Competitive Intelligence

Dismantle the CIA?

Another hair-brained attempt to reorg the nation’s intelligence apparatus again lands hopelessly ignorant of the power that control over one’s own budget conveys in managing intelligence priorities.

The proposal, floated by the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to reorganize the U.S.'s intel agencies even more radically than recommended by the Sept. 11 commission is being supported by eight other committee Republicans. Chairman Pat Roberts wants to break up the CIA into three pieces that, along with agencies like the Pentagon's NSA, would be placed under the complete control of a new National Intelligence Director.

But, there's little chance anything like it will actually be implemented as is. The Pentagon is likely to guard its intelligence budget with an arsenal of bureaucracy and the Armed Services Committee won't be too keen on losing oversight of that budget, either. While the CIA refused to comment and the White House said only that it would study the proposal, an unnamed senior intelligence official said, "Rather than bringing intelligence disciplines together, it smashes them apart. This proposal is unworkable and would hamper rather than enhance the nation's intelligence operations."

Consensus opinion: It’s dead before it ever hits the ground… Here’s backgrounding on it from:

• Washington Post
• New York Times
• LA Times

- Arik