Friday, December 22, 2006

Anticipating Surprise: Analysis for Strategic Warning by Cynthia M. Grabo

Anticipating Surprise: Analysis for Strategic Warning by Cynthia M. Grabo describes the skills needed by intelligence analysts to avoid a military surprise. Grabo one of the few female intelligence analysts during the Cold War has written an interesting work.

This book started out as a 3 volume classified US government textbook but after September 11 it was condensed, updated and declassified. Anyone expecting an explanation of the intelligence failure around September 11 will be disappointed. There is only an oblique reference to the terrorist attacks in the introduction.

Most of the book discusses some of the reasons why the correct analysis does not always get through to policymakers. There are lots of negative examples where this did not take place. Pearl Harbor, the Chinese intervention in Korea, the Soviets in Czechoslovakia etc. Interestingly enough order of battle material is usually considered by outsiders to be accurate. The author explains that this is not the case and can be just as wildly inaccurate as other analysis.

Recommended for anyone who wants a look at the inner workings of threat analysis.

Is available through Abebooks.

No comments: