Intelligence Analysis According to Heuer, Term Paper

The two domains meet, as pointed out, in the domain of information. This is very complex, because at this level the information flows and factors such as the media become extremely important in disseminating the information with the population, for example. Additionally, the information domain is where intelligence is formed about who were the attackers, what are their demands, possible scenarios of action etc.

In the case of terrorist attacks in Israel and the Occupied Territories, for example, the mapping of the terrorist acts on the three domains can be done in the following manner. A suicide bombing, for example, is done in one of the suburbs in Jerusalem by a Palestinian terrorist. The reaction of terror is produced at the level of the cognitive domain, generated by a sensation of lack of security in the city and the perception that everyone is at risk. However, at an informational level, this is known to be an event that generally occurs, with a certain probability, in the city for the last 30 years. The media generally presents it once and that's it. The commonality of such an event makes it less effective than it would have been in the beginning. The number of victims as well, as transmitted at the level of the information domain, is also sufficiently low so as not to produce a massive, long-lasting panic.

However, the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was much greater. At the physical domain level, the destructions made were enormous, not only physically (almost 3000 people killed and two large buildings knocked down, along with three airplanes), but also manifesting at the cognitive domain. The cognitive domain received not only the enormity of the destruction, but also the fact that this was the first terrorist attack on U.S. soil in history etc. The information domain also helped make the terrorist attacks extremely effective. Not only were the news popularized world wide throughout the day and the days to follow, but the information domain also gave out potential conspiracy theories as to the actual individuals behind the attacks. This helped increase the effect on the population.

Bibliography

1. Heuer, Richard. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis. History Staff Center for the Study of Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency. 1999. On the Internet at http://inzax.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/psychologyofintelligenceanalysis.pdf.Last retrieved on October 27, 2007

Heuer, Richard. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis. History Staff Center for the Study of Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency. 1999. On the Internet at http://inzax.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/psychologyofintelligenceanalysis.pdf.Last retrieved on October 27, 2007