The American Spectator

Reader Mail

p> ORANGE FIZZ br> Re: Reid Collins' The Big Orange : /p>

While I enjoyed Reid Collins' column, I found it a bit one-dimensional. Yes, the major information gleaned from the captured computer was "old" in the sense that it had to do with bad guy planning in the past. What was the rest of the story, the other information they didn't tell us they had; and I'll bet they had some.

Most of the time, intelligence work isn't about crime-solving technique; finding items of proof that fit together. It's about looking for patterns based on small pieces of information that may (or may not) be or seem to be related or similar in nature. It is very much more an art than a science.

The other thing that comes to mind is that we also release information so that we can monitor the reactions of the known bad guys. That often leads to additional information or breakthroughs that help us against them.

p>I'm willing to give Homeland Security a lot of leeway. They have to be right 100% of the time, jihadis can screw up nine times out of 10 and still kill a lot of us the one time they succeed. br> -- Frank Stevenson /p> p> In the intelligence business, the slang term is "spoofed," not "conned." Thanks for the great article. br> --

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