"How many of you collect or analyze intelligence?" asked Thomas Fingar, the nation’s first Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis and Chairman of the National Intelligence Council (2005-08), launching the 2009 Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Lecture Series. We all collect and analyze information.  "That, in a nutshell, is what intelligence is all about," Fingar says, "and why our multi-billion dollar intelligence budget exists – to reduce uncertainty and inform decisions, especially those related to the security of our nation and the safety of our citizens."

Fingar addressed "Myths, Fears, and Expectations" in the first of three Payne lectures. Noting that movies, spy novels, and the news media have shaped perceptions of Intelligence Community capabilities and competence, Fingar said that most of what we know about intelligence is "probably wrong," supplying vivid examples from experience with imagery and signals intelligence. He offered probing examples of fears raised about protection of civil liberties and the right to privacy.  He chronicled the escalating demands on the Intelligence Community as requirements and expectations have "grown exponentially" over the last 20 years.

Two decades ago, intelligence focused on "strategic threats to our survival as a nation," while today’s threats range from terrorism to the global financial crisis, global warming, infectious disease, and energy security.  Fingar focused on the Intelligence Community’s "can-do” attitude, the focal shift from the nation’s security to the safety of individual citizens, and the unrelenting demands of time compression, with a need for speed "compounded by the need for expertise." He concluded with a tribute to the Community’s professionalism and efforts to protect the security of our country and the safety of our people "by reducing uncertainty and providing insight and information to those who make policy decisions."