Customer Reviews

Fixing the Spy Machine: Preparing American Intelligence for the Twenty-First Century

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Students of intelligence have been blessed this year with the publication of two outstanding books on American intelligence: Mark Lowenthal's "Intelligence" and Arthur Hulnick's "Fixing the Spy Machine."

Hulnick, a retired intelligence officer and former "CIA Officer in Residence" at Boston University and one of the Agency's first public spokesmen, provides a stimulating overview of the major problems facing the US intelligence community. It is a particularly useful book for those who seek a professional's critical view on issues ranging from the need for better recruitment to improved coordination between civilian and military clandestine activities.

Although Hulnick clearly has considerable sympathy for the needs of the intelligence community, this is by no means an uncritical whitewash. On the contrary, it is a thoughtful probing of present and future problems facing US intelligence and policy makers.

I would rate this book as one of a handful any serious student of US intelligence should read and own --- to come back to often as a reference volume.

This is an excellent book handicapped by a rather silly title. The author of the book is Arthur Hulnick who after seven years with navel Intelligence had a successful career as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He has written a very thoughtful and accurate description of the U.S. Intelligence System and the processes of intelligence production. Of course the book tends to be somewhat CIA centric since Hulnick was a CIA employee, but the book still covers the entire system quit well. Although published in 1999, his book has as much relevance today as it did when it was published.

Hulnick provides a very good, if general, account of the processes associated with intelligence analysis and clearly knows what he is talking about. He is also one of the few writers on intelligence to address the issue that the CIA and other intelligence agencies tend to have very poor management and lack management training programs. Although Hulnick devotes some discussion to intelligence reform, the most valuable contribution of his book is his candid discussions of how the U.S. Intelligence System actually works as seen from the viewpoint of someone who was immersed in that system. His careful discussions and observations make good reading for both intelligence professionals and for folks who just wish to know what intelligence is all about. This book would be a good companion to "Secret Agencies" by Loch K. Johnson and "Intelligence from Secrets to Policy" by Mark M. Lowenthal (both available at Amazon.com).

In reading this book this reviewer noted a certain ambiguity that is common to intelligence professionals of long service in the way Hulnick discussed the intelligence system. On the one hand he is clearly proud of the analytic work he and his colleagues performed and of the very real successes of U.S. Intelligence Community; on the other hand he is clearly dismayed by the numerous and egregious failures of a dysfunctional community with a long history of chronic mismanagement.

Excellent analysis of the problems that have plagued the US intelligence system with cogent policy recommendations. Its criticism of the undue reliance placed on technical collection over analysis and human resources was timely advice that was unfortunately not followed.

This book has two good features-the author really does understand the personnel issues, and hence one can read between the lines for added value; and the book is as good an "insider" tour of the waterfront as one could ask for. How the book treats the CIA-FBI relationship, for example, is probably representative of how most CIA insiders feel. The book does not reflect a deep understanding of open sources and tends to accept the common wisdom across the intelligence bureaucracy, that all is "generally okay" and just a bit of change on the margin is necessary. In this respect, it is a good benchmark against which the more daring reformist books may be measured.