The hebron massacre and the problems of intelligence

One of the most important ideas of intelligence is reform.' Obviously, tinkering with intelligence is not something desirable. A successful intelligence organization is very difficult to build and maintain, and major changes in it are bound to cause disruption in the routine of the organization, which is the last thing that would be desirable to either the leaders of the organization itself or the politicians in charge of the intelligence community. Yet today's success may well be the father of tomorrow's failure, as many relevant examples have demonstrated. In this sense, success is worse than failure, because failure may engender the willingness to make changes without the feeling of putting something very substantial at risk. O n the other hand, an organization that becomes the captive of its own success may well dig its own grave in the future, simply for lack of foresight, which is the essence of successful intelligence.'