This short commentary analyzes a major report on the U.S. intelligence community that was released in August by Muhammad Khalil al-Hakaymah, a long-time operator in the Egyptian al-Gamaa al-Islamiya.

Al-Hakaymah recently joined Al-Qa'ida and seems to aspire to be its chief intelligence analyst. His report indicates that Al Qa’ida has evolved from studying U.S. security tactics and electoral politics to more sophisticated analyses of U.S. bureaucratic structure and weaknesses. Whereas security planners have tended to think of bureaucratic limitations as internal problems that may limit our ability to detect, prevent, or respond to an attack, we must now consider that Al Qa’ida will actively attempt to exploit these weaknesses.