Desirable does not mean feasible

SDB has a great post up on the problem of HUMINT. Especially useful is this:

Infiltration is obviously a good thing. But Conrad is wrong in referring to it as a plan. Infiltration is a goal, not a plan. A goal is what you want to achieve; a plan tells you how to achieve it. A goal is a destination; a plan is driving instructions for reaching that destination.

"Win without war." "Infiltrate al Qaeda's leadership." Yes, but how? Those are wonderful goals, but what is the plan?

Too many bloggers ignore the danger agents and case officers face. They forget (if they ever knew) that some of the most valuable spies in the Cold War died trying to help the U.S.-- Popov, Penkovsky, Shadrin. Not to mention Buckley the CIA officer tortured to death in Beirut.

Nor do they recognize just how small a target Al Qaeda is. Only a handful of decision-makers and operatives were involved in 9-11. Russia had thousands of people working in the areas we needed to know about. Plus, we could combine HUMINT with technical means to produce our estimates and, especially, provide early warning. AQ is a much tougher target all the way around.