Intelligence for an age of terror

"During the Cold War, U.S. intelligence was concerned with states; non-state actors such as terrorists were secondary. Now, the priorities are reversed, thus requiring the cooperation of intelligence, military, and law enforcement to communicate and address the challenge of dealing with individuals and terrorist organizations rather than states. But as intelligence gathering changes with new technology and powers, controversial questions arise over the transparency we should and can expect from our governments and militaries as they seek to anticipate the actions of terrorists and terror cells both at home and abroad." "Intelligence for an Age of Terror outlines the extent of the challenges across both foreign and domestic data collection and analysis, presenting the issues of value that arise as new targets require collection of more information at home."--Jacket

During the Cold War, U.S. intelligence was concerned primarily with states; non-state actors like terrorists were secondary. Now the priorities are reversed and the challenge is enormous. States had an address, and they were hierarchical and bureaucratic. They thus came with some 'story'. Terrorists do not. States were 'over there', but terrorists are there and here. They thus put pressure on intelligence at home, not just abroad. The strength of this book is that it underscores the extent of the change and ranges broadly across data collection and analysis, foreign and domestic, as well as presenting the issues of value that arise as new targets require collecting more information at home