School of intelligence

School of intelligence

Two schools of intelligence will be established in Indonesia. Teachers and instructors reportedly will come from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Russian KGB.

One intelligence agent in the right spot is as good as 20,000 soldiers on the battlefield, said Napoleon Bonaparte. We do not know if President Megawati Soekarnoputri was aware of Napoleon's statement when she officiated over the establishment of the schools in Batam.

The opening of the schools of intelligence should be applauded, as the renowned University of Indonesian and Bandung Institute of Technology support the schools.

It is interesting to note statements by the deputy head of the State Intelligence Body, As'at, who said instructors and teachers would come from the CIA and the KGB. We query the reputation of both the CIA and the KGB, as we learn that the CIA has made several blunders, including its information on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and the fact that the KGB's reputation in the international world is not very good.

Strategic intelligence synthesizes information, especially related to politics, the economy, technology, military and geography. It can then be expected that the two schools will produce qualified intelligence agents with a great deal of integrity.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta