Is the Problem Domestic Intelligence Collection or Analysis?
Last July, John Hamre and I and five other colleagues collaborated on an article published in The Economist and entitled “America Needs More Spies” (July 10th, 2003). It focuses on the critical requirement to improve the collection of intelligence domestically. We asserted that the harsh facts of the 9/11 tragedy are that “secret members of a conspiratorial foreign organization operated clandestinely abroad and in this country for almost a decade before September 11th to plan, lay the groundwork for and successfully carry out a surprise attack on the United States. The activity was conducted by the leadership in Afghanistan, by plotters in the shadow of a Hamburg mosque, by operational travelers from abroad and by an established al-Qaida support structure based in this country.” The bulk of the criticism of the national security establishment’s performance has centered on a failure “to connect the dots.” While I concede a lack of analysis and interagency communication might have a cont
