ABSTRACT
The inability to detect the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, before the fact and the flawed national intelligence estimate regarding Iraq’s supposed 2003 possession of weapons of mass destruction are widely considered intelligence failures. Economic and financial characteristics are salient aspects of intelligence with respect to the crafting of national policy and strategy over time. Economic intelligence and financial intelligence may be enhanced through the use of political intelligence. Most agencies employ some version of the “intelligence cycle.” The intelligence cycle is a process that specifies all aspects of how information is turned into intelligence and provided to those who need it for a specific purpose. Intelligence does not just support the economic or political decision-maker; it is of critical importance to the military as well. By the late nineteenth century, it had become clear to the military that it needed to remain abreast of technological advancements by other armies and navies.
