1. Mything the Point: What's Wrong with the Conventional Wisdom about the C.I.A.
- Author
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Prillaman, William C and Dempsey, Michael P
- Subjects
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GOVERNMENT agencies , *MILITARY intelligence , *INTELLIGENCE service , *INTELLIGENCE officers , *MILITARY policy - Abstract
This article examines seven myths about the Central Intelligence Agency. These misperceptions persist because of an inadequate understanding of the relationship between intelligence and policy, outdated stereotypes that ignore recent reforms,and the politics that accompany delivering bad news to senior officials. Scholars and intelligence officers looking to advance the debate on intelligence issues could usefully focus their research on several core dynamics: sharpening the distinction between intelligence failures and policy failures; deconstructing intelligence successes to determine whether those 'best practices' can be replicated elsewhere; and monitoring the risks when an apolitical intelligence agency closely interacts with the policy community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
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