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| Danger in 'Fixing' CIA by noteworthy at 1:51 pm EDT, Jun 1, 2005 | |||
Two cliches about our intelligence system are fast becoming dogma. The first is that intelligence failed in the 9/11 and Iraqi WMD cases because the entire intelligence system is "broken." The impression that the intelligence system can be "fixed" leads to overselling intelligence as an element of national defense. The second cliche is that our intelligence services are excessively "risk-averse." If failure were avoided and risk-taking in recruitment and sharing improved the agency's performance, the improvement would be gradual and diffuse, and little or no credit would accrue to the official who had taken the risks. So it is best from a career standpoint to play it safe ... and the drumbeat of criticisms of the intelligence agencies as risk-averse will, ironically, make them play even safer by underscoring the career repercussions of an intelligence failure. Maybe if we made them wear uniforms, they would act more like professional athletes. Instead of agencies, we'd have leagues, with annual drafts, and free agents, and salary caps. Imagine the Ivy League graduate proudly exclaiming to his family: "I got drafted! I made the team!" | |||
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