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The scaling back of the US military mission in Iraq means Washington’s spies will have fewer “eyes and ears on the ground” in the country, a senior intelligence official said Tuesday. US military units operate with their own intelligence resources, including translators and officers assigned from spy agencies such as the National Security Agency and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. But the drawdown of US forces to less than 50,000 troops will curtail the reach of US intelligence services, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters. Read the full AFP story here.

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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? As always, we hope everyone had a productive week and is enjoying the final weeks of summer and vacation season. As the GEOINT community knows, it was a very big week. Well actually a very big two weeks. General Clapper was confirmed as the new DNI and Letitia Long was inducted as the new Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), while breaking down major barriers by being the first woman to head an Intel agency. So, this week’s FFT post is all about breaking down barriers and the major strides that women have made. Happy Friday!

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Today, it’s time to say farewell and to express deep appreciation to the entire NGA workforce. You continue to do remarkable work every day. At all the places NGA has been asked to take on a new task or support a new mission, you – the men and women of NGA – have taken on the challenge and excelled.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from got geoint? We hope everyone enjoyed their downtime this past weekend. As always, we have pulled together all the actionable news you need to kick start the work week. Once again, we have a mix of stories from the latest on WikiLeaks to an innovative use of Google Earth: to track down unpermitted backyard swimming pools. So, as we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from got geoint? As always, we hope everyone had a restful weekend and are geared up for a productive work week. What does this week have in store for us? Well, our crystal ball is a bit fuzzy this morning, but we expect it won’t be as crazy as last week — with the Washington Post story, Clapper confirmation hearing and more — but one never knows. We do know that this weeks MMNKO post has some very compelling news — from more Clapper confirmation news to a story of a meteorite crater being found via Google Earth. So, as we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on!

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There must be something in the air. Or is it the water? Over the past couple of weeks there have been some pretty sensational stories about the Intelligence Community. First, we had the Russian spies, then the Washington Post’s expose on the IC (well timed, right before Clapper’s confirmation hearing – but we digress), and stories about the lack of GAO oversight for the community. And, CBS News recently ran a story about how top secret spy work is done in neighborhoods around the Washington DC area. One of the areas highlighted, in addition to Fort Meade, is the Dulles-Chantilly region.

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President Obama’s choice to ride herd on U.S. spy agencies boasted yesterday he is no “hood ornament,” and has the clout to stop turf wars. “I would not have agreed to take this position on if I were going to be a titular figurehead or a hood ornament,” retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee at his confirmation hearing. Obama nominated Clapper, a career intelligence officer, to replace retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair as director of National Intelligence, coordinating the efforts of the sprawling intelligence community. Check out the full NY Daily News article here. Also, been a crazy week for the IC. First we had the Washington Post article, then Clapper’s confirmation hearing…what is next? Stay tuned, and be sure to check out our Friday’s Food for Thought post this week.

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In an era of mounting security concerns and an uncertain global balance of power, intelligence gathering for defense and security purposes using Earth observations technologies is of growing importance to governments worldwide. Manned aerial solutions and proprietary defense systems have been the traditional sources of Image Intelligence (IMINT) and geospatial information (GEOINT). Now, however, continuing budget constraints have led government defense agencies to explore other mechanisms to meet their IMINT requirements.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post on got geoint? Surely, most of you spent Sunday afternoon sipping sangria and watching Spain pull off its very first World Cup title? Or perhaps you enjoyed the relatively cooler weather on the east coast? No matter what you did on Sunday, one truth always creeps up: Monday morning is always around the corner. But worry not faithful got geoint? readers. As always, we have pulled together all the key stories you need to kick off your work week in style. So, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

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Yesterday, the NY Times ran a front page story about federal prosecutors accusing 11 people of being part of a Russian espionage ring, living under false names and deep cover in a patient scheme to penetrate what one coded message called American “policy making circles.” What was interesting about this story was that these Russian spies have embedded themselves deeply into quiet suburban lives in the U.S. Thought, what really caught our attention — surely Hollywood is working a script right now about this story — was today’s front page NY Times follow up story that had many IC leaders asking “why?”

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