Commentary: Smarter surveillance

摘要

U.S. defense and homeland security officials should begin to secure the country's information advantage through a series of targeted initiatives. An important first step would be for planners to recognize that the revolution in persistent surveillance technologies is a security topic of extraordinary significance. This shift in thinking would come as a marked contrast to today's policy, which calls for developing niche capabilities for specific applications at the tactical and operational levels. There is a widespread assumption in Washington that U.S. superiority in persistent surveillance is a constant. To stay ahead of adversaries, the Defense Department, military services and homeland security leaders should use the lessons learned from these limited "unblinking eye" applications to choose new, large-scale investments in persistence surveillance conceptualization, testing and deployment.