The White House evaluates Soviet Intelligence Capabilities

In the final months of his presidency, shortly before the official dissolution of the Soviet Union, George H. W. Bush instructed the leaders of the US intelligence community to completely reevaluate their raison d'être. Most American intelligence agencies, he pointed out, were conceived in the attitudes and priorities of the Cold War. Therefore, at Cold War's end, he argued, they were required not just to rethink their priorities, but the fundamental categories they used to establish these priorities. He suggested that the environment, global health and the availability of natural resources would be potentially viable post-Soviet concerns.