Overcoming the inertia of 'old ways of producing intelligence'-the IC's development and use of new analytic methods in the 1970s

This article explores a little known chapter in the Intelligence Community's (IC) history that has implications for challenges it confronts in adapting new technologies and analytic methodologies to assess an ever more complex world. Drawing on formerly classified memoranda and intelligence products, the article addresses what prompted the push to use 'new analytic methods' in the 1970s, what they encompassed, their use within the IC, and whether these efforts altered the way intelligence analysis was produced during the decade and in subsequent years. It concludes by identifying lessons this experience from a half century ago offer for the IC today.

Automated summary

This article delves into a little known chapter in the history of the Intelligence Community, discussing the push for using new analytic methods in the 1970s, its implications, and whether it changed the way intelligence analysis was conducted. Ultimately, it identifies lessons from this experience half a century ago for the IC today.