ABSTRACT
Governments' and peoples' views of intelligence will be permanently affected by the events of 11 September 2001. There will be post-mortems on them as an ‘intelligence failure’. One outcome may be to question the value of the investment in national intelligence — what use is it, if it failed on something as devastating as this? — but the more likely result will be enhanced status and a reorientation of priorities. International terrorism has been among the highest priority targets for some years, but this threat will now transcend all others. At one time, ‘defence of the home base’ was one criterion among British requirements and priorities in the quite different context of the Cold War, but it has now acquired a fresh and immediate significance. Intelligence will still be required to support government on a wide range of subjects, but ‘national security’ will be reaffirmed as the link between the core requirements. Intelligence will now have a special status among them as a principal defence against mass murder.
