109th CONGRESS
1st SessionH. R. 1815
To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2006, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 20, 2005 [excerpt on open source intelligence; as reported by the House Armed Services Committee]SEC. 931. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STRATEGY FOR OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE.
(a) Findings- Congress makes the following findings:(1) Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is intelligence that is produced from publicly available information collected, exploited, and disseminated in a timely manner to an appropriate audience for the purpose of addressing a specific intelligence requirement. (2) With the Information Revolution, the amount, significance, and accessibility of open-source information has exploded, but the Intelligence Community has not expanded its exploitation efforts and systems to produce open-source intelligence. (3) The production of open-source intelligence is a valuable intelligence discipline that must be integrated in the intelligence cycle to ensure that United States policymakers are fully and completely informed. (4) The dissemination and use of validated open-source intelligence inherently enables information sharing as it is produced without the use of sensitive sources and methods. Open-source intelligence products can be shared with the American public and foreign allies because of its unclassified nature. (5) The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, in its Final Report released on July 22, 2004, identified shortfalls in the ability of the United States to employ all-source intelligence, a large component of which is open-source intelligence. (6) The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458) advocates for coordination of the collection, analysis, production, and dissemination of open-source intelligence. (7) The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, in its report to the President released on March 31, 2005, found `that the need for exploiting open-source material is greater now than ever before,' but that `the Intelligence Community's open source programs have not expanded commensurate with either the increase in available information or with the growing importance of open source data to today's problems'.
(b) Strategy for Open-Source Intelligence-(1) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGY- The Secretary of Defense shall develop a strategy, to be known as the `Strategy for Open-Source Intelligence', to be incorporated within the larger military intelligence strategy, for the purpose of integrating open-source intelligence into the military intelligence cycle. (2) SUBMISSION- The Secretary shall submit the Strategy for Open-Source Intelligence to Congress not later than January 31, 2006. (3) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED- The Strategy for Open-Source Intelligence shall include the following:
(A) An investment strategy for the development of a robust open-source intelligence capability, with particular emphasis on exploitation and dissemination. (B) A description of how management of open-source intelligence collection is currently performed at the Department level and how it can be improved in the future. (C) A description of the tools, systems, centers, personnel, and procedures that will be used to perform open-source intelligence tasking, collection, exploitation, and dissemination. (D) A description of proven tradecraft for effective open-source intelligence exploitation, to include consideration of operational security. (E) A detailed description on how open-source intelligence will be fused with all other intelligence sources across the Department of Defense. (F) A description of open-source intelligence training plan and guidance for Department of Defense and service intelligence personnel. (G) A plan to incorporate the open-source intelligence oversight function into the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and into service intelligence organizations. (H) A plan to incorporate and identify an open-source intelligence specialty into Department and service personnel systems. (I) A plan to use reserve component intelligence personnel to augment and support the open-source intelligence mission. (J) A plan for the use of the Open-Source Information System for the purpose of exploitation and dissemination.
House Report 109-89 on HR 1815
SECTION 931--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STRATEGY FOR OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE
This section would direct the Secretary of Defense to create and submit to Congress a strategy for the use of open-source intelligence by January 31, 2006. The strategy would have 10 components focusing on application of open-source intelligence in the intelligence process, as well as associated management, training, and personnel issues.