| ID | 100933 |
| Title Proper | Missing the wake-up call |
| Other Title Information | why intelligence failures rarely inspire improved performance |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Dahl, Erik J |
| Publication | 2010. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | After major intelligence failures it is often asked why intelligence and security officials failed to heed the many 'wake-up calls' that had been provided by earlier failures and surprises. This article addresses this question by examining intelligence failures as 'focusing events', which is a concept used in the literature on government policy making to explain how disasters and crises can stimulate policy change and help organizations and decision-makers learn. It argues that in order for an intelligence failure such as a major terrorist attack to inspire improved intelligence performance - to be a true wake-up call - that failure must not only act as a focusing event to bring more attention to the threat, but it must also lead to increased intelligence collection and greater receptivity toward intelligence on the part of decision-makers. |
| `In' analytical Note | Intelligence and National Security Vol. 25, No. 6; Dec 2010: p.778 - 799 |
| Journal Source | Intelligence and National Security Vol. 25, No. 6; Dec 2010: p.778 - 799 |
| Key Words | Wake - up Call ; Intelligence Failures ; Terrorist Attack ; Intelligence |