ABSTRACT
By taking a strategist’s view of intelligence failure and surprise attack, however, this volume depicts these phenomena in a different context. This strategic per - spective emerges in the previous chapters in three ways. First, it suggests that intelligence failure and surprise attack are best understood as a phenomenon that manifests in a specific strategic setting in which the structure of a conflict produces fundamentally different perspectives on what can be achieved in war. Second, it depicts intelligence failure and surprise as a product of competing strategies, one intended to deter war, the other intended to circumvent deterrence. Third, it offers strategies that could mitigate the occurrence of intelligence failure, strategic surprise and the failure of deterrence. The remainder of the conclusion will explore each of these points in turn.
