Restructuring government intelligence programs: A few good suggestions

In recent times, the various government intelligence agencies have come under heavy scrutiny and criticisms. Much of the ruckus started with the failure of the agencies to thwart the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. While the events of 9/11 were magnificent and brought to light shortcomings of the various U.S. intelligence agencies, it is not the first time that the intelligence community failed in its mission. In the recent past, the U.S. intelligence community failed to see signs of the impending collapse of the USSR, or the nuclear tests conducted by India, or the attacks on the USS Cole, or the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Centers. The credibility of a nation depends heavily on the information it presents to the world; much of this information, especially that of high value, arises out of the intelligence community. It is hence vital to a country, more so in the case of a superpower like the United States, to have an optimal intelligence community that is capable of achieving goals in an effective and efficient manner. My goal in this paper is to suggest some recommendations regarding how we might better restructure the intelligence community.