The people’s security service
The world's first civil society intelligence agency, Open Briefing, has been launched
The world has its ‘first civil society intelligence agency’. That’s how the founders describe Open Briefing, an organisation set up with Quaker support. Open Briefing aims to provide comments and research on intelligence, defence and security. There is likely to be a focus on long-term approaches to the root causes of conflict, rather than military and short-term reactions.
The project’s founder, Chris Abbott, said that Open Briefing will ‘help ordinary people speak truth to power’. He explained that information on defence and security matters is often kept secret from the public, which ‘leaves the process open to political manipulation and creates a public unable to engage properly with these issues or hold policymakers to account’.
He wants the organisation to tackle this problem by keeping NGOs and the public well-informed.
The group will look at issues including resource security, climate change, political violence, nuclear weapons and UK national security. It has been funded by the Marmot Charitable Trust, a Quaker body.
The launch was welcomed by Hannah Brock, of Isle of Wight Meeting, who recently produced a briefing on ‘sustainable security’ for Quaker Peace & Social Witness, the Northern Friends Peace Board and the Oxford Research Group.
She said: ‘It’s important for everyone who is concerned about the way our government deals with global insecurity to be well-informed about the root causes of violent conflict and alternative approaches to it.’
