OR Forum—Intelligence Operations Research: The 2010 Philip McCord Morse Lecture

Abstract

This paper is the archival record of the INFORMS Philip McCord Morse Lecture delivered in 2010. It considers applications of operations research to intelligence problems in national security and counterterrorism. The phrase “intelligence operations research” can be interpreted in two different ways: as intelligence operations} research, meaning studies to characterize and improve the operations of intelligence agencies themselves, and as intelligence operations research, meaning the application of operations research methods to specific substantive intelligence problems. After defining intelligence, I review the intelligence production process (or the intelligence cycle) with reference to the intelligence community of the United States. I then consider the extent to which operations research has been deployed inside this intelligence community and summarize previous attempts to apply operations research methods to intelligence problems. I close with some suggestions for future intelligence operations research studies.