"For four years, I listened to stories of intelligence failures, and it wasn't due to incompetence of anyone in the system, but that the system is so arcane"

In this quote, Charles F. Bass reflects on his experience of listening to stories about intelligence failures for four years. He keeps in mind that these failures were not a result of incompetence on the part of people within the system, but rather due to the complexity and outdated nature of the system itself. This recommends that the system in place for event and evaluating intelligence is not effective or efficient, causing mistakes and failures. Bass's use of the word "arcane" implies that the system is old-fashioned and challenging to comprehend, further stressing the need for enhancement and modernization in the intelligence neighborhood.