got geoint?

Welcome to the Monday Morning Kick Off Post. While we will continue to relive key moments from GEOINT 2009 throughout this week (stay tuned for more videos), we wanted to get back to highlighting news from the entire Intelligence Community. So, here we are, and it is Monday again. Just to think a week ago we were all watching the amazing GEOINT 2009 kick off ceremonies in San Antonio. Well, we hope everyone spent the weekend resting up and preparing to take all of the key learnings, and contacts, from GEOINT and make them actionable. Happy Monday.

U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets
This is surely a sign that social media is expanding it its value and viability in the Intelligence Community. The CIA, has formed a “strategic partnership and technology development agreement” with Visible Technologies, a company specialising in data-mining social-networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, has invested in Visible Technologies, “a leading provider of social media analysis and engagement solutions”. The move is believed to be part of the CIA’s aim to utilise the “open source” information available on social networking sites. Read more here.

Washington Times Editorial: “Eye in The Sky”
It is no surprise that with Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, the result is disarray in the intelligence community. When they’re not bashing or de-funding, they’re investigating. It’s a wonder they’ve found time to mess up spy satellite policy. But they have. Embedded in the new defense policy bill – which is awaiting the president’s signature – are the latest mixed messages about plans to use satellites to keep track of our enemies. If left untended, the tangle could undermine intelligence for years to come. Read the entire Washington Times editorial here.

Fidel Castro’s Sister Worked with CIA
Juanita Castro, sister of Cuban rulers Fidel and Raúl Castro, cooperated with the CIA in the 1960s — a time when the U.S. agency was plotting to assassinate Fidel and overthrow his revolution — according to a report on her newly published book. The report also revealed that Juanita, who broke with her brothers’ revolution in 1964, hid government opponents in her home; that Fidel refused to visit her because the house was “surrounded by worms;” and that their mother often intervened with Raúl to help Castro critics, jailed or fugitive. Read more here.

Problems With Killer Drones
This was certainly a story that slipped by us during GEOINT last week, but definitely worthy of noting. The CIA’s use of predator drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan has come under intense scrutiny in an investigation by The New Yorker. According to a new study cited in the article, President Obama has authorized as many drone attacks in his first nine months as George W. Bush did in his final three years. Mayer describes drone attacks as “a radically new and geographically unbounded use of state-sanctioned lethal force” with no apparent system of accountability. Read the full text of the New Yorker article (subscription required) here.

South Korea May Buy Satellites to Spy on North Korea
Well, it looks like South Korea may be getting into the GEOINT business. It was announced last week that it may buy four spy satellites over the next decade to monitor North Korea. A South Korean spokesman told the AFP that: “Our ministry has been considering it but no decision has been made yet on who will be involved and details have yet to be fixed.” It was also reported that the ministry would cooperate with countries including Germany to secure the satellites. Read more here.

Lockheed Martin Launches ‘Intelligence On Demand’
In response to a growing demand for immediate, online access to geospatial imagery and analytical tools, Lockheed Martin, working with Pictometry International Corporation, has launched the first version of “Intelligence on Demand,” a new web portal that offers users a world of imagery and analysis for a flat monthly fee. This initial version offers a library of more than 100 million geospatial images from Pictometry and high-powered analytical tools from Lockheed Martin, all available online. Read the full press release here.

Happy Monday!