Respectfully, I disagree.
There is not a huge pool of individuals suited to conduct intelligence analysis.The best source of candidates is derived from proven prior related fields.It is not solely a matter of "think tank" minds.
balance of post self deleted.
Did I say the best talent came from think tank minds? I said the criteria for finding better people had to be changed so that those very few people that can do this type of work can be found.It means using unorthodox means to find superior talent, and let that talent flourish.The mindset today couldn't fathom a group like the OSS being created from drawing upon the skills of both the private and public sectors; Reagan did this very thing back in 1981 to examine, with a fresh set of eyes, the vulnerabilities of the Soviets and how best to exploit such an opportunity.He did an end run on the conventional sources of analysis, with Bill Casey's full committment, and the results paid off.While the conventional wisdowm said one thing, Reagan knew differently about Soviet weakness.
That is the type of cultural change needed to make intelligence collection and analysis much more effective.Find better people and you will get better results.