by Daniel G. O'Leary

Created on: July 29, 2009   Last Updated: April 26, 2010

The question; "Does the U.S. need more spies to help inform and protect our country?" The quick answer; "Absolutely Yes!" Nothing, absolutely nothing compares to having the best data possible, available for discussion and planning so that the best and most timely decisions can be made as needed.

America has one of the greatest and most effective intelligence gathering capabilities in the entire World. It makes me proud to be American because of our capabilities. But, machines and technology only provide data and analysis based upon limits imposed by programmers and designers. What machines and technology cannot always account for, is human nature (although our programmers and designers are pretty terrific and "near perfect" at accounting for that to the best of their ability).

The military expression is "boots on the ground"; human beings in positions where and when needed to confirm data and provide the "human nature data" that machines and technology must've missed or misinterpreted. A unique human perspective that can color the raw data gathered by all other means and add the missing component(s) (the emotion and the "will" of the people to succeed or to fail).

In the 1960s and 70s, the Japanese were emerging as a manufacturing marvel. With limited resources available technologically, the Japanese businesses and the Japanese government reached out to the people for assistance. With money tight for everyone, businesses and government encouraged the Japanese people to take vacations as needed, but to travel to places that other family members had not gone to before.

They also encouraged everyone to take as many pictures as humanly possible and practical, and then to share them with "everyone at home" (family, friends, employer, government). It was a stroke of genius that was responsible for launching Japanese business into the outer limits of technological advancement. Millions and millions of man hours were spent sucking every ounce of useful intelligence out of photos.

As a result, products and services that had been successful elsewhere, were copied, then redesigned and made more efficiently. Businesses rewarded employees that were loyal to them with lifetime employment for them and their families. As a result of that, families / employees wanted to be of even greater assistance in providing more timely, accurate and detailed intelligence.

The rest is history; "made in Japan" assures consumers around the globe the product is 1st rate (tell me, do you doubt

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