Intelligence Service was a debate triggered by Niel Barnard, on the strategic objective of the new intelligence structure. Barnard believed that if the referent object is state security, then, in essence, it means that the intelligence structures have to secure the government from its own citizens. As an alternative, Barnard proposed a national security focus, which meant that security could best be achieved by focussing on threats to the nation, rather than the state. In essence, this implied constitutional reform to implement a universal franchise, thereby laying the foundation for the negotiated transition to democracy that took place in CODESA, an event envisaged and by NIS. For this reason, Barnard moved on to the Department of Constitutional Affairs as soon as CODESA had reached a point of no return. The logic underpinning the new service was one of national security, which differed fundamentally from the state security paradigm that had underpinned BOSS. Central to this new vision was the core belief that the only way to find lasting security was to develop a nation, and that meant renegotiating the constitution to include all South Africans irrespective of race. As the head of South Africa's National Intelligence Service (NIS), he recognized that his country would have to find a political settlement to eliminate apartheid and that Nelson Mandela would have to play a fundamental role in the process. He first met with Mandela in 1988 at the prison. He met many times with Mandela in order to inform him about the political situation outside the prison and advise him on how to negotiate with the South African president P. W. Botha. As secret talks commenced, Barnard arranged to have Nelson Mandela moved from Robben Island to the mainland, to facilitate more regular contact but also to prevent the media from becoming aware of the status of this contact. To facilitate this process he allowed Operation Vula to continue because this deepened the contact between Nelson Mandela and the exiled leadership of the ANC. He arranged for Mandela to be given a suit of clothes befitting a future leader, and for future meetings to take place in a private residence near the prison. While counseling both parties on how to come to some agreements on the terms for Mandela's eventual release, he arranged several more meetings. When Botha's health forced him to resign, Barnard continued to facilitate discussions between Mandela and the