Abstract

Investigations into intelligence failures are frequently conducted by multiple parties in parallel, and in several important cases, their conclusions have been controversial. In addition, investigations into minor incidents, such as mishandling of sensitive information or equipment, tradecraft errors, or similar events where no major consequences have been detected, tend to be handled internally by the concerned agency, or through limited interagency cooperation. This can lead to missed opportunities to prevent them from developing into major failures. These issues are compared to the investigative procedures employed in the aviation safety sector, where an independent body is responsible for investigating both major failures and minor incidents, with a view specifically to develop proactive measures to prevent repetition. The conclusion presented is that the Intelligence Community could benefit from studying how aviation safety investigations are handled, in order to be more effective in addressing minor incidents at an early stage, and to avoid controversies in investigations of major events.

摘要

对情报失败的调查经常由多方并行进行，在几个重要案件中，他们的结论一直存在争议。此外，对轻微事件的调查，例如敏感信息或设备处理不当、交易失误或未发现重大后果的类似事件，往往由相关机构内部处理，或通过有限的跨部门合作进行。这可能会导致错失防止它们发展成重大失败的机会。这些问题与航空安全部门采用的调查程序进行了比较，在航空安全部门，一个独立机构负责调查重大故障和轻微事故，以专门制定预防重复的主动措施。