Us Intelligence at the Crossroads

These 18 essays are generated by a working group on intelligence reform established in 1992 by the Consortium for the Study of Intelligence, a specialists' forum. Ranging widely, the pieces collectively examine the intelligence community's basic roles, missions and methods of operation. They also propose new ways of thinking about intelligence and how it can better serve the needs of national security. Robert Kohler inquires into the importance of satellite reconnaissance; Roy Godson argues that covert action is likely to remain a controversial instrument of government policy; Henry Rowen introduces the concept of a ``market'' for intelligence; Randall Fort discusses clandestine acquisition of economic, financial and trade information by official intelligence methods and asks whether it should be shared with the private sector. By high-ranking and former intelligence officials and scholars, these essays will be of more interest to specialists than to general readers. (Aug.)