A Review of Recent Intelligence Literature

With the fight against international terrorism and continuing military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, intelligence remains crucial for addressing threats to national and international security. Three recent books, written by a former spy, an academic, and a lawyer, each present a distinct aspect of the current intelligence debate. James Olson, author of Fair Play: the Moral Dilemmas of Spying, provides a practitioner's view of ethics in intelligence operations. The other books examine the recent debate on intelligence reform. Academician Richard Betts provides a historical and analytical context for reform in Enemies of Intelligence: Knowledge and Power in American National Security. Richard Posner, a top legal mind, analyzes legislation for intelligence reform in Uncertain Shield: The U.S. Intelligence System in the Throes of Reform.

Fair Play

Abu Ghraib, wiretapping, and alleged renditions of terrorists have kept the ethics of war and intelligence collection prominently in the news, and have raised a public debate on acceptable methods of combating threats to US national security. What are we, the American public, willing to allow our government to do in order to protect us? What ethical lines may not be crossed? In Fair Play, James Olson, a former CIA officer who served in the CIA Directorate of Operations, raises these questions and more about what is and is not ethical behavior in the conduct of intelligence operations.

Olson notes that his book intends to stir debate. To this end, Olson refrains from presenting definitive answers and instead highlights the need for discussion. Olson suggests that clearer ethical guidelines are needed for intelligence work. He suggests that more detailed guidelines are required to protect officers and agents from actions—deliberate or inadvertent—that will invite public condemnation of the intelligence community.

Olson begins by providing an overview of ethical theorists familiar to most students of political theory, and proceeds to lay out fifty intelligence operation case studies. These case studies involve tactics such as torture, seduction, assassination and bribery. For each, the author presents viewpoints from academics, authors, and practitioners, followed by his personal view and a note on historical context. The responses to each scenario focus not only on the ethics of each particular situation, but also on the operational practicality, and the scale of potential damage to future intelligence operations. In some cases respondents note that the risks outweigh the benefits, even aside from ethical considerations. Although the unique structure may jar some readers, Fair Play is thought-provoking, and the case studies are sure to spark a variety of interesting dinner debates.

Olson's highly readable book benefits from the experience he has acquired over a lengthy CIA career. His anecdotes and practical suggestions lend substance to his ethical queries, bringing theory to practice. His perspective also gives the book a flavor of intelligence community culture that is sure to pique the interest of readers outside the field.

Enemies of Intelligence

In Enemies of Intelligence, Richard Betts surveys the intelligence world and addresses the calls for reform that arose in the wake of the intelligence failures related to the September 11 attacks and the war in Iraq. Betts is a director of the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University and is the author of multiple books on national security and foreign policy. Betts brings a broad perspective to the recent move for reform, and highlights the need to balance the many competing pressures for accurate and useful intelligence.

Betts lays out a series of inherent obstacles to the effective collection, analysis and communication of intelligence to government decision makers. He notes that challenges arise both within the process and from outside actors, and many of these challenges cannot be eliminated by...