How would 5000 intelligence agents have recovered the Falkland Islands, liberated Kuwait, sorted formaer Yugoslavia or overthrown Sadaam.
I would guess the US has got at least that many agents and it certainly has the money to loosen tongues. But they didn't stop 9/11! They also haven't got a clue where Bin Laden or Sadaam is and, in the meantime, troops hold the ground instead of agents.