Intelligence : From Secrets to Policy - Softcover

Lowenthal, Mark M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1568027591 ISBN 13: 9781568027593

Publisher: Cq Pr, 2003

Synopsis

Spies, bugs, moles, double-agents, drop-offs, covert action. The world of intelligence is filled with intrigue, but at its core, the information-secret or otherwise-is valuable to governments for the power it affords policy makers. With the constant need for background, context, and warning as well as an assessment of risks, benefits, and likely outcomes, the intelligence community plays a crucial role in policy formation. Lowenthal adeptly describes the development of this community while showing students how the various stages of the intelligence process serve an intelligence agenda that has changed dramatically in this post-Cold War, post-9/11 world.

In this thoroughly revised second edition, Lowenthal updates each and every chapter, including new material on the infamous Robert Hanssen and Wen Ho Lee cases. Two new chapters significantly round out coverage: one on intelligence reform and another that takes a comparative look at intelligence in Britain, France, Russia, Israel, and China. This new edition also takes into account the impact and effects the war on terrorism now has on collection, analysis, and counterintelligence, as well as the ethical and moral issues surrounding these tasks.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark M. Lowenthal has twenty-seven years of experience as an intelligence official in the executive and legislative branches of government and in the private sector. He returned to government service in 2002, concurrently performing the duties of the assistant director on central intelligence for analysis and production, and serving as vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council for Evaluation. Dr. Lowenthal is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

Review:

Lowenthal's Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy remains the mainstay in my undergraduate political science course on intelligence and international security. It strikes an impressive balance between breadth and depth, attending to the important conceptual and political themes, while providing cogent accounts of the unique analytical, organizational, and strategic problems of intelligence policy, all of which are supported by illuminating figures and illustrations and vivid historical examples. The suggestions for further readings at the end of the chapters are gold-mine for students looking to go deeper into particular questions or to bolster their research papers, and a useful reference point for instructors as well -- Timothy Crawford Lowenthal's Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, now in its fourth edition, remains the best introduction to the role of the United States intelligence community in the national security policy making process. Popular with academics and practitioners alike, it is the standard text for many university level intelligence and national security courses. Clear, concise, and thoroughly updated to reflect recent changes in the intelligence community, this book demystifies the intelligence process and places it in a contemporary perspective that the general reader also will find informative -- Kenneth R. Dombroski Since 9/11, much attention within the United States and abroad has been focused on the problems within the intelligence community. Lowenthal's book offers a superior framework for understanding the structure of the intelligence community and the challenges it faces. The fourth edition will bring new insights into some of the most current controversies involving the intelligence community and U.S. policymakers--such as the Valerie Plame case and the `Curveball' incident -- Catherine Lotrionte Mark Lowenthal's Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, now in its fourth edition, is the go-to book for the most comprehensive overview on the U.S. intelligence community. Intelligence processes, policy, and organization are clearly and concisely described, providing those who study intelligence with a complete picture of the IC and its relationship with the executive and legislative branches to date in the evolving, dynamic and highly politicized post-9/11 world of intelligence. I highly recommend this book to academics and practitioners alike! It is a great resource -- Michael Bennett

About this edition

• Publisher: Cq Pr
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1568027591
• ISBN 13: 9781568027593
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 274