Openness: A Viable Strategy for U.S. Intelligence?
Abstract
The former Director of the CIA, Robert M. Gates, announced a number of changes for the intelligence community in early 1992. Part of the new strategy was greater openness by the CIA in dealing with the public to gain better accountability. Since I agreed with Mr. Gates assessment that openness for intelligence is an oxymoron--at least on the surface--I decided to evaluate the specific proposals to try and determine if the strategy would work. I discovered that openness as a strategy has a great deal of potential for the intelligence community. Several of the initiatives proposed are steps in the right direction and recognize that recent changes in the world dictate changes in the intelligence community. I also found that the strategy of openness places too much reliance on historical records to accomplish its stated goals. I have recommended in my paper that the focus shift to the future, that the intelligence community place increased emphasis on the economic challenges facing the United States, and that proposed initiatives he carried farther than presently intended. openness is an idea whose time has come. It remains to be seen how far the intelligence community will allow openness to go.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA276811
Entities
People
- Bill R. Moore
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy