Now comes the latest disaster, CIA's shocking failure to sound alarms over India's nuclear program. Washington's utter surprise at Indian nuclear tests was inexcusable. India's relentless development of uranium and plutonium weapons has been an open secret. This column, for one, traced Delhi's nuclear program for the past decade. Pakistan's intelligence service, ISI, provided CIA with volumes of detail on Indian nuclear weapons and delivery systems.
Intelligence is only as good as the people who process it.
Intelligence - was simply not focused on India. These agencies and the National Security Council, which is tasked with acting on intelligence data, were so obsessed with Iraq and Iran, they totally ignored South Asia. CIA was too busy trying to overthrow the governments of Libya, Iraq, Iran and Sudan, to watch India. In Washington, India, touted as 'the world's largest democracy,' was regarded as a lucrative opportunity for American business. Good relations with Delhi were deemed necessary to promote commerce.