Management, Integration and Oversight of Intelligence Community Analysis

Read in full, "Intelligence Community Directive Number 200" dated 8 January 2007.

The policy statement is only one page long, but seems remarkably clear. Indeed, anyone analyzing complex information for decision making might benefit from its injunctions.

Sometimes things that seem self-evident to the novice can be stated by the expert as the lessons distilled from long and sad experience. This policy statement has the latter ring. It is amazing how often analysts do things which seem reasonable at the time, but foolish departures from obvious rules in retrospect.

Read "An Admonition on Intelligence: Office Overseeing Spy Agencies Emphasizes Lessons Learned" by Walter Pincus, The Washington Post, February 26, 2007