High Noon

The chair was too narrow, or maybe we are all just too big these days. The auditorium was jammed with concerned citizens in nice suits. We were there for a technical panel on the problem of processing different levels of classified information on government computer systems.

The company that cracks the problem is going to find the holy grail, and a few large boatloads of money. Simply put, based on the source and sensitivity of information, the security people have decreed from time immemorial that only separate networks and computers can hold and process the most sensitive data, and only in special facilities.

Most government bureaucrats have become accustomed, over time, to have three separate computers on their desks: one for the internet, the other for a secret-level system, and for the Spooks, a third machine to display information derived from special intelligence.

Sophisticated bureaucrats had managed to hook the three computers into a single monitor- that was a breakthrough, but in front of the screen was the dreaded “A-B-C” switchbox, by which the different feeds are mechanically directed to the display.

There would be no inadvertent mingling of the information. Zero tolerance was allowed, and the standards were guarded by the National Security Agency with the same zeal that they apply to targets overseas.

Doing things this way is a huge waste, of course, and having to manage three systems everywhere simultaneously increases the need for bandwidth and boxes and people to manage the networks. Still, protecting the information was considered to be the paramount mission.

In fact, the security had become so cumbersome that cops could not talk to soldiers and the soldiers could not talk to the Spooks. Sharing information was one of the main imperatives that brought about the Intelligence Reform Bill in 2004.

And finally, a year after the legislation was passed, the confirmation process had labored mightily, and produced a pale rider from the West, a man on horseback arriving here to fix it all.

At least that is what is supposed to happen, and that is why the audience was on the edge of the narrow seats.

The General is a man of middling height, with clear, deep blue eyes. He just retired from the Service, and without the jacket festooned with ribbons and badges, he still radiated a supreme confidence. Although he is not tall, from the podium he looked as towering as Gary Cooper.

He had a little of that “aw-shucks” manner that served him well on active duty, just like Cooper did when he played the Sheriff in the movie High Noon, taking on the bad guys all by himself.

The General reformed the information architecture at the newly-created U.S. Northern Command in Colorado. That organization had been formed in the West to channel Defense resources to the public safety community when required, and manage the seas and airspace over the Homeland.

It was a daunting mission, what with 50,000 police and fire forces spread all over the country, and none of them able to hook directly into Federal systems.

He did a good job out there, connecting the cops and the national guard. And now they have asked him to reform the way the intelligence community and its fiercely independent Agencies connect with one another.

The General has an approachable, inclusive manner, but after the obligatory joke to start his speech, he acknowledged that there would be fierce resistance to change in the agencies and Departments. He smiled and said he was willing to take them on.

There are going to be no two-year studies, and that management by committee and consensus was over. His mandate is to “direct” change, not “coordinate” it.

I could almost see him twirling his pearl-handled six-gun. He said he would use Industry to assist him, and that he intends to work in 16-week spirals, a process that ensures change within human attention span- which he says is precisely the length of a school semester.

Good enough for kids, good enough for the government. I could almost see him blowing the gunsmoke from the muzzle of his pistol.

He said he was intended to be a disruptive agent, and he had the authority and the mandate to do it. He cited the legislation to prove it. He said he had four jobs, and all of them came with breathtaking power over the $40-billion dollar intelligence budget.

He is going to manage and the information architecture of the Intelligence Community; exercise procurement authority over all information systems; direct and manage all component IT systems; and steer research and development programs.

He laughed as he said his mandate was unambiguous on all information technology issues. He was not certain exactly what that meant. He said it could include a door with a security badge reader, and extend as far as collection platforms. Everything in between included some mechanism of information exchange.

He said he was not newcomer to Washington, though, and he expected that his charter was certainly going to extend beyond infrastructure, maybe to satellites and the Spooks in the field.

He said he intended to be collegial, but his course of action was not optional. While awaiting confirmation to his formal post, he studied the community information structure and found no less than 120 assorted working groups, advisory bodies and Tiger Teams. He said that is the first thing that is going to go. His office will not work with the consent of the governed.

He outlined his priorities and the audience scribbled feverishly, seeing opportunities and perilwith each declaration. The General is going to smash the gridlock of accreditation; he might offer the Holy Grail of multi-level security to some company in this very audience.

I could see the desperation in the eyes of some of the NSA officials who were present to speak on the panel. Change is frightening.

The General said the days will soon be over in which industry has to wend a program through a painful accreditation process at one Agency, only to be told that the process must be done again at another.

Next priority is information sharing. He was magnanimous about the abrupt departure of some personnel from the DNI’s Staff, saying that many of them had been only on loan to establish the office, and no stigma should be associated with their leaving.

The General is going to end “Analysis Paralysis,” and information is going to flow wherever it needs to go. That might have been the most frightening thing he could have said. It is a fundamental change, and it is an enormous cultural shift.

I could almost see him hitch up his gun-belt when he said no one in his organization was empowered to use the word “NO.” He is the only one, and he said he will have to be convinced before he says it.

The General is a realist. He finished up his remarks by taking a few questions, and looked at his watch.

Before he left for the long black car waiting out front, he said he knew there are a thousand earnest bureaucrats scheming against his changes, because he challenges established authorities. He said there are 14,000 more people for whom the path of change would be difficult.

He said he didn’t expect it to be easy to get the intelligence community on the same page, but he said he was not here to fix potholes. He said, at least at the beginning, he intended to move the big rocks first.

I thought I could see of the rocks squirming at the speaker’s table to his left. The General smiled in conclusion. He said he was a political appointee now, not in uniform. Thus, he said, he has nothing to lose by doing exactly what he was brought to Washington to do.

As he walked up the aisle to leave, I swear I could hear the jingle of his spurs.

I looked at my watch. It was almost noon. I don’t know if the General is going to be able to pull it off. But as the applause rose, I thought it sure would be fun to join him down at the OK Corral for the shoot-out.

Copyright 2006 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com

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