The Intelligence Club: A Comparative Look at Five Eyes

The goal of intelligence is to evaluate data and attempt to reduce uncertainty. Successful intelligence practices try to reduce apparent ambiguity through accurate estimates and support the implementation of successful policy. The ability of intelligence communities to react to new threats and adapt and focus on relevant issues quickly and efficiently is essential for modern intelligence. A greater understanding of what comprises (or what is perceived as) an intelligence failure is important in avoiding methods that don’t work; similarly, having an awareness of other states’ intelligence efforts and observing different (and possibly more successful) approaches can help mitigate sedentary, too-conservative thinking. A group which has been extraordinarily successful, by any subjective or objective standard, has been the Five Eyes. Five Eyes is a surveillance arrangement comprised of the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA), the United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSEC), and New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB). A comparative look at Five Eyes’ intelligence efforts and agencies provides an opportunity to examine what may contribute to common themes of intelligence success.