Intel change

Measuring Change at the CIA

This time next year, a new president will be reviewing recommendations from a transition team, and likely also the views of a new director or director-designate, on the state of affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency — including the impact of a major reorganization initiated by the agency’s current director, John Brennan. The new national security team will not lack for advice on this topic from serving officers, CIA alumni, congressional overseers, and the burgeoning intelligence commentariat. This advice will be well-intentioned in the main, but not universally well-informed. There is considerable skepticism in these communities that the changes underway will ultimately produce a more effective CIA. Such skepticism is rooted in a strong (and well-exercised) aversion to change at Langley, nostalgia for tradition-rich institutions that were unceremoniously dismembered, and sincere concern that some of the changes may actually hinder, rather than enhance, the agency’s ability to deliver “timely, accurate, and insightful” intelligence to policymakers.