Post- 9/11 and Iraq War Reforms

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Post- 9/11 and Iraq War Reforms

The war against terrorism by Iraq has been an area of interest in the world and especially to America. There were intelligence reforms that were put in place with regard to the American terrorist attack on the 11th September, 2001. The contemporary intelligence reforms have two sides to them and they are those that were geared towards preventing the pre-Iraq war error and those aimed towards the pre-9/11 intelligence errors Andrew (1995). The intelligence has the responsibility of running all the security issues of America and they were also charged with the responsibility of responding to terror threats by Iraq. According to Pillar (2011), there were assumptions that were brought forward which were explanations of how terrorism could be combated by having proper reforms in the intelligence system.

Intelligence has played a key role in decision making with regard to the American security. During the events of September 11th, 2001, intelligence was sent later on in 2003 to invade Iraq so as to deal with terrorists. The pre-9/11 intelligence errors are seen to stem from the Cold War whereby the intelligence made most of the decisions that led to the outcome of the war that became the Second World War. All post war leaders listen to the intelligence since they believe that the intelligence community should be able to predict wars, riots, military intentions and detect coups as well. However, these are too high expectations of the intelligence as sometimes wars can occur without any form of warning hence they cannot be predicted nor can there be adequate preparation to overcome such. The intelligence reforms in this case were to have proper U.S policies which are well understood even by the leaders that need the intelligence services and have realistic expectations which the intelligence community can be able to deal with regarding war on terror.

During the pre- Iraq war, there were consultations made through president bush and what steps would be taken against the terrorist, Osama bin Laden that had attacked America. Intelligence services seem to be highly influenced by the political class in the U.S hence its ineffectiveness to work as an independent body as it is intended to be without undue political influence. The Oval Office is the key stakeholder in decision making of how intelligence agencies should carry out a retaliatory attack on terrorism. After the September bombing, the intelligence in consultation with president Bush sent military troops to Iraq to deal with the terrorist and capture Osama. The errors that have been brought out in the 9/11 Commission Report show that better measures would have been taken to prevent the attack. The main reform brought forth is enabling the intelligence agency to be devoid of any administrative influence so that it can have a correct perception of foreign threats. This is also in addition to having the right means of adapting to foreign policy which will in future help in facing unforeseen and inevitable uncertainties.

These reforms were important as they would ensure that the intelligence agencies would be able to deal better with war threats or any security issues facing America. The errors previously made in combating crime and war, especially the post-9/11, will be in future avoided as the new reforms take shape and as they get implemented. The national intelligence has often been subjected to influence by the leaders and too much unrealistic expectations set for the agencies to accomplish in dealing with national security. The leaders also misperceive the intelligence’s ability to predict outside forces of influence and therefore have the agency is unable to work independently to deal with terror. Overall, the intelligence-policy relationship should be respected as it is and its operation should also be allowed to take place in line with these proper set out policies.

References

Andrew, C. (1995) For the President’s Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American

Presidency from Washington to Bush, New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Hamilton, K. (2006) The 9/11 Commission Report,

New York: W.W Norton & Company.

Pillar, P. (2011) Intelligence and U. S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform,

New York: Columbia University Press.

McCarthy, G. (2009) Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: 9/11 and the Iraq War,

Washington D.C: ProQuest LLC.

Russel, R. (2007) Sharpening Strategic Intelligence: Why the CIA gets It Wrong and What Needs

to be done to get it Right, New York: Cambridge University Press.