by John M. Deutch and Jeffrey H. Smith

About the authors: John M. Deutch, former director of central intelligence, is a professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jeffrey H. Smith, former Central Intelligence Agency general counsel, is a partner in a Washington, D.C., law firm.

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon [on September 11, 2001], understandably provoked two reactions—that this was the worst intelligence failure in recent U.S. history and that U.S. intelligence gathering and analysis must be vastly improved. Many proposals have been put forward to improve U.S. intelligence capabilities. In order to sort those that make sense from those that do not, it is important first to understand the constraints the intelligence community has inherited.

The Traditional Framework