Stovepiping
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stovepiping is a metaphorical term which recalls a stovepipe's function as a vertical conduit, and refers to the "piping" of raw intelligence data directly to decision makers, bypassing established procedures for review by professional intelligence analysts for validity (a process known as vetting), an important concern since the information may have been presented by a dishonest source with ulterior motives, or may be invalid for myriad other reasons.[1] The risk inherit with stovepiping is that government policy will have been based on faulty intelligence, and thus will be without rational basis (a garbage in, garbage out scenario).
[edit] Stovepiping by the Bush Administration
The Office of Special Plans (OSP), created by the Bush administration, stovepiped raw intelligence related to Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq to high level Bush administration officials. Professional analysts from other departments determined that many of these reports originated with dishonest sources or were untrue for other reasons, and the process of vetting would have prevented their reaching decision makers through normal channels. This stovepiping by the OSP had the effect providing a substantial portion of the untrue allegations that formed the publicly declared justifications for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, such as allegations of collaboration with Al Qaeda and an ongoing program of weapons of mass destruction[2].
[edit] See also
- Institutional knowledge
- System administration
- Office of Special Plans
- Stovepipe system, an unrelated computer science concept
[edit] References
- ^ "The Stovepipe" — Hersh, Seymore,The New Yorker, October 27 2003 issue
- ^ "The Stovepipe" — Hersh, Seymore,The New Yorker, October 27 2003 issue
