CONFIDENTIAL REPORT
EYES ONLY FOR: Jackson Purchase President Reginald Philips
SUBJECT: Establishment of a Centralized State Security Service
FROM: Brigadier General Nathan Taylor
Mr. President,
The purpose of this report is to provide basic recommendations, and to give an update on the status, of establishing a Centralized State Security Service for the Jackson Purchase (JP) as per your earlier directive.
Although I have received all the support I require, the task is still a daunting one and will take time, maybe even years. With that said, I understand the importance of bringing all our resources to bear during this time of crisis. A professional security organization must be one of those resources.
I recommend this organization initially build on the capability it already possesses - tactical reconnaissance. This also makes the most practical sense given the current war with the West Tennessee Republic (WTR). The existing tactical reconnaissance patrols have proven the value of such information and of the specialized units which conduct them. It will likely be necessary to disband many of the existing reconnaissance units in order to provide men to serve as leaders for other such elements. New recruits can more readily fill vacancies in these unit's ranks if they possess solid leaders.
Responsive and reliable reporting is still a problem without electricity, but I have recommended unit commanders conduct missions of shorter duration which allow for face-to-face reporting if necessary. We will also need an analytical capability to sift through the intelligence gathered in order to produce finished intelligence products. I plan to detail my recommendations for this problem in a separate report.
Beyond the tactical military side, the mission of a central security service becomes more complicated. Even a framework is in question. I have examined many agencies such as the CIA, FBI, and DHS to determine if these are proper organizations to model our state service after. I have even studied the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services of World War II fame, but we need an organization that is primarily able to operate during peacetime.
The key functions of this organization should include intelligence collection in all forms, counterintelligence, and security at the state or higher level. The only area with an established framework is counterintelligence. The state troopers have been conducting this mission for several months, but it must be asked if this will remain a law enforcement, security/intelligence, or joint responsibility. I would like to recommend that the state troopers maintain this mission along with their law enforcement duties and that the state police fall under my new security service. I envision them having law enforcement authority, but also counterintelligence capabilities, similar to the FBI.
We will also need to establish a framework for intelligence collection. Since there is still no electricity, we should rely on what is traditionally referred to as "low tech". Even when electrical services are restored, I believe it is best to found our capabilities on what has worked for thousands of years. The most reliable and low tech of all intelligence collection methods is human source operations. This requires extremely well-trained and experienced handlers to run such operations. We will need to establish a robust training program for these source handlers and my recommendations on how to accomplish this training will be discussed in a separate report.
In order to conduct source operations, it is necessary to lay the groundwork for spotting potential intelligence sources in areas surrounding the JP, but most specifically in the WTR. Many JP residents have friends or relatives in the WTR. Some of these individuals would likely travel into the WTR given the opportunity. These two groups alone would make a good initial candidate pool to screen for sources. Also, individuals inside the WTR could provide information on what was happening there in addition to early warning of troop movements. We will also need a means to learn about these potential sources.
A travel pass program seems like the best option. The JP can put out notices that personnel from outside the JP could travel into the JP for short periods of time, as long as they were sponsored by a JP citizen and underwent an interview. The interview will give my organization an opportunity to evaluate these individuals’ suitability and willingness to work for us, possibly in exchange for something they want. We will also eventually need JP residents who were willing to go out beyond the borders to live for long periods of time among the local populaces and then report back useful information. The task of establishing this network will be significant and time consuming and the details of my plan will be included in a separate report.
Counterintelligence and security are another huge endeavor. Although the state troopers have the lead for investigations, and might eventually be able to take on all the other duties, they are not ready to handle everything else needed to protect the JP’s secrets and critical resources. The first line of defense should be the average citizen’s diligent and natural suspicion. The JP governing bodies need to convince the people not to talk idly about things they hear and see. The state also needs to convince them to report anything out of the ordinary since they are much more likely to notice something odd before an official would.
In summary I envision a comprehensive intelligence, security, and law enforcement agency capable of gathering needed information on its enemies, protecting the JP’s most prized resources, and investigating and arresting those who would harm the JP. Although the idea of such an organization with broad powers makes sense, it also raises concerns. A significant amount of power will reside with one organization and by default with this organization's leader. There will need to be checks on such power.
An official could be elected to head this organization, but that would mean a critical position could go to someone with no experience and who may have political agendas to boot. It could be a political appointee like myself, but that appointee could at some point hold whomever had appointed him as a political hostage over threats of blackmail much as Hoover was rumored to have done with the FBI. The leader could be determined by seniority in the organization, but that had its own pitfalls. The best idea that I can envision at this point is to use a political appointee elected by the Executive Council who serves for a defined time period, say five years, with absolutely no ability to stay longer under any circumstances. This person could continue to advise and assist the organization and the state after their term has ended, but could no longer hold such power. I understand that these thoughts are premature, but the last thing we want to do is create an apparatus that could be used to subdue a democratic populace. The state needs a comprehensive organization with extensive powers; but does accept risk by investing too much power in any one person, or group of persons’, hands.
With your approval sir, I would like to begin the work of establishing the Strategic Security Agency with the above basic guidelines. As always I am available for further discussion and would welcome any feedback or guidance you may have on this issue.
Sincerely,
ORIGINAL SIGNED
Brigadier General Nathan Taylor
Recommendations Approved/Disapproved/Provide Further Information
ORIGINAL SIGNED
President Reginald Philips
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