r/Intelligence

Do we have eyes to see?

I need some career advice. I’m currently leaning toward enrolling in SNHU’s Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Advanced Counterterrorism and Homeland Security. The subject genuinely interests me, but my biggest concern is what the degree realistically leads to after graduation.

I’ve heard that this type of degree could potentially help with careers in the intelligence community, including positions at the CIA such as a Case Officer. However, I don’t know how realistic that pathway actually is, especially for someone coming from a non-military, non-law-enforcement background. I’m also trying to understand what other careers this degree could lead to in federal agencies, homeland security, intelligence, investigations, or the private sector.

The alternative I’m considering is an online JD. I know a JD, especially after passing the bar, would probably open more doors and provide a clearer professional career path. However, it would also be considerably more expensive, more academically demanding, and take longer to complete.

For context, I’m over 30, have kids, and currently work in a county government office in California doing contractual payroll support. A traditional campus-based education isn’t very practical for me, which is why I’m looking primarily at online programs.

I’m leaning toward the MS because I’m more interested in the subject matter and it fits my situation better. My concern is whether I would be investing time and money into a degree with a limited job market. I’d like to understand what realistic career paths I could pursue with this degree, how competitive I would be for those jobs, and whether the MS makes sense compared with pursuing an online JD.

Advice and thoughts would be deeply appreciated.

Ukraine Launches Major Drone Attack on Moscow Region:

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on the Moscow region early Tuesday, with Russian officials reporting 180 drones downed near the capital and temporary airport restrictions. Debris reportedly damaged a Wildberries warehouse and injured three people, while Moscow continued strikes on Ukrainian energy assets to degrade production capacity ahead of winter. The exchange shows both sides widening long-range campaigns beyond the front line. For Russia, repeated drone activity near Moscow has disrupted logistics, aviation, and public events while eroding domestic confidence. 

Iran Signals Offensive Posture as Hormuz Tensions Escalate:

Iran signaled it will move to a fully offensive posture after talks with the U.S. failed to produce a final peace deal before the interim deadline. The dispute centers on control of the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping remains severely disrupted. Only six commodity vessels transited on Monday, below the recent average, with no VLCCs or LNG tankers recorded. UKMTO also reported a vessel struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait, causing engine damage and one crew casualty. Reduced traffic through Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb continues to pressure global energy and freight routes as regional tensions remain elevated. 

School Shooting in Philippines Raises Security Concerns:

A student killed a classmate and then themselves at a Catholic junior high school in Zamboanga City, marking the Philippines’ second deadly school shooting in less than two months. Police said the Grade 9 student brought firearms onto campus and fired inside classrooms. Although school shootings remain rare in the Philippines, the proximity of this incident to June’s fatal Tacloban school attack could intensify scrutiny of campus access controls and student access to firearms. 

Germany Targets Channel Smuggling Networks:

Germany conducted its first raids under a new law targeting migrant-smuggling supply chains used for UK-bound Channel crossings. Authorities seized more than 9,000 life jackets, dozens of dinghies and engines, and hundreds of pumps in North Rhine-Westphalia. The law gives German authorities a clearer domestic basis to act against Germany-based facilitation of crossings to the UK rather than relying mainly on French or Belgian warrants. The operation expands Germany’s role in joint efforts with the UK and French authorities to disrupt smuggling networks. Further raids and seizures are likely, although smugglers’ use of larger boats and shifting routes points to continued pressure on Channel security and cross-border policing. 

China’s Wang Yi to Visit South Korea:

China’s Wang Yi will make his first official visit to South Korea in five years as Seoul seeks to stabilize regional ties while managing renewed uncertainty over the U.S. alliance. The visit gives both sides a venue to prepare for high-level exchanges ahead of APEC and assess progress in restoring relations. Its timing is sensitive as Trump’s unilateral call to reduce U.S.-South Korea drills has amplified doubts in Seoul over alliance reliability. South Korea is likely to pursue broader diplomatic options without weakening its core US security posture. 

>The Commons public safety committee yesterday by unanimous vote agreed to probe apparent failures in security screening after a Chinese-Canadian intern at NATO headquarters was arrested on espionage charges. Canadians of Chinese ancestry were owed a thorough investigation of security breaches that are “dividing our communities,” said one MP: “We need to get to the bottom of the issue, determine what went wrong.”

CIA: Learned too late informant was liar
Published: Feb. 18, 2011 at 1:12 AM

Isn't it time we learned the truth? The full detailed story, hopefully unredacted by the CIA and DIA during its mandatory review, will be presented in my forthcoming book, Absence of Evidence; The Incredible Story of the Iraq WMD Intelligence Failure from Inside the American, British, and German intelligence services.

 

CIA: Learned too late informant was liar Published: Feb. 18, 2011 at 1:12 AM

BERLIN, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Former CIA Director George Tenet made incredible claims regarding an Iraqi who played a key role in the decision to invade Iraq, a former German official said.

Tenet, the CIA head between 1997 and 2004, said Wednesday he learned "too damn late" that the Iraqi defector known as "Curveball," who was a key information source for the CIA and the German secret service, may have lied, London's The Guardian reported. Tenet said he only discovered in 2005, two years after the invasion, that the Germans had doubts about Curveball's statements that he was an eyewitness to Saddam Hussein's biological weapons program.

Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister at the time, said the Germans knew before the war that Curveball was not a reliable source. He said he passed on warnings to the CIA, and that his country was placed in a "very difficult position" when the CIA asked whether they could use Curveball's statements to justify a war in Iraq.

"On the one hand we didn't want to withhold from the (United States) any bit of relevant information we had about possible weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. On the other hand, we did not want to take part in any (propaganda-type) exploitation of material, which was far from proven, to justify a war," Fischer wrote in his autobiography, "I Am Not Convinced."

"We decided, therefore, that we would do our duty by sending the Americans all the information we had, together with our assessment that that information came from a deserter and that we had not verified or substantiated it ourselves, and that it could be completely wrong," Fischer said.

© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

i have intrusive thoughts but they’re not so much intrusive when it’s in the back of my head constantly. it’s completely opposite of the person i am, but i have intrusive thoughts about hurting people i love and know are completely innocent and mean no harm. i have all other kinds of horrible thoughts that aren’t mine and it’s mentally tormenting. i also suffer with issues of thinking my thoughts are being broadcasted & delusions of something watching me.

anyways i had a really bad day with these thoughts today and i don’t want to assume, but the specific person these thoughts were about was having a really rough day after i’d been having these thoughts and im wondering if im energetically sending them to him somehow. because when i have these thoughts i imagine them going to him or like im “thinking them to him”. i know energy can’t be created nor destroyed, and these thoughts are some kind of energy, so i feel as if im sending him hurtful energy. whatever i could just be delusional but it’s mentally tormenting.

i fell asleep on the floor and had this dream, woke up at 11:49 pm.

i had a nightmare that there was this toy in a box that was in my room it was like a lps toy and it had some numbers randomly on the box. like 11, 2002, i think 49 but it was a double digit one, etc. and i kept looking at the box it and id turn it and the little animal toy thing would fall over and i keot doing it over and over. and then i see my sister, shes been hiding her face and quiet. i turn her around and she was sunburn from tanning i think, but her right eye is extremely bruised, and theres scratchings on her face her face is torn up and on each cheek theres numbers written on them. and i look at the nimbers and look at the box and automatically put 2 and 2 together that it has correlation to that toy. whatever hurt her has correlation to that toy. and so i get mad and i take the toy out the box i think and say were gonna burn it immediantly. and then these 2 rabdom older people show up a man and a woman and theyre helping me get the stuff to put it in a bag and burn it. (all of a sudden theres more pieces) but we had to get anything it touched. and while thats happening im holding onto the toy but its a trickster so its trying to get out of my hands and etc but im swueezing it with all ive got to hurt it. and the mans getting frustrated because im not outting the items in the bag his way but im also holding onto the toy to make sure it doesnt dissapear but they dont know it can move and its a trickster toy. whule theyre taking forever to put the stuff in the bag its not that much stuff but fir some reason in the dream they were moving so slow and more things had to go in the bag versys just the box and the toy, i was talking to the man about subconscious and conscious mind. idk what i was saying and finally the lady is done or she checks on me with the toy and i wake up. it was a lot scarier than it seems typed out but it was a demonic dream.

the scratches and burns and bruises on my sisters face, the carved numbers especially 11:11 which i thought was related to manifesting. it was just really scary.

when i have these mentally tormenting days (everyday but some worse than others) ill get extremely angry and i have the urge to get careless about everything and violent but i do not and i know better because i dont want to hurt anyone.

and the weirdest part of it all is this is completely against my true nature. naturally im very sensitive and empathetic, and its not really by choice at all. i think my nervous system is just sensitive because i can pick up on the feelings of others not just cognitively but physically and emotionally without trying or wanting to.

im scared im being possessed or attacked or something. does anyone know what the dream could mean and why i am experiencing this.

i also have a history of ouija board usage if that helps any

ps: please dont comment anything about therapy. ive seen 2 different ones over the past 2 years and was just judged and dismissed rather than helped.

Dead Internet theory?

I’m currently an all source intelligence analyst in the USMC, and I’m wondering if I should get a degree in psychology or homeland security for work as an investigator (1811) for federal agencies. I’m also taking foreign language classes in Arabic, though I’d still be doing that with either pathway.

Additionally what would be better if I stay as an all source analyst and try to do that in the civilian field?

You know how people of different backgrounds can join the CIA and are looked for because of genuine intelligence, talent and commitment purposes.

But does that mean the Chinese MSS have a bunch a white dudes working in their organisation? I’m sure the MSS has an amazing talent-pool to choose from and organisational orthodoxy will make it difficult for people of different backgrounds but talent and commitment is still gold. I can imagine neighbouring asian national backgrounds but do you think there are white dudes from Anglo countries in the MSS? And I mean they themselves applied/recruited.

Been reading about other intelligence agencies like India, Vietnam and China and I feel most literature from my experience is either too exorcised or swivel-eyed paranoia.