Intelligence and National Security: The Secret World of Spies Book

The second edition of Johnson and Wirtz's anthology provides a comprehensive set of readings in the field of intelligence studies. The book spans a wide range of topics, from how the United States gathers and interprets information collected around the world to comparisons of the American intelligence system with the secret agencies of other nations.

The text addresses a wide range of material including: (1) the meaning of strategic intelligence; (2) methods of intelligence collection; (3) intelligence analysis; (4) the danger of intelligence politicization; (5) relationships between intelligence officers and the policymakers they serve; (6) covert action; (7) counterintelligence; (8) accountability and civil liberties; (9) the implications of the major intelligence failures in 2001 and 2002 regarding, respectively, the terrorist attacks against the United States and the faulty estimates about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and (10) intelligence as practiced in other nations.

New to this edition:
* A review of the state of intelligence research literature
* An interview with former CIA director Richard Helms
* The early development of U.S. satellite surveillance
* The role of intelligence leaks in the federal government
* Improving relations between the producers and consumers of intelligence
* The Senate investigation of the Ames spying scandal in the CIA
* NSA warrantless wiretaps
* Intelligence mistakes leading up to the 9/11 attack
* Intelligence failures in the faulty predictions of WMDs in Iraq
* Institutional conflicts that contributed to 9/11 failures
* The British intelligence failures regarding WMDs in Iraq