Intelligence Secrecy and Transparency: Finding the Proper Balance from the War of Independence to the War on Terror (Strategic Insights, Volume 6, Issue 3, May 2007)
Abstract
The issues of the U.S. intelligence community's (IC) accountability, transparency, and effectiveness have taken on increased importance following a number of recent failures and an increasingly ominous global security environment. The veil of secrecy covering the nation's intelligence activities will have to be pulled back a bit, for a selected group of trusted legislators, judges, and media personnel, to reassure an anxious American public that the IC is focused on the right enemy, has the appropriate resources, and is not trampling the civil liberties of law-abiding citizens as they conduct their important work. Besides the considerable financial costs, the political costs of the American public losing confidence in the competence and professionalism of its intelligence services can have a devastating impact on the morale of IC's estimated 100,000 employees. Many have already left government service for more lucrative, and safer, careers in the private sector. Yet the challenge remains for the executive and legislative branches to develop an effective intelligence system that can anticipate threats, identify opportunities, and protect civil liberties. Since those early days of executive and congressional intelligence cooperation in the War of Independence, the record of effective congressional oversight of the U.S. IC has been brief and uneven at best. Partisan squabbles have seriously hamstrung congressional oversight since the end of the Cold War. Yet cooperation between the executive and legislative branches is possible and remains necessary if we are to build and maintain the intelligence capabilities this nation desperately needs and deserves.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA484534
Entities
People
- Timothy J. Doorey
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School