# Amusing intelligence glossary from StratFor **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-intelligence-glossary-from-stratfor/754866 "2016-05-15T19:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-intelligence-glossary-from-stratfor/754866/1 "2016-05-15T19:15:17Z")
StratFor is an intelligence company whose network was compromised in 2011. To the best of my knowledge, no wrongdoing was discovered and no serious damage was done. WikiLeaks received many of their documents, and one particularly fascinating document is [this](https://wikileaks.org/IMG/pdf/The_Stratfor_Glossary_of_Useful_Baffling_and_Strange_Intelligence_Terms.pdf), a 20-page glossary of terms used in the company. It’s _hilarious_. Here are some examples: ATF - Alcohol Tobacco and Fire Arms. Rednecks with a license to kill. Never, ever, ever ask for their help on anything. Briefer - The person delivering the Brief. He has the ability to rapidly assimilate complex material, deliver routine news as if it were reports of the second coming, and generate a re-task from the customer, guaranteeing larger contracts… Great briefers are narcissists and must be bitch-slapped regularly. Brief the Times - When the Briefer has obtained zero valuable intelligence from analysis, he finds something in the inside of the morning paper, powers up a view graph, and “Briefs the Times.” Customers are frequently impressed. It’s a hoot. Clancy - Somebody who has read a lot of Tom Clancy novels and thinks he knows the Craft. Total moron. Really dangerous if he is the Customer. Never let a Briefer be a Clancy. Despite the humorous tone, I found this very insightful. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-intelligence-glossary-from-stratfor/754866/2 "2016-05-15T20:00:34Z")
Sounds utterly candid; I wonder how it ever got put down on paper! ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-intelligence-glossary-from-stratfor/754866/3 "2016-05-16T15:49:58Z")
A little bit confused here. I have nothing but contempt for Wikileaks to begin with… But last I checked, Stratfor is _NOT_ an intelligence agency. They are a private company that specializes in journalism with a geopolitical/military focus. What exactly were they trying to prove? What grave social ill did they intend to correct? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-intelligence-glossary-from-stratfor/754866/4 "2016-05-16T16:52:59Z")
Funniest thing I’ve read this year. WGAS about where it came from and why. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-intelligence-glossary-from-stratfor/754866/5 "2016-05-16T18:06:07Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > StratFor is an intelligence company whose network was compromised in 2011. To the best of my knowledge, no wrongdoing was discovered and no serious damage was done. > > WikiLeaks received many of their documents, and one particularly fascinating document is [this](https://wikileaks.org/IMG/pdf/The_Stratfor_Glossary_of_Useful_Baffling_and_Strange_Intelligence_Terms.pdf), a 20-page glossary of terms used in the company. It’s _hilarious_. Here are some examples: > > ATF - Alcohol Tobacco and Fire Arms. Rednecks with a license to kill. Never, ever, ever ask for their help on anything. > > Briefer - The person delivering the Brief. He has the ability to rapidly assimilate complex material, deliver routine news as if it were reports of the second coming, and generate a re-task from the customer, guaranteeing larger contracts… Great briefers are narcissists and must be bitch-slapped regularly. > > Brief the Times - When the Briefer has obtained zero valuable intelligence from analysis, he finds something in the inside of the morning paper, powers up a view graph, and “Briefs the Times.” Customers are frequently impressed. It’s a hoot. > > Clancy - Somebody who has read a lot of Tom Clancy novels and thinks he knows the Craft. Total moron. Really dangerous if he is the Customer. Never let a Briefer be a Clancy. > > Despite the humorous tone, I found this very insightful. Thoughts? Some of this sounds like this book [http://www.amazon.com/Assignment-Pentagon-Insiders-Potomac-Puzzle/dp/0028810171](http://www.amazon.com/Assignment-Pentagon-Insiders-Potomac-Puzzle/dp/0028810171) which I found informative and amusing.