bureaucratic risk-aversion

Tyler Cowen argues, bureaucratic risk-aversion

brings groupthink, excess formalism, protecting against yesterday's threat, and an unwillingness to take responsibility for mistakes. Furthermore it can make effective pre-emption virtually impossible; decisionmakers and their allies will no longer trust their intelligence communities.

Rather than making intelligence agencies more accountable, how about making them more independent? Create some small, elite groups and staff them with the best people we can find. Pay them well. Give them [arms]-length protection from political pressures....Give them a culture of internal pride.

What a great idea. It'll never happen, though.