The collection of intelligence depends heavily on language, whether the information is gathered from a human source through a relationship with a field officer, or gathered from a technical system. For example, even traditionally non-linguistic operations such as imagery rely on foreign language skills to focus and direct collection efforts.

Information then has to be processed and exploited, which entails verifying its accuracy and explaining it in clear and unambiguous terms. This often requires analysts with foreign language skills going over translations of conversations and trying to clarify exact meanings and interpretations.

In some cases, the information is then disseminated to all-source analysts, and on occasion to customers, as raw intelligence. All­source analysts integrate media reports (including from the Internet, a growing source of foreign language material), Embassy reporting, and other information to produce finished intelligence for policymakers.

These two organizations, one very large and one very small, have a higher percentage of their staffs who are linguists, working full time to produce reports from dozens of foreign languages.  

Language is also a core skill for DIA and CIA collectors and the Defense Attaches.

The analysts on the production side rely on translated reports to produce all-source intelligence products. But these analysts also need foreign language capabilities as part of their role as regional or functional experts. They need to be able to exploit captured or acquired documents, monitor the media, and interact with foreign nationals, including on extended assignments overseas where adequate language skills can make the difference between success and failure in an analyst's intelligence mission. The CIA, for example, has made foreign language knowledge an important criteria for selection into the newly established Senior Analytic Service.

One would also ideally want to be able to task on short notice workers with excellent language skills in relatively small places-- Burundi, East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo--where problems can lead to US engagements, ranging from a unilateral effort--such as an evacuation--humanitarian operations, alliance policies, or UN peacekeeping forces.

The Intelligence Community often lacks the foreign language skills necessary to surge during a crisis--such as Serbo--Croatian for the buildup to the NATO bombing of Serbia or for a potential humanitarian emergency in, for example, Africa.

At times, we obtain large volumes of documents that may be critical to make the case about gross human rights abuses by tyrants like Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, but lack of translating capacity makes it hard to provide thorough analysis in a timely way for policy decisions.

And a lack of language skills can limit our analysts' insight into a foreign culture, restricting their ability to understand and anticipate a deterioration in a particular domestic situation. This often diminishes our ability to warn policymakers about a potential trouble spot.

Thousands of technical papers that provide details on foreign research and development in scientific or technical areas currently go untranslated because we lack the funds and personnel to interpret the material. Should this situation continue, we could face the possibility of technological surprise.

The IC's foreign language priorities should be focused on the most important regions and countries for US foreign policy and ongoing military operations.

Foreign language requirements should be driven by collection, analysis, and reporting.

The Intelligence Community's skills management systems must be postured to respond to crisis tasking quickly; and

The Community's language capability should be proportional to and not exceed the collection and analysis tasking it supports.

Hiring new officers with sufficient foreign language capability is clearly one important solution to the shortfalls, but these newcomers will require other training and seasoning before the range of their skills is put to full use.

The ADCI for Analysis and Production, John Gannon, has recently completed a Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) for Intelligence Community Analysis. The SIP identifies concrete strategies and a series of initiatives to improve our overall analysis and production capabilities, including establishing a robust IC training and career development program, supporting a Community-wide "virtual university," and developing options for a National Intelligence Academy for IC training and education. Foreign language training will be a necessary component of these collaborative Community training initiatives.

The Community's Foreign Language Executive Committee is composed of Senior Executive Service intelligence professionals who bring a broader vista to our language work and reflect the views of the programs they represent. The FLEXCOM strives to give strategic direction and integrate foreign language issues in Community policy, requirements, planning, programming, and budgeting fora. The committee meets regularly to identify areas for cooperation and collaboration among the agencies, as well as resources that could be mobilized in time of crisis. In addition, the Foreign Language Advisory Group (FLAG), which is comprised of distinguished former intelligence linguists and Community leaders, meets periodically to explore innovative approaches to mitigating foreign language deficiencies.

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service, which translates nontechnical foreign media, has made excellent use of foreign nationals and contract employees who can be tapped when a crisis erupts but who are not permanent employees. Because FBIS works in the unclassified arena, it has enjoyed a greater degree of flexibility than NSA or other agencies with a great need for linguists and translators, where the security requirements are very stringent.  

Many IC agencies, including CIA, DIA, State/INR, and NSA offer on-the-job language training, while growing numbers are being sent to full-time language training. CIA, DIA, and NSA provide incentive pay for maintenance and/or usage of language.

Many projects to develop and use technology, including machine translation tools, for foreign language training and processing are under way in the Intelligence Community with funding from the National Foreign Intelligence Program, Joint Military Intelligence Program, and the Tactical Intelligence and Related Activities budget. A number of pilot projects are underway that could eventually help IC analysts and information processors deal with the increasing volume of foreign language material.

But humans will remain a key part of this equation. The trend is toward development of tools that are intended to assist rather than replace the human language specialist and the instructor. Still, though this capability is not intended to replace humans, it is increasingly useful in niche areas, such as technical publications.

Russian language analysts have worked creatively to mine the vast array of open source materials now available from a more open Russian society. They have coordinated and pooled resources to develop common access to material from the legal, parliamentary, regional and military media in Russia.