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(U) Write Right: Loaded Words: Don't Politicize Reports
FROM:
of the Reporting Board (S12R)
Run Date: 12/14/2006
(U//FOUO) "A known U.S. dissident" ... "a U.S. extremist" ... "a
corrupt local official" ... what's wrong with this picture?
(U//FOUO) Today we tackle the problem of editorializing in SIGINT
reports. Over the last several years, Policy Services and the
Reporting Board have struggled to convey to zealous reporters who
are being asked to do more assessment reporting and to include
more analytic comment and validation statements that this does
not mean inserting loaded adjectives into the text. For maximum
understanding, we must use real-world examples that cannot be
completely disguised, so we ask our readers to try not to take
offense; be assured that these examples have generally been
discussed with the production centers and appropriate wording has
been worked out, always in a spirit of cooperation.
(C//SI) First of all, any such descriptions, if they need to be
included, must be worded in such a way that it is quite clear
whether they are a part of the SIGINT (e.g. if one of the
communicants called someone "a corrupt law enforcement
official"), or not. If, for instance, a report describes a political
rivalry, a sentence such as "the minister expressed the view that
his opponent was not only unpopular but insane" could be perfectly
appropriate. If, however, the sentence were to read, "The minister,
who is known for his corruption, expressed the view ..." this would
be inappropriate. A source for an assertion of an official's
corruption, such as bribe-taking, for instance, must be found and
cited, possibly as a footnote ("See 3/OO/12345-06, 252359Z Dec
06" for information on the bribery") or "Collateral (SECRET)
indicates that this minister is known to accept bribes," so that our
customers will know what evidence is being advanced for the
judgment. We hope this explanation disposes of the justification
often advanced: "But that's what the traffic said!"
(U//FOUO) Furthermore, such a judgment on the part of an
analyst, if it were included in a product report, would amount to a
declaration by NSA that this was the case, and is a serious matter.
There are two issues here: we must not put DIRNSA in the
position of having made such a judgment. It is also inappropriate,
to say the least, to describe a U.S. person in such a way. Do you
know how hard it is even to have a U.S. person declared an agent
of a foreign power? The U.S. Attorney General is the only one
empowered to make that designation.
(S//SI//REL) Another argument we often hear is, "But we work in
Crime & Narcotics so we know these guys are criminals" or "We
work in Counterterrorism, so by definition all our targets are
terrorists." This too is faulty reasoning. Our job is to report what is
known or can be determined from the intelligence we gather. We
reiterate Colin Powell's dictum " Tell me what you know, tell me
what you don't know, tell me what you think; always distinguish
which is which. "
SERIES:
(U) Write Right '06
1. Write Right : Grab
Bag
2. Write Right :
Frequently Asked
Question: Where Do
I Go for Help With
USSID SP0018
Issues?
3. Write Right : The
Style Manual vs.
USSID 300 -- er,
USSID CR1400
4. Write Right : The
Paperless Society
5. Write Right : Is That
Collateral, or Is It a
Comment?
6. Write Right : What's
a URS Center?
7. Write Right : Caveat
Scrutator (Or, 'But I
Saw It on the
Internet!')
8. Write Right : Seven
Things Not To Do in a
SIGINT Report
9. Write Right :
Breaking an Old
Reporter's Heart
10. Write Right : Where
Does It Say I Can't?
11. Write Right : Urban
Myths of SIGINT: 'I
Can Just Mark It
ORCON'
12. Write Right : Loaded
Words: Don't
Politicize Reports
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108