National Public Radio (NPR) recently reported the unusual story of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysts publicly sharing changes in the way CIA develops analysis used by policymakers, including the President, in the wake of seemingly inaccurate conclusions about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD). NPR felt this change particularly noteworthy given the continuing controversy about evaluations of Iran's possible nuclear capabilities. Among other changes in the way CIA trains its analysts and crafts its work product, CIA disclosed a move away from reaching conclusions. They say fear of bias renders the conclusions of experts reached after studying all available information unreliable. Of course, less than certain information or information from less than fully reliable sources can produce mistaken conclusions. And analyst bias will bias the results. But this describes any conclusion by a covert intelligence agency. This struck me, a practicing attorney, as analogous to...(Read Full Post)