Centerfield

"Americans deserve nothing less than a full accounting of what went wrong, why and how."

All the major intelligence agencies on earth got it wrong. Even Saddam had it wrong since he had so corrupted his own bureaucracy that he couldn't get accurate information about his own capabilities.

As Kay says we always get it wrong. We failed to see WWII coming, the collapse of the soviets and 9/11. We have no methods to get things right and have no idea what they might be. What can a spy tell you when Saddam doesn't even know?

None of this is news. It isn't systemic failure, it is lack of useful systems. No one has useful systems and it is doubtful that there is such a thing as a useful system. We don't even have full knowledge of our own capabilities.

The whole idea that we can have adequate information about complex systems to manage them, plan and control them, is steam age thinking. We need to look forward not back. The ability to do ever larger harm with ever less resources democratizes world power. The old fashioned command and control methods of intelligence systems never were adequate to their missions and are becoming increasingly less adequate.

"...if Al Qaeda pitches another strike at us, it will be three strikes for the Bush Administration."

This is the only issue and it is merely political. Changing the administration will accomplish nothing useful regarding intelligence systems. If Bush had not been elected nothing would have been different. If centrism is of any value it must be about focus on real issues, not just seeking a middle road on political tempests. The vast majority of gotcha politics is destructive to the nation, short term profits for one power group or another at the expense of the people. We need to confront those who are currently working against the public interest in order to advance their private interests. Unfortunately, that includes all the Democratic candidates as well as the incumbents, but we can proceed on a case by case basis to whip them when they blunder. Not that this is likely...

"If centrism is of any value it must be about focus on real issues, not just seeking a middle road on political tempests. "

I couldn't have said it better.

As to the need to improve the intelligence system, it seems to me that that should be an important item on the agenda of whatever administration takes over next January.

I don't think the President deliberately lied about this.

George Bush is either a liar or a dope. Take your pick.

I hope it turns out he's a liar because the alternative is too troubling to contemplate.