Military doctrine and intelligence fusion in the American homeland

Abstract

Although a plethora of research has examined US efforts to combat terrorism both at home and abroad, very few scholars have investigated the unprecedented relationships among US national security institutions and urban law enforcement agencies that have emerged since the events of 9/11. Through evidence culled from semi-structured interviews with 28 security planners in Washington DC and New York City, this article explains how path dependence, isomorphism and diffusion are propagating the application of military doctrine within domestic security initiatives through ‘intelligence fusion’. With particular attention to the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, this investigation builds upon a body of work that has emerged in recent years by charting the institutional and technological architectures that are driving the deployment of paramilitary tactics and surveillance systems in cities.

Keywords:

• intelligence
• military doctrine
• surveillance
• urban security

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the participants consulted during this project, many of who risked disciplinary action by sharing their knowledge and insight. He also thanks the editors from Critical Studies on Terrorism and their anonymous reviewers for helpful feedback on earlier drafts.