"We will have to continue to improve our human intelligence system-something that was, unfortunately, lacking in the years which led up to September 11. This is going to be a continuing process of change"
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The phrase "human intelligence" does a lot of quiet work here: it sounds clinical, even managerial, but it’s really an admission of failure wrapped in the promise of competence. Sununu reaches for a term that carries national-security gravitas while sidestepping the blunt charge that the government missed what was in front of it. By calling HUMINT "unfortunately... lacking", he acknowledges pre-9/11 shortcomings without naming culprits, agencies, or political decisions. The regret is real, but it’s sanded down into passive voice and policy-speak, the kind that spreads responsibility so thin it’s hard to prosecute.
The timing matters. Post-September 11, the U.S. political class needed a narrative that could justify sweeping changes - expanded surveillance, reorganized bureaucracies, new authorities - while signaling lessons learned. "Continue to improve" is the reassuring half of that bargain: we were caught flat-footed; now we’ll be smarter. But the subtext is also a warning shot. By framing the fix as an ongoing "process of change", Sununu normalizes permanence: not a temporary wartime adjustment, but a rolling renovation of the security state.
There’s a second, subtler move in emphasizing "human" intelligence. In an era increasingly dominated by signals interception and data collection, HUMINT evokes old-school infiltration and informants - messy, intimate, and ethically fraught. It hints that the next phase won’t just be about technology; it will involve deeper penetration of networks and communities. The line sells vigilance as progress, and makes open-ended transformation sound like basic maintenance.
The timing matters. Post-September 11, the U.S. political class needed a narrative that could justify sweeping changes - expanded surveillance, reorganized bureaucracies, new authorities - while signaling lessons learned. "Continue to improve" is the reassuring half of that bargain: we were caught flat-footed; now we’ll be smarter. But the subtext is also a warning shot. By framing the fix as an ongoing "process of change", Sununu normalizes permanence: not a temporary wartime adjustment, but a rolling renovation of the security state.
There’s a second, subtler move in emphasizing "human" intelligence. In an era increasingly dominated by signals interception and data collection, HUMINT evokes old-school infiltration and informants - messy, intimate, and ethically fraught. It hints that the next phase won’t just be about technology; it will involve deeper penetration of networks and communities. The line sells vigilance as progress, and makes open-ended transformation sound like basic maintenance.
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