Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, director of intelligence in Afghanistan, confers with his brother Col. Charlie Flynn, left, an aide to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)'Intelligence," Daniel Patrick Moynihan once observed, "is not to be confused with intelligence." To read two recent analyses of U.S. intelligence failures is to be reminded of the truth of that statement, albeit in very different ways.
Exhibit A is last week's unclassified White House memo on the attempted bombing of Flight 253 over the skies of Detroit. Though billed by National Security Adviser Jim Jones as a bombshell in its own right, the memo reads more like the bureaucratic equivalent of the old doctor joke about the operation succeeding and the patient dying. The counterterrorism system, it tells us, works extremely well and the people who staff it are top-notch. No doubt. It just happens that in this one case, this same terrific system failed comprehensively at the most elementary levels.
US general raps intel gathering in Afghanistan -- AFP
US intelligence accused of 'cluelessness' -- Financial Times
Afghanistan Intel Chief’s Critique = Pentagon Pique -- The Danger Room
Mil intel report sign of more defiance by the generals? -- Politico
Pentagon Intelligence Chief Urges Pakistan to Keep Up Pressure on Militants -- Voice of America
How a Plugged-In DC Think Tank Published a General’s Brutal Intel Critique -- The Danger Room
Spies Like Us: Top U.S. Intel Officer Says Spooks Could Learn From Journos -- The Danger Room
The Flynn report (IV): Cordesman's take -- Foreign Policy
American intelligence and fortune-telling -- Reuters opinion
Is Military Intelligence in Afghanistan Broken? -- Max Fisher, The Atlantic
A Bit More on the Flynn Report -- Michael Cohen, Democracy Arsenal
The Flynn report (III): A spy generation gap? -- Foreign Policy