Intelligence academies
The government has announced it will shortly set up two intelligence academies, one in Bogor, West Java, and the other in Batam, Riau, apparently to meet an urgent demand for more effective intelligence gathering. Failure to get timely information of troop movements or the weaponry of the enemy could lead to disastrous consequences, as we have witnessed during the U.S.-Iraqi campaign.
Some have blamed the recent bomb blast at the Indonesian legislature on the failure of the secret service to detect any suspicious movements by the perpetrators, who could have slipped between metal detectors and planted their bomb unnoticed.
From the Aceh campaign at restoring the authority of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, both parties are engaged in information gathering activities involving the intelligence services. The Army has for some time been at a loss to locate the kidnapped Indonesian journalist from RCTI television station, a fact that somehow has hampered the security operations.
Intelligence missions are superhumanly difficult as they must be kept secret all the time until the missions are completed. Those chosen to enter the intelligence academies must be citizens endowed with superhuman qualities, who possess special talents and courage more than ordinary people and are gifted with intuition in times of crisis.
It may be safe to say that intelligence agents must be born rather than made at a training center. Apart from the pure military training, those selected to enter these "spy schools" must have the capacity to master many international languages such as English, French, Spanish, Arabic and some local dialects.
The bankruptcy shadow which has fallen over the ambitious PT Dirgantara Indonesia aircraft manufacturing plant in Bandung, can be attributed to the failure of long-term business intelligence gathering by those responsible for projects.
The soon to be opened intelligence gathering institutions will be coordinated by the present State Intelligence Body chief, Army Gen. Hendroprijono.
I am sure that he will have a lot of secret intelligence weapons to teach the new generation of Indonesian spies. I wish Hendroprijono and the new generation of intelligence agents all the success!
GANDHI SUKARDI, Jakarta