Our vast and powerful Department of Defense is focused on the war in Afghanistan. As of President Obama's West Point Speech, it has become the main war effort. Signs began to appear though, that the National Security Agency (NSA) was falling prey to some of the common cognitive biases that we all fall prey to. Research into past conflicts revealed that in fact the executive branch's very set up incline it to succumb to these biases, unknowingly. This paper explores those cognitive biases, the results from the past and the potential areas where the NSA is vulnerable to these cognitive biases. The research consisted mainly of psychology articles and manuals, history books and papers and newspapers and articles on Afghanistan today. It showed that we do have vulnerabilities, and it recommends some potential ways ahead to make sure that our decisions in Afghanistan are based on sound reason, and not unconscious mental 'shortcuts.'This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
