Fair Peace Thanks for the comments. I think your suggestion on how to structure the approach to the intel question is a fine one. I am also interested in your views on these subjects. Anyway, here are my views. Indeed, the vast majority of the information we need is readily available from open sources.
Tides have strong undertows.
No matter where or what exists in the intel community, I would recommend more openness and less secrecy. Re what might be gaps and seams in the Intel community, the fact that the Intel community was basically created to track the Soviet Union, and that it sort of missed the fact the USSR was disappearing might suggest a big gap somewhere. Perhaps that's ancient history by now, but you couldn't prove it by me. Re what should Intel strategy and policy be, I suggest openness and analysis as the new focus for intelligence strategy and policy. Execessive sececry and covert intel collection has undermined, not encouraged, quality analysis.