Andrew Ries

Consolidated National Intelligence Centers: the Potential Impact on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of America's National Intelligence Community Andrew Ries

Publisher Marketing: This thesis examined the suitability of creating regionally and functionally aligned National Intelligence Centers to consolidate the foreign intelligence collection and analysis capabilities of America's intelligence community. It assessed the functional limits of intelligence consolidation by proposing a theoretical model that departed significantly from the largely decentralized community framework in existence since 1947. Research focused on official studies and community literature that specifically addressed the potential impacts of consolidation. Interviews with IC leadership and policymakers focused on identifying consensus regarding the advantages and disadvantages of IC consolidation. Research found significant resistance within the IC to consolidated centers for three main reasons. First, a widespread belief remains that true competitive analysis can only be achieved in a "stovepiped" system that preserves unique agency cultures and perspectives at the most senior levels. Second, executive branch departments require highly tailored intelligence that might be jeopardized by consolidation. Third, there is considerable disagreement regarding the proper size and role of the ODNI, especially whether it should produce analytical products or merely coordinate the community's efforts. Potential recommendations for consolidation on a lesser scale were identified, to include the creation of a National Intelligence Service for analysts and consolidation of some IC-wide support functions. Contributor Bio:  Ries, Andrew Andrew J. Ries is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. He was raised in a quiet Twin Cities suburb on the Mississippi River called Hastings and moved to St. Cloud in order to attend college at St. Cloud State University. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in history and film studies, Ries decided to stay in St. Cloud. It was in 2009 that he published his first crossword book, Minnesota Crosswords. Crossword puzzles have long been a passion for Ries. He remembers first working puzzles with his grandmother when he was five years old. By the time high school came, Ries began to solve the New York Times crossword puzzle seriously, and by the time he graduated from high school, he was an able and proficient solver. These skills were honed by doing more and more puzzles (and gaining much more useless knowledge along the way), and he took those skills to New York City to compete in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2009 and 2010. His best finish at the tournament was 53rd in 2009. Ries began constructing puzzles in 2006 and had his first published puzzle run in the New York Times on August 13, 2007. His puzzles have also run in various newspapers, magazines, and books across the country. In 2010, he launched his own website, and he offers free crosswords and variety puzzles on a weekly basis there. Visit his site at www.ariespuzzles.com. Aside from crosswords, Ries is an avid sports fan, loves going to the movies, and enjoys listening to a wide variety of music. He holds season tickets to the St. Cloud State University Husky hockey team and doesn't miss a game. He also competes in a local cribbage league and plays the piano.