Review of Enemies of Intelligence
For those happening back by these parts and with interest, I reviewed Richard Betts' recent book on intelligence in the Fall 2007 issue of the Cato Journal. I didn't have the space to get into the main area of disagreement with the book--what I think is Professor Betts' undue faith that intelligence gathered by the federal government on Americans can be effectively cordoned off and would not be abused--but I hope the review is of use regardless. Here's my concluding paragraph:
The question becomes whether the public will blame policymakers for their mishandling of the national security portfolio rather than blaming the intelligence community for their inability to effectively support the policy. Given that the policy community has demonstrated its willingness to shift blame for policy failures onto the intelligence community, and given that the intelligence community has no political voice to rebut these accusations, it is easy to believe that a disproportionate share of the blame will continue to fall at the feet of the intelligence community. With such a political backdrop, and with the community struggling to adapt to recent reforms and simultaneously fighting enemies outside, innocent, and inherent, it should not be surprising if the intelligence process continues to produce results that fall well short of expectations.
