don't know and those that know don't talk. Not getting into a pithing match with you Blaise. We'll agree about some things and disagree about others. The rules of engagement in intel are simple. If someone's tasked with say, North Korea, he won't say boo about it. But that doesn't mean he can't talk or speculate about Kuwait. Is he privy to information not publicly available about Kuwait? Perhaps, but he can also speculate based on no more information than is available to the public at large . The difference of course being that he's better trained on what to look for than the public at large. And that's all I have to say about it. If you want to dispute a SINGLE point I've made above do so, otherwise leave the playgrounds to the children. That's good. Such games are for ninnies. Everyone has a role. High or low or in-between, everyone relies on other people doing their damned jobs. I'd confine the use of ROE to a rules framework for how politicians and military find common and legally defensible ground. Contrary to Hollywood stereotypes and Tom Clancy bullshit, not even the president can do everything he wants, hence the need for asshole lawyer types like John Yoo to invent excuses for them. As for Better Trained, ecch, Sun Tzu says nobody makes headway on enemy ground without a local guide: the best intelligence operations build up local networks. They, not the operators, know what's important. Missionaries' kids end