“Thou Shalt Never Change… Thou Shalt Change”: The absence of deep understanding about the objects of research in the intelligence community

1. On both sides of the Atlantic, the intelligence bodies, especially those in charge of research and analysis, have been experiencing a profound crisis in recent decades. This is a crisis rooted in questions of destiny and identity. The crisis stems mainly from the dramatic changes that have taken place in the environment and in the objects of research with which intelligence has dealt for long periods, but no less important – also from the profound change that is taking place in the image of the intelligence expert.

2. The purpose of this article is to deal with the “elephant in the room,” a phenomenon that is rarely dealt with or even noticed. The problem that will be analyzed is the significant devaluation of the weight of in-depth understanding of the objects of research – those that stem from familiarity with their culture, language and history – among intelligence bodies of recent decades. This is reflected in the reduction in the scope of those with skills in these fields in intelligence systems, in the reduction or disappearance of these components in the training of intelligence personnel, and in the reduction of their weight in the process of formulating a situation overview, assessment and recommendations.

And he said: “I want to add two more commandments to the ten: The Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not change” And the Twelfth Commandment, “Thou shalt change” So said my father and walked away from me and disappeared into his strange distances.

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http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/Data/articles/Art_21239/E_141_17_55734278.pdf