Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security [Hardcover]

Arthur S. Hulnick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275981509 | ISBN-13: 978-0275981501 | Publication Date: August 30, 2004

How can the United States guard against a clever unknown enemy while still preserving the freedoms it holds dear? Hulnick explains the need to revamp U.S. intelligence operations from a system focused on a single Cold War enemy to one offering more flexibility in combating non-state actors (including terrorists, spies, and criminals) like those responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001. Offering possible solutions not to be found in the federal commission's official report, Hulnick's groundbreaking work examines what is really necessary to make intelligence and homeland security more efficient and competent, both at within the United States and abroad.

The U.S. government's progress in establishing a system for homeland security is considerable, yet, besides shifts in alert status, most U.S. residents are unaware of the work being done to keep them safe. Describing the system already in place, Hulnick adds further ideas about what more is needed to protect Americans in the ever-changing world of intelligence. To create a truly valuable program, it is suggested the the United States consider not only new strategies and tactics, but also the need to break down the barriers between intelligence agencies and law enforcement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Art Hulnick is one of the most thoughtful writers and reformers with a focus on the U.S. intelligence community. In this book on intelligence reform, he brings together his insider's experience as a former CIA officer and his more recent years of teaching and research to examine key proposals for improving the performance of the CIA and America's other secret agencies. One does not have to agree with each of his conclusions to note that this is an outstanding guide to the key issues. It ought to be read by anyone interested in trying to avoid more intelligence failures like those associated with the 9/11 attacks and the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."-Loch K. Johnson Regents Professor of Public and International Affairs University of Georgia

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (August 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275981509
• ISBN-13: 978-0275981501
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #703,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great easy read with well researched details, December 2, 2004

By 

big fan (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security (Hardcover)

I was fortunate enough to study under Art Hulnick as an undergraduate. He is a fascinating man with an intelligence background that started in the Air Force intelligence, then moved to the CIA where he stayed for about 30 years. He told some great stories about how George Bush Sr (when he was Director of Central Intelligence) would visit his office and sit on the corner of his desk. He is now (I certainly think) one of the best professors that Boston University has and is still an active leader in the examination of the intelligence process.
If you have an interest in how the intelligence community works, what is going on with it now, or want to take your love of Spy movies to the academic level, this is a great read. It is not dry, but instead a great source of information without being sensationalist.
This is a well written book, and it is CURRENT, which is a priority for me. In ten years though the explanations it lays out and the issues it addresses will still be relevant.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars TL2, April 7, 2007

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Retired Reader (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security (Hardcover)

This is a very disappointing book. Arthur Hulnick is certainly a very knowledgeable and perceptive observer of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also understands the collection and analytic processes that are the core of the IC. Yet this book still disappoints for three primary reasons.

First, time has passed this book by. After the book was written, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) got a new director in one Michael Chertoff and set up its own intelligence office under Charlie Allen with whom I am sure Hulnick is familiar. It also was written before the Hurricane Katrina debacle that revealed a highly dysfunctional DHS and its subordinate Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In the same manner the book was written before Ambassador John Negroponte was appointed as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and under whose stewardship the Office of DNI grew into a major bureaucracy (some 1,500 employees and rising) while avoiding any substantive reforms of the IC. One can only speculate what Hulnick would have concluded about DHS and DNI had this book been written in 2006 not 2004.

Second, Hulnick appears primarily interested in defending the performance of the IC against criticism that arose after the surprise of 9/11 and in the dubious intelligence that was used to fuel Operation Iraqi Freedom. While he is correct that much of these criticisms were unfair, it is also true that the IC as a whole and CIA in particular could have done a lot better than they did in both instances. Indeed some of Hulnick's comments appear very one sided. For example, he points out that in his experience the clandestine CIA officers he encountered were always knowledgeable, target smart, and culturally sensitive. Yet this is not a complete picture. Would he have us believe that there are no mediocre or incompetent officers? Experience would suggest that CIA, like the IC as a whole, has more than its share of mediocre or incompetent officers.

Third, Hulnick appears reluctant to actually investigate any real reforms of the IC and the way it does business. To his credit he does recognize David A. Steele as the leading advocate for more effective use of open sources by the IC. Yet he does not acknowledge that Steele also has advocated a profound transformation of the way the IC does business. Hulnick recognizes the need to transform the culture of CIA, but only in terms of improving the co-operation between it Directorate of Intelligence and it Directorate of Operations. This like the other reforms he advocates can only be classed as too little too late.

All in all his first book "Fixing the Intelligence Machine" (Amazon.com) is by far the better book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Covers the foundations of secret intelligence efforts, December 8, 2004

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security (Hardcover)

How can the United States guard against terrorists? Arthur S. Hulnick's Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence And Homeland Security covers the foundations of secret intelligence efforts and homeland security issues alike, explaining the need to revamp US intelligence operations to one more flexible in handling modern terrorist activities. The U.S. government's progress in establishing homeland security processes has been considerable, but more work is needed - and more adjustment of systems: Hulnick shows just where work should be revised to create a valuable program with new strategies and tactics.