Intelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq

This policy brief discusses the interplay between intelligence and the policymakers who form government policy. After reviewing the issue of intelligence failure, the author argues that even if a perfect intelligence report could be produced, appropriate policy still depends on the policy maker's appreciation of that intelligence. In the US, intelligence-policy relations suffered in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the atmosphere has improved somewhat over the past few years, but mutual suspicion and doubt still lingers. The author contends that as in past cases of politicization, it will take a long time to return relations to a state of normal friction.

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