Professor Dahl asserts that the pandemic was a global failure of intelligence, including not only the traditional intelligence agencies that should have been able to do better, but perhaps even more importantly, a failure of the complex system of medical and public health surveillance that is designed to anticipate threats just like this one. He specifically cites a lack of warning and failure of receptivity.

Secondly, although the US and the rest of the world have taken some useful steps to improve our intelligence and warning about disease threats, we are still vulnerable to what experts say could be an even worse pandemic next time. We still have a 'Domaine Awareness Gap.'

Third, the lessons from the pandemic can and must be used to help us avoid other types of threats and challenges in the future, whether from climate change, natural disasters or man-made catastrophes.

Among his other recommendations we discuss how the NCMI, National Center for Medical Intelligence, can be enhanced as a central body to combine efforts of traditional intelligence agencies and information from the medical and public health sectors.

Professor Erik J Dahl, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA

The Covid-19 Intelligence Failure: Why Warning Was Not Enough, Erik J Dahl

Intelligence and Surprise Attack: Failure and Success from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and Beyond, Erik J Dahl

National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI)

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