Sec. 426. Intelligence assessment of effects of counterterrorism strikes
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It is the sense of Congress that— the intelligence community is responsible for ensuring that products compliant with analytic tradecraft are available to the operational elements of the Department of Defense; such products must be prepared with the rigor necessary to determine the status of a potential terrorist target, the role of the target, how critical the target is to the operations of a terrorist group, and the effect removing that individual would have on the strategic threat to the United States, United States persons overseas, members of the United States Armed Forces overseas, or facilities of the United States overseas; and the intelligence community is also responsible for assessing the strategic impact of counterterrorism strikes to determine whether the anticipated or desired impact on the terrorist group or network was achieved.
The Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in coordination with the directorates of intelligence of the combatant commands, shall produce an intelligence assessment of the effects of counterterrorism strikes conducted by the Armed Forces on targets outside of areas of active hostilities during the 5-year period preceding the date of the enactment of this Act. The assessment under subsection
(b)shall include the following: With respect to the counterterrorism strikes covered by the assessment— the short- and long-term effects of the strike on the planned external operations of the respective terrorist group, particularly the operations targeting the United States, United States persons overseas, members of the United States Armed Forces overseas, or facilities of the United States overseas; the effects of the strike on the intent of the respective terrorist group to conduct external operations, particularly the operations targeting the United States, United States persons overseas, members of the United States Armed Forces overseas, or facilities of the United States overseas; the effects of the strike on the recruitment of the respective terrorist group; the effects of the strike on the local perception of the respective terrorist group, the host country, and the United States; and the effects of the strike on the capabilities of the host country to conduct operations against the targeted group. An identification of the number and quality of finished intelligence products that assessed the effects that a counterterrorism strike of the United States would have, or did have, against specific terrorist individuals or groups. Recommendations to improve the efficacy, accuracy, and timeliness of intelligence analysis to increase the strategic effect of counterterrorism strikes. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the intelligence assessment under subsection
(b)and the judgments under paragraph (2). The report shall include the following judgments: What percentage of counterterrorism strikes covered by the intelligence assessment under subsection
(b)had a short-term effect on the planned external operations of the respective terrorist group, particularly the operations targeting the United States, United States persons overseas, members of the United States Armed Forces overseas, or facilities of the United States overseas. What percentage of counterterrorism strikes covered by the intelligence assessment under subsection
(b)had a long-term effect on the planned external operations of the respective terrorist group, particularly the operations targeting the United States, United States persons overseas, members of the United States Armed Forces overseas, or facilities of the United States overseas. A qualitative assessment of the effects of the counterterrorism strikes. The report under paragraph
(1)may be submitted in classified form, except that the judgments under paragraph
(2)shall be in unclassified form. In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means the following: The congressional intelligence committees. The congressional defense committees (as defined in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code). The term counterterrorism strike means an air strike conducted by the United States Armed Forces targeting a specific individual that is not a defensive strike conducted to reduce imminent danger to the United States Armed Forces or specifically designated partner forces of the United States. The term external operations , with respect to a terrorist group, means violent or lethal operations conducted outside the country or region of origin of the terrorist group.