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Domestic Intelligence

Not all threats to a nation's security arise from outside actors. RAND has studied not only how to counter "homegrown" terrorism in the United States but also the ways that other nations have addressed threats to their internal stability.

Commentary

How to Harden America's Soft Targets

The U.S. government must choose where to apply limited resources to defend soft targets. But it could expand its information-sharing efforts with other governments and local law enforcement. Broad intelligence sharing and more training could help identify potential attackers before they can execute their plans.

Jul 5, 2017
Commentary

Domestic Terrorism: Weighing the Challenges

The U.S. is struggling to find an effective way to counter violent extremism at home and counteract the presence of terrorist groups on social media. Policymakers are tasked with managing a military defeat of IS in the Middle East while lowering the risk of blowback in the U.S. at the same time.

Apr 13, 2017
Commentary

Three Ways To Improve Australia's Intelligence Capability

Intelligence agencies should become centers of expertise, focus on what matters for their customers, and coordinate a network of partners. To better deliver on these three priorities, the Australian Intelligence Community should consider a leadership structure with authority to guide and coordinate these processes.

Apr 4, 2017
Commentary

Adapting the President's Daily Brief to Trump

President-elect Trump is receiving President Obama's version of the daily briefing; it has yet to be tailored to his preferences, to which every president is entitled. The intelligence community should seek to adapt the briefing to maximize its interest and relevance to the president-elect.

Jan 6, 2017
Commentary

The Case for Analyst Perspectives in the Intelligence Community

The intelligence community should give analysts a channel to convey their individual insights. This would give policymakers well-reasoned alternative views.

Oct 20, 2016
News Release

News Release

U.S. National Security Decisionmaking Processes Need Trimming

Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the National Security Council is necessary as the country contends with many more state and nonstate actors, around-the-clock public scrutiny, and exploding nontraditional threats.

Apr 5, 2016
Report

U.S. National Security Decisionmaking Processes Need Streamlining

The U.S. national security system faces a range of management challenges. A leaner, more focused national security decisionmaking system can help the United States succeed in a period of tumultuous change.

Apr 5, 2016
Commentary

Predicting the 'Dangerousness' of Potential Terrorists

Predicting 'dangerousness' of potential terrorists is a hit-and-miss endeavor. Unless someone is waving a gun, it is extremely difficult. Even with direct access to the subject, parole boards, suicide prevention units, and even trained clinicians get it wrong.

Mar 2, 2015
Report

Report

How Do We Know What Information Sharing Is Really Worth? Exploring Methodologies to Measure the Value of Information Sharing and Fusion Efforts

This report discusses the challenges of evaluating information-sharing efforts that seek to achieve multiple goals simultaneously; reviews past evaluations of information-sharing programs; and lays out a path to improving the evaluation of such efforts.

Jun 18, 2014
Commentary

Fight Today's Terrorist Threat, Not Yesterday's

Counterterrorism is not just about daring raids and drone strikes. It is about the hard work of collecting and sifting through vast amounts of information and managing relationships among organizations that often regard sharing information as an unnatural act.

Feb 7, 2014
Report

Identifying Enemies Among Us: Evolving Terrorist Threats and the Continuing Challenges of Domestic Intelligence Collection and Information Sharing

Officials, practitioners, and counterterrorism experts gathered this year to examine domestic intelligence and information sharing as they relate to terrorist threats.

Jan 13, 2014
Commentary

Needed: Sustainable Spying Oversight

Domestic intelligence in the United States is an activity with a history, and efforts to consider future policy on this issue need to take that history into account, writes Brian Jackson. Public acceptability must be part of the calculus in devising oversight and control of intelligence efforts.

Sep 18, 2013
Commentary

Latest Alleged Homegrown 'Terrorists' Fit the Mold

For many U.S.-born terror recruits, the prospect of blowing things up is a solution to an unsatisfactory life. Terrorism does not attract the well-adjusted, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

Nov 20, 2012
Report

Report

Evaluation of the implementation of the Europol Council Decision and of Europol’s activities

This report sets out findings from a wide-ranging evaluation of Europol -- the European Police Office. It examines Europol's capabilities, legal basis and activities, highlighting potential areas for reform in the forthcoming Europol Regulation.

Jul 25, 2012
Journal Article

Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 30 Insurgencies, 1978-2008

Using Charles Ragin's Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to quantitatively test the performance of 20 distinct counterinsurgency (COIN) approaches against the historical record, this article provides useful recommendations for US engagement in and support for COIN operations.

Jan 1, 2012
News Release

News Release

Local Law Enforcement's Counterterrorism Initiatives Have Evolved into All-Hazards Strategies

Law enforcement agencies in areas where terrorist threats are considered to be high have expanded their focus beyond traditional crime prevention and investigation to include counterterrorism and homeland security operations.

Oct 28, 2010
Report

Report

Local Law Enforcement's Counterterrorism Initiatives Have Evolved into All-Hazards Strategies

Law enforcement agencies in areas where terrorist threats are considered to be high have expanded their focus beyond traditional crime prevention and investigation to include counterterrorism and homeland security operations.

Oct 1, 2010
Journal Article

Journal Article

Building on Clues: Examining Successes and Failures in Detecting U.S. Terrorist Plots, 1999-2009

This report examines open-source material on 86 foiled and executed terrorist plots against U.S. targets from 1999 to 2009 to determine the types of information and activities that led to (or could have led to) their discovery.

Oct 1, 2010
Report

Report

Would-Be Warriors: Incidents of Jihadist Terrorist Radicalization in the United States Since September 11, 2001

Effective intelligence gathering and a Muslim community unsympathetic to calls to violence have discouraged homegrown jihadist terrorism in the U.S. While there was a spike in domestic terrorism in 2009, the perpetrators were mostly individuals who recruited themselves into the role of terrorists.

May 5, 2010
Commentary

Commentary

What We Can Learn from the Christmas Day Bombing Attempt

President Obama's nominee to lead the TSA said he would like U.S. airport screening to more closely resemble Israel's. Perhaps attention is turning to what really matters about the attempted Northwest bombing: what it can teach us about aviation security, write Brian Michael Jenkins, Bruce Butterworth and Cathal Flynn.

Mar 26, 2010

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