The Dog That Didn't Bark: The Joint Intelligence Committee and Warning of Aggression

Author: Goodman, Michael

Source: Cold War History, Volume 7, Number 4, November 2007 , pp. 529-551(23)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

This article introduces and includes the Nicoll Report - a previously classified document written to assess the performance of the British Joint Intelligence Committee in warning about foreign acts of aggression. The Nicoll Report is a hugely significant document for four main reasons: it provides detail on intelligence estimates for case studies which have not yet been released into the archive; it provides an examination of the JIC's failures and in doing so it is far more candid than the 'open' investigations conducted by Lord Franks and Lord Butler; it provides an exploration of how intelligence must be relevant to policy-makers in order for it to be useful; and finally, it identifies general lessons for the future and which are immensely revealing with the benefit of hindsight.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14682740701621739

Publication date: 2007-11-01