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Running head: ETHICAL INTELLIGENCE

Ethical Intelligence in the War on Terrorism

MSG James V. Southern
United States Army Sergeants Major Academy
Class 65
SGM Falk/Mr. Schumacher
April 3, 2015

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical issues facing the U.S. Intelligence Community
(IC) in the global war against terrorism, discuss the impact on the IC if ethical standards are
unable to keep pace with emerging collection technologies, and to recommend possible solutions
that will allow the IC to perform its mission against 21st century threats while still maintaining
the trust of the American people. Changing conditions in the field of intelligence has placed
intelligence professionals in a precarious situation of uncertainty in terms of how far is too far
when it comes to safeguarding the American public. In the absence of clear standards of ethics,
intelligence professionals are faced with the challenge of making decisions based solely on
personal values. The result is a potential for unintended negative outcomes that damage, rather
than protect, the American public. It is recommended that the IC develop a set of common
ethical principles similar to those set forth by the American Medical Association (AMA) for
doctors and by the American Bar Association (ABA) for lawyers. A common set of professional
standards of ethics will enable intelligence professionals to make better decisions while
simultaneously guaranteeing the trust of the American people.

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Ethical Intelligence in the War on Terrorism

Todays intelligence professional pursues a faceless adversary guided not by a recognized
state, but by radical ideology. They are not bound by the commonly accepted rules of
democratic societies and do not recognize sovereign borders nor the principles of fair play.
According to LTG Michael T. Flynn, the intelligence community struggles every single day with
the challenge of adjusting to an ever-changing threat environment while simultaneously
responding to political demands for increased transparency and a public outcry for increased
oversight (Roulo, 2013). Many within the Intelligence Community (IC) feel that there is an
urgent need for a new ethical framework that clearly delineates the exact ends, ways, and means
that justify intelligence operations in order to placate skeptics. The purpose of this paper is to
explore ethical issues facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the global war against
terrorism, discuss the impact on the IC if ethical standards are unable to keep pace with emerging
collection technologies, and to recommend possible solutions that will allow the IC to perform
its mission against 21st century threats while still maintaining the trust of the American people.
Since 9/11, the U.S. Intelligence Community has undergone one of the most radical
transitions in its history. The threat environment is no longer framed in terms of political
objectives, national interests, or tactical and strategic advantages as it was for most of the
twentieth century. Prior to 9/11, intelligence professionals practiced their trade with abundant
ethical clarity in the perspectives of rules, outcomes, and virtues. Rules were clear in that we
only collected intelligence about our adversaries within well-defined geographic areas located
outside of the United States. The pursuit of intelligence was a strategic necessity in order to
balance potential security outcomes and to protect the interests of the American people. And
finally, adversaries could reasonably be expected to collect intelligence about us, which justified

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a counter-action on our part, regardless of the individual moral cost. The semi-predictable era of
intelligence collection prior to 9/11 has been overtaken by a flood of intelligence practices that
push the limits of acceptability and public tolerance in an effort by the IC to keep terrorism at
bay.
Ethical Issues Facing the Intelligence Community
In the past decade, several intelligence driven operations have come to light that have,
frankly, shaken public opinion of the IC and raised questions concerning acceptable standards of
conduct. Specifically, the public unequivocally considers the use of deep interrogation
techniques such as waterboarding to gain Human Intelligence (HUMINT) immoral (Clark,
2009). Likewise, there is growing debate over possible violations of 4th amendment rights with
the emergence of new capabilities to monitor social media sites through Open Source
Intelligence (OSINT) surveillance and the practice of collecting and storing personal data via
Communications Intelligence (COMINT) in mass on U.S. soil. The American people are
legitimately concerned that the use of torture techniques do not properly represent the values of
our nation and that random surveillance is an invasion of their constitutional right to privacy.
This is just a small sampling of a growing public sentiment that has begun to place the IC in a
precarious position somewhere between doing whatever it takes to protect the American people
and acting in ways that are congruent with American values.
On the one hand, intelligence professionals have ethical obligations to protect the rights
of citizens while simultaneously gaining sufficient knowledge about adversaries to thwart
potential threats to citizens safety. While on the other hand, there is an underlying reality that
the nature of intelligence collection will inevitably include activities that are contrary to popular
virtues and may also be perceived to violate legal rights and cause harm to citizens. Therefore,

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the situation raises the question whether or not ethical intelligence is in fact possible in free
thinking democratic societies? I believe that ethical intelligence is possible based on the premise
that a nation has the innate right to protect itself from potential enemies, just as an individual has
the right to protect themselves and their property from harm. Acts that are contrary to ethical
norms are justified in both cases because those acts are conducted for a greater good. The
problem is that within the IC there are only very loosely defined ethical standards and even those
vary between services and functions. To compound the issue even further, intelligence
professionals possess a wide range of individual awareness concerning their ethical
responsibilities. According to Wickham and O'Donohue (2012), without adequate guidance and
some degree of oversight, those with less ethical awareness will inevitably go far beyond what is
acceptable, even in the intelligence business, in the performance of their duties.
Impact of Inadequate Ethical Standards on the Intelligence Community
In the absence of clear ethical standards or well-defined rules, intelligence professionals
must rely solely on personal values when making decisions where potential outcomes could be
categorized as both in the best interest of the nation and unethical. Therein lies the problem
with inadequate ethical standards. Each of us come from very different backgrounds and possess
a wide range of personal values; therefore, it is virtually impossible to apply consistent
judgement to a problem using virtues as the only discriminator. For example, some may have
absolutely no moral issue with torture, as they hold the virtue of national interest above all else.
Others may place the virtue of humanity above the interests of the nation and would therefore
have serious concerns with the use of torture. The same is true of many COMINT and OSINT
collectors. Some may view actions that encroach upon an individuals right to privacy as a

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necessary function of their duty to protect, while others may be more reluctant to pursue targets
when privacy becomes a discriminator.
Outcomes based judgement is another way of ensuring some degree of ethics within the
profession; however, this too implies a wide range of responses. How far is too far when
carrying out intelligence operations for the sake of a nation? Some would suggest that the IC has
a legitimate responsibility to go as far as it takes to gain the advantage over adversaries, while
others believe that the IC should go no further than what would reasonably be expected of an
average citizen. In other words, intelligence professionals should be held to the same standards
as citizens, regardless of the outcome. Another consideration that must be addressed when
discussing outcomes is the potential damage that perceived unethical intelligence gathering can
do to public opinion when certain practices are discovered and shared by the media. There are
numerous cases involving the IC currently being debated nationally which clearly indicates that
these types of unintended outcomes can be crippling to both public trust and the ability to carry
out future intelligence operations.
A prime example of this occurred when Edward Snowden released information that put
the National Security Agency (NSA) in the spotlight for what many believe to be illegal
surveillance leading to violation of privacy. Legal considerations for the collection of
intelligence is the one area that the IC has historically been very proficient. Intelligence
professionals are very knowledgeable concerning their legal obligations and receive periodic
training in order to remain current. Whether or not NSA actually violated any laws is still being
debated. However, unintended outcomes, as occurred in the Snowden case, can be no less
damaging than if laws were indeed violated. In order to avoid damaging incidents such as this in
the future, it will be increasingly important for the IC to develop a dynamic and universal set of

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standards for the ethical collection of intelligence as technology continues to evolve and lines are
constantly blurred.
Possible Solution
Many professions follow a set a guiding principles that are legally binding and carry
consequences when violated. For instance, medical professional follow a code of ethics outlined
by the American Medical Association, while legal professionals follow a similar code written by
the American Bar Association (Hudson, 2010). In both cases, focus is placed on rules for ethical
conduct in situations where immediate answers to ethical decisions are unclear. A
recommendation to the IC is to develop a community-wide set of ethical principles that guide
intelligence activities within the framework of intelligence as a profession similar to doctors and
lawyers. For the most part, the public has a great deal of trust in both doctors and layers due
predominately to the fact that we are aware of the binding code of ethics that each are bound to
follow. It stands to reason that intelligence professionals would benefit from a similar set of
standards and; consequently, the trust of the American people would be assured if they come to
think of the IC as a profession that believes strongly in a common code of ethics with the
interests of the American people foremost in their minds.
Conclusion
Intelligence operations today are far different than they were prior to the events of 9/11;
technologies continue to evolve, threats are hiding among the global population, and adversarial
motivations are increasingly unclear. This presents unique challenges to intelligence
professionals, who must balance their duty to protect American citizens with their obligation to
uphold American values and avoid violating their rights. Based on certain incidents that have
been brought to the attention of the American public in recent years, it is evident that the IC is in

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desperate need of a community-wide professional standards of ethics. A set of professional
standards of ethics, similar to the AMA for doctors and the ABA for layers, would serve two
main purposes. First, it would act as a decision-making guide for intelligence professionals in
the absence of other clear legal, virtues, and outcomes precedence. And second, it would assure
the American public that the IC is composed of professionals who conduct their trade ethically,
and with the interests on the people foremost in their minds; consequently, improving the trust
between the American people and the IC. The intelligence community deserves a standard of
professional conduct, and so does the American people for whom they serve.

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References
Clarke, A. (2009). U.S. war crimes: torture as official Bush administration policy. National
Lawyers Guild Review, 66(2), 95-109. Retrieved from: EBSCOhost on March 27, 2015.
Roulo, C. (2013). Changing world challenges U.S. intelligence community. Targeted News
Service. Retrieved from:http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com
/docview/1460439020?accountid=3783EBSCOhost on March 24, 2015.
Hudson, W. (2010). The ethical spy: towards intelligence community rules of professional
conduct. The Georgetown Law Journal, 98, (5), 1415-1439. Retrieved from:
http://pn8vx3lh2h.search.serialssolutions.com on March 27, 2015.
Wickham, M., & O'Donohue, W. (2012). Developing an ethical organization: Exploring the role
of ethical intelligence. Organization Development Journal, 30(2), 9-29. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1030963772?accou
ntid=3783