The tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the false assessment of Saddam Hussein's weapons arsenal were terrible
reminders that good information is essential to national security. These failures convinced the American public
that their intelligence system was broken and prompted a radical reorganization of agencies and personnel, but
as Richard K. Betts argues in this book, critics and politicians have severely underestimated the obstacles to
true reform.
One of the nation's foremost political scientists, Betts draws on three decades of work within the U.S. intelligence
community to illuminate the paradoxes and problems that frustrate the intelligence process. Unlike America's efforts
to improve its defenses against natural disasters, strengthening its strategic assessment capabilities means outwitting
crafty enemies who operate beyond U.S. borders. It also requires looking within to the organizational and political
dynamics of collecting information and determining its implications for policy.
Combining academic research with personal experience, Betts outlines strategies for better intelligence gathering
and assessment. He describes how fixing one malfunction can create another; in what ways expertise can be both
a vital tool and a source of error and misjudgment; the pitfalls of always striving for accuracy in intelligence,
which in some cases can render it worthless; the danger, though unavoidable, of "politicizing" intelligence;
and the issue of secrecy& mdash;when it is excessive, when it is insufficient, and how limiting privacy can
in fact protect civil liberties.
Betts argues that when it comes to intelligence, citizens and politicians should focus less onconsistent solutions
and more on achieving a delicate balance between conflicting requirements. He also emphasizes the substantial success
of the intelligence community, despite its well-publicized blunders, and highlights elements of the intelligence
process that need preservation and protection. Many reformers are quick to respond to scandals and failures without
detailed, historical knowledge of how the system works. Grounding his arguments in extensive theory and policy
analysis, Betts takes a comprehensive and realistic look at how knowledge and power can work together to face the
intelligence challenges of the twenty-first century.