MISSION....

The mission of the WBIL project is to collect, research and catalogue open source information documents in support of validated intelligence community and DoD requirements. This includes OSINT research and translation taksing as mission requirements dictate. The WBIL is a "virtual research library" built upon the basic information requirements of the IC and military planners. The WBIL constitutes the central data base resource under the FMSO's Open Source Information System (OSIS).^[2]
Since the WBIL's 1997 inception as a pilot project focused on Africa, it has grown extensively to include authoritative Open Source materials for selected countries worldwide as well as a broad range of transnational security topics. In the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, materials focusing on post-attack information requirements have been intensively added.^[3]
The intent of the WBIL is to provide analysts with selected "best sources" of information as chosen and collected by regional and functional specialists in accordance with stated IC requirements. This material seeks to answer basic questions about the military, political, economic, and infrastructure dimensions of a country, and focuses on emerging threat issues falling under six categories:

• Homeland Security
• Terrorism
• Information Operations and Warfare
• Drugs, Arms, and Alien Trafficking
• Foreign Instability
• Proliferation ^[4]