Intelligence Analysis: Making Sense of a Complex World

On Thursday, September 7, 2023, the Strauss-Clements Intelligence Studies Project, Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Clements Center for National Security hosted Linda Weissgold, the former CIA Deputy Director for Analysis, for a public talk on intelligence analysis.

Linda Weissgold served as the CIA’s Deputy Director for Analysis from March 2020 until April 2023.  In that role, she was responsible for the quality of all-source intelligence analysis at the CIA and for the professional development of the officers who produce it.

Since joining the CIA in 1986, Linda has been part of the creation and delivery of intelligence analysis on a variety of complex issues and in multiple settings. Before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she was an analyst and leader of analytic programs focused on the Middle East. Immediately afterward, she was among those who volunteered for counterterrorism assignments. The units she guided, including as the head of the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis, generated insights that informed U.S. policy and operations across multiple administrations. For more than two years, she served as a Presidential intelligence briefer. Experienced in the coverage of urgent and controversial issues, Linda is a teacher and champion of analytic tradecraft, integrity, and objectivity in intelligence analysis.

For more information about this event, contact Kim Nguyen at [email protected]. 

View photos from the event here.