Three Levels of Intelligence Reporting for Three Very Different Audiences
Intelligence reporting is not one-size-fits-all. A report designed for the National Security Council looks nothing like one written for a patrol leader in the field, and both look nothing like the product supporting a regional campaign planner. Understanding the three tiers -- strategic, operational, and tactical -- is fundamental to writing analysis that actually reaches the right audience in the right format at the right time.
Sending a tactical report to a strategic consumer is like texting your boss a play-by-play of your lunch. They just wanted to know if the deal closed.
TL;DR: Strategic analysts worry about the forest. Operational analysts worry about the specific grove of trees. Tactical analysts worry about whether there's someone behind that tree right there. All three are correct -- they just have very different lunch conversations.
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