9-11 Panel Members Say Bush's Intelligence Overhaul a `Failure'
By Jeff Bliss
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration has failed to carry out the 9-11 Commission's recommendations aimed at improving the U.S. intelligence network, panel members said.
The nation's 16 spy agencies are still slow to share information and there's no evidence that it's easier to move money and personnel among the agencies, members of the 9-11 Commission say. The most visible accomplishment of the current director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, has been to amass a staff of more than 1,300, they say.
``The Bush administration's execution of the DNI reforms recommended by our commission has been a failure,'' said John Lehman, a member of the panel that probed the Sept. 11 attacks and a secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan.
Bob Kerrey, a former Democratic senator from Nebraska who served on the commission, said the Bush administration lost the urgency it displayed after the 2001 terrorist attacks to coordinate efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency. ``The unity of purpose of the FBI and CIA six months after 9/11 has disappeared,'' Kerrey said.
A Senate Intelligence Committee hearing today will give Vice Admiral Michael McConnell, 63, President George W. Bush's choice to replace Negroponte, a chance to say how he plans to turn the post into what the commission envisioned. McConnell is expected to receive confirmation by the full Senate. Negroponte is leaving to become deputy secretary of state.
Setbacks
While terrorists' inability to mount an attack on U.S. soil since 2001 shows important progress, there have been setbacks, former intelligence officials and analysts said.
The U.S. underestimated the seriousness of sectarian violence in Iraq and even administration officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice questioned last year whether the U.S. underestimated the strength of the Hamas militant group in the Palestinian Authority.
Lawmakers such as Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and Intelligence Committee member, say the U.S. doesn't know enough about Iran's efforts to become a nuclear power.
McConnell, if confirmed, would take over an organization with a combined $44 billion annual budget that includes the nation's spy agencies, the units that analyze their findings, and a 400-person group that oversees counterterrorism activities. Critics such as Lehman say the new bureaucracy hasn't met the 9-11 Commission's goals.
``It was the exact opposite of what we recommended, which was to create a powerful change agent with a very small powerful staff to cut bureaucratic layers,'' Lehman said.
Pressuring Agencies
Negroponte, 67, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Iraq, should have done more to pressure the agencies to work together, said former Representative Rob Simmons, a Connecticut Republican who chaired a House intelligence oversight subcommittee.
``He's been a diplomat through most of his career,'' Simmons said. ``But the DNI is not supposed to be a diplomat.''
It's a point echoed by Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.
``Negroponte was in some ways compromised,'' Rockefeller said in an interview on Bloomberg TV's ``Political Capital With Al Hunt'' Jan. 26. ``I think Negroponte was a diplomat who ended up in a position where he acted maybe a bit too much as a diplomat, that he wasn't really willing to face down the president.''
Negroponte, at his confirmation hearing for the deputy secretary of state post before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jan. 30, said he worked to ``integrate the intelligence community'' and achieved ``a much greater degree of collegiality and integration than existed previously.''
Negroponte Defended
DNI officials disputed that Negroponte hadn't been forceful enough or lacked the power to do his job. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe referred questions to DNI.
``Simply cracking heads either wasn't in his style and for the most part wasn't necessary,'' said David Shedd, Negroponte's chief of staff.
Shedd also defended the size of the staff, saying that a third of the workers were at the National Counterterrorism Center. Others were transferred from longstanding operations, he said.
Critics exaggerate the problems with information sharing, Shedd said. Representatives from each intelligence agency meet three times a day to discuss the latest information, he said.
`Fast Learner'
Members of the 9-11 Commission and former intelligence officials said that many of the power struggles within the spy network can be worked out in discussions among the veteran managers Bush is appointing. McConnell should be a quick study, said former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled how he hired McConnell as his chief intelligence officer just a few days before the Iraqis invaded Kuwait in 1990.
``He's a fast learner,'' Powell said. McConnell, then a Navy captain, ``didn't know how big a battalion or a brigade was. But within a couple of weeks he knew all of that, understood it rather well.''
McConnell should prepare for the turbulence generated by the biggest reorganization of intelligence operations in 60 years, said former Washington Senator Slade Gorton, a 9-11 Commission member.
Gorton, a Republican, noted the ``bureaucratic struggle'' Negroponte faced in his tenure. ``It's going to be a difficult task for his successor,'' Gorton said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington [email protected] .
Last Updated: February 1, 2007 00:14 EST
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
By Jeff Bliss
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration has failed to carry out the 9-11 Commission's recommendations aimed at improving the U.S. intelligence network, panel members said.
The nation's 16 spy agencies are still slow to share information and there's no evidence that it's easier to move money and personnel among the agencies, members of the 9-11 Commission say. The most visible accomplishment of the current director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, has been to amass a staff of more than 1,300, they say.
``The Bush administration's execution of the DNI reforms recommended by our commission has been a failure,'' said John Lehman, a member of the panel that probed the Sept. 11 attacks and a secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan.
Bob Kerrey, a former Democratic senator from Nebraska who served on the commission, said the Bush administration lost the urgency it displayed after the 2001 terrorist attacks to coordinate efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency. ``The unity of purpose of the FBI and CIA six months after 9/11 has disappeared,'' Kerrey said.
A Senate Intelligence Committee hearing today will give Vice Admiral Michael McConnell, 63, President George W. Bush's choice to replace Negroponte, a chance to say how he plans to turn the post into what the commission envisioned. McConnell is expected to receive confirmation by the full Senate. Negroponte is leaving to become deputy secretary of state.
Setbacks
While terrorists' inability to mount an attack on U.S. soil since 2001 shows important progress, there have been setbacks, former intelligence officials and analysts said.
The U.S. underestimated the seriousness of sectarian violence in Iraq and even administration officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice questioned last year whether the U.S. underestimated the strength of the Hamas militant group in the Palestinian Authority.
Lawmakers such as Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and Intelligence Committee member, say the U.S. doesn't know enough about Iran's efforts to become a nuclear power.
McConnell, if confirmed, would take over an organization with a combined $44 billion annual budget that includes the nation's spy agencies, the units that analyze their findings, and a 400-person group that oversees counterterrorism activities. Critics such as Lehman say the new bureaucracy hasn't met the 9-11 Commission's goals.
``It was the exact opposite of what we recommended, which was to create a powerful change agent with a very small powerful staff to cut bureaucratic layers,'' Lehman said.
Pressuring Agencies
Negroponte, 67, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Iraq, should have done more to pressure the agencies to work together, said former Representative Rob Simmons, a Connecticut Republican who chaired a House intelligence oversight subcommittee.
``He's been a diplomat through most of his career,'' Simmons said. ``But the DNI is not supposed to be a diplomat.''
It's a point echoed by Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.
``Negroponte was in some ways compromised,'' Rockefeller said in an interview on Bloomberg TV's ``Political Capital With Al Hunt'' Jan. 26. ``I think Negroponte was a diplomat who ended up in a position where he acted maybe a bit too much as a diplomat, that he wasn't really willing to face down the president.''
Negroponte, at his confirmation hearing for the deputy secretary of state post before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jan. 30, said he worked to ``integrate the intelligence community'' and achieved ``a much greater degree of collegiality and integration than existed previously.''
Negroponte Defended
DNI officials disputed that Negroponte hadn't been forceful enough or lacked the power to do his job. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe referred questions to DNI.
``Simply cracking heads either wasn't in his style and for the most part wasn't necessary,'' said David Shedd, Negroponte's chief of staff.
Shedd also defended the size of the staff, saying that a third of the workers were at the National Counterterrorism Center. Others were transferred from longstanding operations, he said.
Critics exaggerate the problems with information sharing, Shedd said. Representatives from each intelligence agency meet three times a day to discuss the latest information, he said.
`Fast Learner'
Members of the 9-11 Commission and former intelligence officials said that many of the power struggles within the spy network can be worked out in discussions among the veteran managers Bush is appointing. McConnell should be a quick study, said former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled how he hired McConnell as his chief intelligence officer just a few days before the Iraqis invaded Kuwait in 1990.
``He's a fast learner,'' Powell said. McConnell, then a Navy captain, ``didn't know how big a battalion or a brigade was. But within a couple of weeks he knew all of that, understood it rather well.''
McConnell should prepare for the turbulence generated by the biggest reorganization of intelligence operations in 60 years, said former Washington Senator Slade Gorton, a 9-11 Commission member.
Gorton, a Republican, noted the ``bureaucratic struggle'' Negroponte faced in his tenure. ``It's going to be a difficult task for his successor,'' Gorton said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington [email protected] .
Last Updated: February 1, 2007 00:14 EST
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
Obviously those not in the loop would hardly be in a position to comment, but what one would like to know is that how far are the national secrets or the mode of operations of these secret agencies discussed with the Senators and Senate Committees that they can opine whether an agency is working correctly or not?
Prima facie, there does not seem to be any positive movement in the Middle East and one wonders if the organisation has been able to regain its pristine glory.
Given the resources and the budget, human intelligence should have been in place in Iran wherein the exact position of Iran nuclear capability should have been known. But then, who knows? Possibly it is being kept under the wraps for some purpose that has not been divulged!
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