Psychology of Counterintelligence

Task 1: In this assignment, you will research nonstate actors. Nonstate actors are groups with motivations not tied to a government. Their loyalties may be motivated by group ties or affiliations (such as in the case of Hamas and al-Qaeda), personal feelings of revenge, or other nonstate-related reasons.

In this assignment, you will take the time to examine nonstate actors and their methods. Through this assignment, you will gain an awareness of the motivations and methods of nongovernment-sponsored actors to collect information against the U.S.

Tasks:

Using at least two scholarly resources from the professional literature, research some of the major intelligence threats to the U.S., focusing on nonstate actors. The literature may include the university’s online library resources; relevant textbooks; peer-reviewed journal articles; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, or .gov).

You will probably find that there is less research material available on nonstate actors.

In a minimum of 410 words, respond to the following:

1- What are some of the major intelligence threats to the U.S. and their means to ascertain their goals? Focus on nonstate actors.

2- Who are nonstate actors? Briefly describe them and give examples.
3- What are their general methods of operations? Explain with examples.
4- Assaults by which of the nonstate-sponsored (nonstate actor) foreign intelligence services (FISs) on the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) appear to have caused the greatest damage, either through the loss of resources, failed missions, or the loss of lives?
5- What were your greatest challenges in finding information on nonstate actor assaults?

Task 2: Operational Psychology — A Consultant/Trainer for Crisis Negotiators

In a minimum of 410 words, address the following:

1- Discuss the role of a consultant/trainer in training crisis (hostage) negotiators.

2- Address both ethical issues and cultural concerns.
3- Include in the discussion a description of effective hostage negotiator training methods, as well as the behavioral influence stairway model developed by Dr. Gregory Vecchi of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) former unit chief of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit.

Task 3: Intelligence and Counterintelligence

Both domestic and international terrorism pose great threats to US citizens, the US economy, and domestic and foreign diplomatic relationships. Counterintelligence (CI) efforts aimed at detecting the activities of both domestic and international terrorists have risen in the years since the September 11 attacks. An entirely new agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was created to prevent the proliferation of terrorist groups and decrease the threat of terrorism.

Even though domestic and international terrorists might have different motivations for committing crimes of terror, threats from both types are considered equally dangerous and have to be continuously monitored to safeguard US citizens and interests.

The intelligence and CI activities utilized by various US government agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the DHS, can be similar or different, depending on factors such as the seriousness of terrorist threats, the specific terror group being monitored, and the immediacy of threats.

Tasks:

Create a 3- to 4-page paper addressing the following:

1- Describe the similarities and differences in information-gathering techniques used by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor threats from domestic and international terrorists.

 

2- Research and describe differences in policies