Book Review: David Priess's "The President's Book of Secrets"

Ever been curious about how presidents get their daily dose of intelligence and how that might then influence their decisions in the international arena? David Priess, in his book The President's Book of Secrets: The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to America's Presidents takes a look at the evolution of what today is known as the President's Daily Briefings (PDB) in the backdrop of various presidential administrations, from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama.

While not revealing the details of classified intelligence in his analysis, Priess traces the development of a distilled collection of classified intelligence from various agencies (the CIA, FBI, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Director of National Intelligence (DNI), etc.) to the administration of Lyndon Johnson in 1964. This organization and distillation of intelligence targeted exclusively to the president and other close advisers came in order to try and overcome a complicated workflow between intelligence agencies and a backlog of lengthy intelligence reports that were not getting through to the policymakers that needed them. Back in 1964 (during the Cold War) the first attempt at conveying critical information to the president was known as the Daily Summary, a step taken in order to meet increasing demand for information concerning the Soviet Union's military and economic capabilities.

However, this Daily Summary was not very comprehensive and largely focused on the Soviet Union. Sporadic attention was given to other countries in the Eurasian region, let alone other countries outside of that region. Gradually, as the United States began to realize its position as a world power, with increasing social, political and economic clout, so too did the demand for more and diverse content come into play from administration to administration. This included a need for more regional and country-based intelligence as well as (in some cases) analysis included with the presented facts to provide a much needed context within what evolved into the PDB. Concurrent with more analysis, certain issues began to take increasing prominence within the PDB, especially intelligence relating to terrorism. Examples of the need for this can be seen in the increased attention the Middle East and Asia have been given in American foreign policy, as well as the 9/11 attacks. After 9/11, domestic sources of intelligence (mostly from the FBI) began to be included within the PDB's mix of extensive foreign sources to help bolster counter-terrorism efforts against groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Moreover, as technology improved, the hardcover/bound PDB has been presented in more digital forms. For example, President Obama received his PDBs on a specially secured iPad. Priess goes on to speculate that the PDB will evolve fully from paper to digital forms once technological advances such as quantum computing are realized, with future presidents receiving their PDBs as futuristic holograms providing 3D graphics. But, as always, technology has its limits when it comes to the PDB. How a president chooses to receive their daily information about relevant domestic and foreign affairs will always be the predominant factor shaping the scope and method of PDB presentation, from more hands-on formats to more in-depth reports with less graphical aids.

While Priess was not allowed to reveal the specifics of the classified intelligence that shaped each administration's Lyndon Johnson to President Obama or provide a robust critique concerning intelligence gathering practices for the PDB, his book nevertheless provides an intriguing narrative about each president's (and their administration's) personalities and interactions with the PDB (and larger intelligence community). It makes one wonder about the current president's interaction with the PDB and its relationship with the resulting domestic and foreign policy decisions considering the noted animosity and indifference the Trump administration has shown the intelligence community. If this uneasiness persists between presidents and the intelligence community, it would portend a concerning dynamic of administrations making critical policy and other decisions without adequate information. And that's just at the domestic level, excluding the intelligence relationships the U.S. has with its allies.

Sources Cited:

Priess, D. (2017). The President's Book of Secrets: The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to America's Presidents from Kennedy to Obama. (1st ed.). New York: PublicAffairs.