National security

Israeli Military Intelligence No Longer So Keen on Knowing Thy Enemy



Col. Michael Milstein, the COGAT adviser for Palestinian affairs, published an illuminating article last week describing the intelligence challenge in trying to analyze the people’s behavior in the territories and Arab countries. Milstein, a former head of the Palestinian research department at Military Intelligence, says this type of research is in dire straits “on both sides of the ocean.” He says that, in the past, intelligence research focused on analyzing the intentions of leaders and the enemy’s military capabilities.
Nowadays this research has to identify complex processes motivating the people or non-state organizations. But still, an intelligence analyst who’s an expert on another culture or mentality is considered less valuable than before. The focus is skills centering on thought processes and strategic analysis, combined with an overreliance on technology, which is expected to provide quick and precise answers to complex questions.