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CIA Working on Anti-Terrorist Computer Simulation
Hat tip: Drudge. Edited for brevity.The CIA is set to spend several million dollars to develop a video game aimed at helping its analysts think like terrorists, The Washington Times has learned. The agencyâs Counter Terrorist Center, or CTC, is working with the Los Angeles-based Institute for Creative Technologies on a project designed to help its analysts, "think outside the box," a CIA spokesman said. The project is close to approval, but officials wouldnât comment on the exact cost of the program. The institute, part of the University of Southern California, works with Hollywood movie and video game specialists. I remember reading years ago about some Marine unit on embassy duty modifying "Doom" by creating a custom WAD (map file) representing their embassy and modifying weapon effects. They would then get fireteam members to game co-operatively on their LAN. Iâm sure the simulations have gotten much better since then! Disclosure of the CIA video game project follows the Pentagonâs recent cancellation of a plan for an online gambling parlor designed to predict a Middle East terrorist attack. The Pentagonâs gambling scheme led to the resignation of retired Navy Vice Adm. John Poindexter, head of the Total Information Awareness data-mining counterterrorism program. A military official said the CIA video game is "a ridiculous and absurd scheme that makes Poindexterâs project look good in comparison." A second critic of the program said: "These absurd ideas about countering terrorism suggest that the war on terrorism has been a failure, that terrorists are still ahead and that the CTC does not know what it is doing. The key issue here is the CTC misspending funds on silly, low-priority projects, exactly the kind of thing that forced Admiral Poindexter to resign." WTF? Does this "second critic" think we should just sit back on our laurels and declare victory? Does he think the terrorists are too stupid to change tactics and we should stop trying to anticipate what theyâll do next? CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield defended the video project and called it an "innovative approach" to counterterrorism. The game will select a scenario that could involve analysts playing terrorist-cell leaders or members, a terrorist "money mover" or a facilitator, he said. "For out-of-the-box thinking, we are reaching out to academics, think tanks and external research institutes that are critical in the fight against terrorism," Mr. Mansfield said. "If it will help us to prevent terrorist attacks, it is worthwhile." A CIA analyst playing the game also could be placed in the role of CIA analyst or operations officer, a U.S. Customs agent or even a cooperative or hostile neighbor living next to a terrorist. "Analysts would have to think and act inside the character they choose or are assigned," Mr. Mansfield said. The goal, he said, is for "our analysts to become accustomed to looking at the world from the perspective of the terrorists we are chasing." Iâm curious how open this game will be, because most computer systems are pretty inflexible and terrorism is, like hacking, looking to exploit the loopholes and work outside the system. If not properly designed, the simulation could actually restrict their thinking rather than broaden it. Posted by: Dar 2003-09-29 |
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