Has Trust in the U.S. Intelligence Community Eroded? Examining the Relationship Between Policymakers and Intelligence Providers

Abstract

Media reports and articles by policy and U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) professionals over the past several years have suggested that the IC is held in increasingly lower regard by some decisionmakers--and also by some groups in the general citizenry--and that predictions made by some IC professionals have had variable success in influencing decisionmakers over time. We explored whether and to what degree trust in intelligence predictions and national estimates has been degraded over time and what internal and external factors might drive any perceived or real bias, inequity, or change. We also explored any change in or degradation of the relationship between policymakers and the IC over time, mapping the causes, consequences, and historical genesis over multiple presidential administrations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 14, 2024
Accession Number
AD1221343

Entities

People

  • Anthony Vassalo
  • Christopher Dictus
  • Isabelle Nazha
  • Marek N. Posard
  • Richard S. Girven
  • Sina Beaghley
  • Yuliya Shokh

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.