A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INTELLIGENCE POLITICIZATION BETWEEN GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION IN THE CASE OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF) AND BARACK H. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IN THE CASE OF DRONE STRIKES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Intelligence politicization is one of the most commonly found friction in the discourse of intelligence-policymakers relation. Its occurrence is usually bound to many factors, ones of which are organizational arrangement and type of government. However, what rose as a question is the fact that even within the same state and similar circumstances, the degree of politicization between two cases often can differ greatly. Intelligence politicization was constantly occurring in George W. Bush administration, while it was almost non-existent in Barack H. Obama administration. This thesis thus seeks to answer how the degree of intelligence politicization can differ from one administration to another. For Bush administration, the author will analyse intelligence politicization in the policy-making process of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2003 and for Obama administration, the author will analyse the case of drone strikes in Pakistan conducted in 2009. There are two variables that are going to be underlying the analysis of this thesis: intelligence- policymakers relation as based on Sherman Kent’s traditionalist approach and policy oversell as based on Joshua Rovner’s model. The author will comparatively analyse how the two variables performed in each of the cases and how it eventually caused intelligence politicization.