
Fixing Intelligence
For a More Secure America
William E. Odom(Author)
Yale University Press
2nd Edition
Will be published approx. on 18. May 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-300-10304-5 (ISBN)
Description
Security depends on intelligence. A leading authority discusses basic problems in American intelligence and how to fix them
William E. Odom is the highest-ranking member of the United States Intelligence community ever to write a book outlining fundamental restructuring of this vast network of agencies, technology, and human agents. In the wake of 9/11, Odom has revised and updated a powerful critique he wrote several years ago for staffs of the U.S. congressional committee overseeing the vast American intelligence bureaucracy. His recommendations for revamping this essential component of American security are now available for general readers as well as for policymakers.
While giving an unmatched overview of the world of U.S. intelligence, Odom persuasively shows that the failure of American intelligence on 9/11 had much to do with the complex bureaucratic relationships existing among the various components of the Intelligence Community. The sustained fragmentation within the Intelligence Community since World War II is part of the story; the blurring of security and intelligence duties is another. Odom describes the various components of American intelligence in order to give readers an understanding of how complex they are and what can be done to make them more effective in providing timely intelligence and more efficient in using their large budgets. He shows definitively that they cannot be remedied with quick fixes but require deep study of the entire bureaucracy and the commitment of the U.S. government to implement the necessary reforms.
William E. Odom is the highest-ranking member of the United States Intelligence community ever to write a book outlining fundamental restructuring of this vast network of agencies, technology, and human agents. In the wake of 9/11, Odom has revised and updated a powerful critique he wrote several years ago for staffs of the U.S. congressional committee overseeing the vast American intelligence bureaucracy. His recommendations for revamping this essential component of American security are now available for general readers as well as for policymakers.
While giving an unmatched overview of the world of U.S. intelligence, Odom persuasively shows that the failure of American intelligence on 9/11 had much to do with the complex bureaucratic relationships existing among the various components of the Intelligence Community. The sustained fragmentation within the Intelligence Community since World War II is part of the story; the blurring of security and intelligence duties is another. Odom describes the various components of American intelligence in order to give readers an understanding of how complex they are and what can be done to make them more effective in providing timely intelligence and more efficient in using their large budgets. He shows definitively that they cannot be remedied with quick fixes but require deep study of the entire bureaucracy and the commitment of the U.S. government to implement the necessary reforms.
More details
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
213 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-10304-5 (9780300103045)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
William E. Odom, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a professor (adjunct) at Yale University, is also the author of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, published by Yale University Press. General Odom's former positions include director of the National Security Agency and assistant chief of staff for intelligence in the U.S. Army.