informed by the endorsement provided by the Commission of the 9/11 during the time of the September 2001 terrorist attack. This was to eradicate duplication and to generate an extra effective method of organizing and evaluating intelligence that is related to terrorism. The NTCT, at least according to the 9/11 Commission, ought to be the focus for joint functioning scheduling and collective intelligence.
This document looks into the issue of planned terrorist attacks and how the NCTC can conduct its operations as a response to such planned attacks.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
As an analyst of the FBI’s intelligence dispensed to NCTC, I have received intel from the New York field of the FBI that there is an alleged terrorist who is scheduled to travel to the Lahore, Pakistan from New York City within the coming week. Additionally, the New York field officer has informed me that the terrorist may be set to meet with other alleged terrorists in Pakistan in preparation to attend a terrorist training camp based in the Northwest area in Pakistan. This information provided by the FBI has been obtained from HUMINT source which has direct contact to the conveyed data.
As a key institution of the U. S Intelligence Community (USIC), the NCTC conducts analysis of counterterrorism intelligence. It also conducts operational planning for counterterrorism (Best, 2011). The NTCT is motivated by the statute of ensuring that all state agencies gain access to and obtain all-source intelligence support that is required to execute counterterrorism plans and perform alternative and independent analysis of any given intelligence concerning a possibly planned terrorist attack, either by an individual or a group or terrorists.
Terror threat reports provided to the NTCT from other intelligence sources, and in this case, the FBI intelligence is integrated into the USIC and to facilitate the drawing of intelligence report by the conducting tactical, operational planning for counterterrorism activities. This can also be achieved through the integration of all the related military, financial, diplomatic, homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence activities. Notably, the NCTC interprets planning as a way of ensuring the unity of the effort across the entire federal government of the US and the intelligence community of the US (Best Jr, 2011).
The NTCT plans and coordinates joint intelligence operations to facilitate effective combating of planned terrorist activities through the execution of various procedures and processes such as threat analysis, planning, information sharing, and identity management. The NCTC acquires directions from the US statute that requires it to act as the dominant organization of the US government that analyzes and integrates all forms of intelligence that are received or possessed by the government (CRS, 2018). Such intelligence pertains to terrorism and counterterrorism, except for the intelligence that relates exclusively to both domestic terrorists and counterterrorism. The planning process of NCTC supports the organization’s mission by providing directions to the operational planning, assigning of roles and responsibilities, and heading task forces behind interagency terrorism. Information sharing process allows the NCTC to share intelligence about counterterrorism with all the agencies within the Intelligence Community (IC) and provide a response to requests made for assistance and information (CRS, 2018). The NCTC is required to liaise with counterterrorism officials and regional IC agencies both at the state, local and federal levels through the use of its Domestic Representative Program. The process of identity management of NCTC requires the organization to serve both as the “bank” for both central and shared knowledge (CRS, 2018).
The process and the commitment to resolve terror threats requires the NCTC to strategize and synchronize with other law implementation and intelligence partnering organizations within the security US homeland security (Kloster, Zuckerman & Malcolm, 2013). The law implementation and intelligence partner organizations include the FBI, CIA, ODNI, DHS, TTIC, DCI, DNI, HUMINT and the TIDE. All these law enforcement agencies and intelligence partner organizations play a vital role in curbing terrorist attacks by enhancing the processes of analyzing the threat, planning, sharing of intelligence information and identity management of the terrorists and their potential targets.
The role of NCTC in combining all intelligence sources, leading tactical scrutiny and developing warnings and assessment is to monitor al the intelligence that is streaming in form within the entirety of the intelligence community tasked with counterterrorism activities (Kloster, Zuckerman & Malcolm, 2013). NCTC conducts intelligence activities by engaging agencies from the entire intelligence community. The organization emphasizes and enhances the use of contemporary organizational intelligence developments as a move to centralize all the counterterrorism information within the ODNI. After gathering all the required intelligence concerning the planned terrorist activity from all the available sources of data, NCTC thereby informs all responsible state agencies and provides them with vital information about the planned terror attack (Best Jr, 2011). Such information includes the names of the terrorists, their identity, the meeting place of the terrorists and the area that the attack is likely to be executed. Such vital information helps the security agencies to assess the situation and send warning signals to Pakistan.
Information provided from the New York field office about a suspected terrorist and the activities that are likely to take place in Pakistan can be used by NCTC to conduct a strategic analysis, pool all intelligence sources and develop assessments to enable other security agencies to execute their counterterrorism activities. These activities can be performed within New City before the suspected terrorist leaves for Lahore city to facilitate the abortion of the planned meeting between the suspect and other terrorists. Additionally, this information can also help the security agencies in Pakistan to avert the planned terrorist training in the camp located in the Northwest region of Pakistan.
NCTC has a critical role in the analysis and assessment of terrorist plans. Information received by NCTC from credible sources to enhance the provision of security and executing counterterrorism activities within the areas that have been identified to be targeted by terrorists.
References
Best, R. A. (2011). The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC): Responsibilities and potential congressional concerns (R41022). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
Congressional Research Service. (2018). National Counterterrorism Center . Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/IF10709.pdf
Kloster, A., Zuckerman, J., & Malcolm, J. (2013). New National Counterterrorism Center Guidelines Require Strong Oversight. Retrieved from http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/pdf/b2769.pdf
