And I argued with that intelligence estimate and I think it is a responsibility of policymakers to use their best judgment on the basis of the intelligence they've received.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Policymakers have to make judgments based on the best intelligence they get.
The intelligence community, for the most part, has no accountability at all; to the Congress, to us the American people, and so they feel that they above the law.
I certainly believe that improving our intelligence is of important national interest.
In the aftermath of September 11, and as the 9/11 Commission report so aptly demonstrates, it is clear that our intelligence system is not working the way that it should.
Judgment is more than skill. It sets forth on intellectual seas beyond the shores of hard indisputable factual information.
I was an intelligence officer, not a policy-maker.
Intelligence collection is not confined to the communications of adversaries or of the guilty. Rather, it's about gaining information otherwise unavailable that would help keep Americans safe and free.
Decision making in a democracy depends above all on knowledge and not just the intel available to presidents and policymakers.
You want to keep intelligence separate from policy.
I don't want to talk about intelligence matters. I will say, however, that intelligence-community estimates should not become public in the way of this city and in the way of Congress.