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Critical thinking is an essential tool in the analytical thought process. In his article Critical Thinking For the Military Professional, Colonel W. Michael Guillot, USAF, focuses on the importance of critical thinking as a required skill for strategic leaders. In our ongoing military operations around the world, this tool is applicable across the spectrum from strategic down to tactical level intelligence analysis.
Critical thinking allows us to constantly question the facts and assumptions we use as well as the intended purpose of our analysis so that we can adapt our analysis to the dynamic environments in which we are operating. It greatly aids us in 'thinking outside the box,' as the currently popular phrase goes.
As an example, in our ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are searching for individuals designated as high value targets. I will refer to them as high value individuals (HVIs). The basic overall intelligence analysis process for finding HVIs varies little from strategic down to tactical level, but the actual means of locating HVIs is never exactly the same because they are unique individuals. The first thing the Intelligence Analyst needs is command guidance on the purpose of locating the individual. Does the command want to capture the HVI, talk to the HVI or, perhaps, attempt to influence the HVI through political, social, or economic means? The commander's intent in locating the HVI will focus the intelligence analysis.
Next comes the hard part for Intelligence Analysts...