ABSTRACT
Introduction As Chapter 2 (“History of Intelligence in the United States”) made clear, the evolution of the U.S. intelligence eort has not been a smooth, linear
process. At times, intelligence has been a high priority; at other times, it has remained rmly on the back burner. World War II and the Cold War brought about major changes in the way the government gathered and analyzed information; organizations such as the Oce of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) emerged to meet the needs of a nation that felt threatened by its enemies. e attacks of 9-11 had a similar eect; the government in general and the IC in particular went through a major reorganization. Because the changes have been recent, that reorganization continues to this day. It is not an understatement to say that the evolution of the IC is a “work in progress.” Although the United States has not suered another attack on the scale of 9-11, the challenges of the twenty-rst century-everything from terrorism to economic instability to pandemics-are enormous. Good intelligence plays a key role in meeting those challenges. To do that, however, the community must be situated to meet the threats of tomorrow, not those of yesterday.
