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07/25/2010

America's intelligence agencies are drowning in a sea of data. Fearful of repeating the intelligence mistakes that occurred prior to 9/11, analysts seem to be blindly reporting every single thing.

Security experts have been complaining for some time that these countless reports concentrate too heavily on the opinions and the movements of the enemy -- in this case on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Far too many analysts and too many reconnaissance flights seem to be concerned with sketching out the hierarchy of the insurgents' networks and creating lists of enemies who should be killed or captured. Intelligence agents are constantly gathering statements from local informants, whose eagerness to please the Americans often surpasses their reliability.

Yet the most serious issues are too often overlooked: The protection of the Afghan civilians, the analysis of the political environment and the search for solution to this endless conflict.

One thing, however, is certain. These thousands of secret documents indicate that, after almost nine years of war, a victory in Hindu Kush looks farther away than ever.

REPORTED BY MATTHIAS GEBAUER, JOHN GOETZ, HANS HOYNG, SUSANNE KOELBL, MARCEL ROSENBACH AND GREGOR PETER SCHMITZ

Task Force 373
The Secret Hunters

German Naivety
Growing Trouble in the North

The Flaws of the Silent Killer
When Drones Fail

The Secret Enemy in Pakistan
Problems with an Supposed Partner

Intelligence Agents Drowning in Data
The Shortcomings of US Intelligence Services

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