You are to assume the role of a CIA intelligence analyst who is putting together the agency’s input (on your specific topic) for the DNI’s Annual Threat Assessment which will be presented to Congress.
You are to assume the role of a CIA intelligence analyst who is putting together the agency’s input (on your specific topic) for the DNI’s Annual Threat Assessment which will be presented to Congress.
It consists of a 5-7
page written (Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins, double spaced)
threat assessment on your topic and a one page Executive Summary of the most
pertinent information.
Written Threat
Assessment: You are to assume the role of a CIA intelligence analyst who
is putting together the agency’s input (on your specific topic) for the DNI’s
Annual Threat Assessment which will be presented to Congress.
Specifically, you are providing input on a specific terrorist organization that
is of national security interest to senior policy makers. You have been
tasked by your supervisor to write a one page Executive Summary and a 5-7 page
threat assessment on a terrorist organization currently of interest to the
U.S.. You may chose from one of the following eight, active terrorist
organizations:
Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP): a militant Islamic group with links to AQ primarily
based in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Boko Haram: A militant
Islamic group operating in Nigeria. Boko Haram literally translates to
“western education in a sin.”
Lashkar e Taiba
(LeT): a Kashmiri based jihadist group responsible for the relatively
recent Mumbai attacks.
HAMAS: A
Palestinian organization responsible for most of the current attacks against
Israel. Also, HAMAS is well known for its non-violent activities as well.
Hezbollah:
Lebanese-based group with ties to Iran that has been responsible for attacks
against Israel, kidnappings of US citizens and the 1983 bombing of the Marine
Barracks in Beruit. Also, Hezbollah is well known for its non-violent
activities as well.
FARC: Colombian
based narco-terrorist organization.
Chechen Rebels:
Fighting for independence from Russia. The Chechens were responsible for
the Beslan School Attack and the Moscow Theatre Hostage Crisis and the Boston
Marathon bombers were inspired by the Chechen’s cause.
PKK: A Marxist
Kurdish Nationalist organization that has been fighting Turkish Government for
decades.
In your threat
assessment, you must address the following issues:
Origins,
objectives and doctrines of the organizations. Describe the creation, its
reason for being and its political goals.Leadership:
Who are the leaders and how is the group structured?Support
for the Organization—both governmental and non-governmental, including
financing and recruiting methods.Strategy,
Targets and Methods of Operations: How does the organization intend to
achieve its goals? Does it use mass targeting of civilians or selective
assassinations? Are they involved in any non-violent activities (i.e.,
HAMAS won elections in Gaza, builds schools and youth centers, etc…)Counterterrorism
Efforts Against the Organization: Which country is primarily conducting counterterrorism
ops against the organization and how are they doing it? U.S.
Policy and Recommendations: What are we currently doing to about this
organization and what do YOU recommend we do.
Needless to say, this is
A LOT of information to cover in just 5-7 pages. This is what makes
writing executive summaries and threat assessments for senior policy makers
interesting, yet challenging. Senior leaders do not have the time nor the
interest, to read 20-30 page documents. Instead, they want to see executive
summaries and condensed information.
Now because this is an
academic exercise, you will need to properly document your sources. I
would like you to use APA’s Parenthetical Citation Method and have a
Bibliography at the end. This means that for any information that isn’t
your own original ideas/work, you’ll need to cite the source and page number in
parentheses at the end of the relevant sentences. You will also need to
have a bibliography at the end with at least six different sources (and
at least 3 different types of sources—books, journals, websites, interviews,
news and radio shows, etc…DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA). Additionally, at least
one of the sources must come from either the terrorist organization itself or
the country in which it is based. The vast majority of terrorist
organizations have their own websites.
You are to assume the role of a CIA intelligence analyst who is putting together the agency’s input (on your specific topic) for the DNI’s Annual Threat Assessment which will be presented to Congress.
It consists of a 5-7
page written (Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins, double spaced)
threat assessment on your topic and a one page Executive Summary of the most
pertinent information.
Written Threat
Assessment: You are to assume the role of a CIA intelligence analyst who
is putting together the agency’s input (on your specific topic) for the DNI’s
Annual Threat Assessment which will be presented to Congress.
Specifically, you are providing input on a specific terrorist organization that
is of national security interest to senior policy makers. You have been
tasked by your supervisor to write a one page Executive Summary and a 5-7 page
threat assessment on a terrorist organization currently of interest to the
U.S.. You may chose from one of the following eight, active terrorist
organizations:
Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP): a militant Islamic group with links to AQ primarily
based in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Boko Haram: A militant
Islamic group operating in Nigeria. Boko Haram literally translates to
“western education in a sin.”
Lashkar e Taiba
(LeT): a Kashmiri based jihadist group responsible for the relatively
recent Mumbai attacks.
HAMAS: A
Palestinian organization responsible for most of the current attacks against
Israel. Also, HAMAS is well known for its non-violent activities as well.
Hezbollah:
Lebanese-based group with ties to Iran that has been responsible for attacks
against Israel, kidnappings of US citizens and the 1983 bombing of the Marine
Barracks in Beruit. Also, Hezbollah is well known for its non-violent
activities as well.
FARC: Colombian
based narco-terrorist organization.
Chechen Rebels:
Fighting for independence from Russia. The Chechens were responsible for
the Beslan School Attack and the Moscow Theatre Hostage Crisis and the Boston
Marathon bombers were inspired by the Chechen’s cause.
PKK: A Marxist
Kurdish Nationalist organization that has been fighting Turkish Government for
decades.
In your threat
assessment, you must address the following issues:
Origins,
objectives and doctrines of the organizations. Describe the creation, its
reason for being and its political goals.Leadership:
Who are the leaders and how is the group structured?Support
for the Organization—both governmental and non-governmental, including
financing and recruiting methods.Strategy,
Targets and Methods of Operations: How does the organization intend to
achieve its goals? Does it use mass targeting of civilians or selective
assassinations? Are they involved in any non-violent activities (i.e.,
HAMAS won elections in Gaza, builds schools and youth centers, etc…)Counterterrorism
Efforts Against the Organization: Which country is primarily conducting counterterrorism
ops against the organization and how are they doing it? U.S.
Policy and Recommendations: What are we currently doing to about this
organization and what do YOU recommend we do.
Needless to say, this is
A LOT of information to cover in just 5-7 pages. This is what makes
writing executive summaries and threat assessments for senior policy makers
interesting, yet challenging. Senior leaders do not have the time nor the
interest, to read 20-30 page documents. Instead, they want to see executive
summaries and condensed information.
Now because this is an
academic exercise, you will need to properly document your sources. I
would like you to use APA’s Parenthetical Citation Method and have a
Bibliography at the end. This means that for any information that isn’t
your own original ideas/work, you’ll need to cite the source and page number in
parentheses at the end of the relevant sentences. You will also need to
have a bibliography at the end with at least six different sources (and
at least 3 different types of sources—books, journals, websites, interviews,
news and radio shows, etc…DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA). Additionally, at least
one of the sources must come from either the terrorist organization itself or
the country in which it is based. The vast majority of terrorist
organizations have their own websites.