Post by Moses on May 7, 2005 16:36:38 GMT -5
www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06165782.htm
06 May 2005 21:42:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
By David Morgan
....John Negroponte's emerging strategy for leading the sprawling spy community includes for the first time an intelligence official assigned specifically to address the needs of intelligence "customers" including policymakers, the Pentagon and homeland security officials.
The change appeared likely to revive concern over possible undue influence of policymakers over intelligence services that was raised after it was discovered that the reports of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction cited in administration arguments for the 2003 invasion were in fact false.
A senior official involved in creating the new structure said the strategy would effectively give those who use intelligence more of a role in driving the analysis and collection efforts of 15 spy agencies, including the CIA.
Customer needs would help set priorities for intelligence analysts, who in turn would determine the kind of information spies in the field would be assigned to collect.
"It's not a process driven by the opportunity to collect (intelligence)," the official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters at a briefing near the White House.
Instead, the official described the objective as "not analyzing what we collect, but analyzing what to collect."
The issue of policymaker influence on intelligence gathering and analysis arose in the current controversy over President George W. Bush's nominee for U.N. ambassador, John Bolton. Some State Department officials accused him of trying to influence analyst reports to fit in with his own ideas.
Independent experts also warned that the Negroponte plan could sacrifice much-needed long-range strategic thinking in order to serve the up-to-the-minute needs of policymakers, military commanders and law enforcement officials.
"The customer frame of reference is entirely on the 24-hour news cycle. That's a problem because analysts can't get out from underneath this growing in-box of daily tasks to look at long-term strategic issues," said Richard Russell, a former CIA analyst who teaches security studies at Georgetown University.
The structure could still be subject to change. But all 15 agency heads were briefed on its outline this week by Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, Negroponte's principal deputy.....
06 May 2005 21:42:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
By David Morgan
....John Negroponte's emerging strategy for leading the sprawling spy community includes for the first time an intelligence official assigned specifically to address the needs of intelligence "customers" including policymakers, the Pentagon and homeland security officials.
The change appeared likely to revive concern over possible undue influence of policymakers over intelligence services that was raised after it was discovered that the reports of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction cited in administration arguments for the 2003 invasion were in fact false.
A senior official involved in creating the new structure said the strategy would effectively give those who use intelligence more of a role in driving the analysis and collection efforts of 15 spy agencies, including the CIA.
Customer needs would help set priorities for intelligence analysts, who in turn would determine the kind of information spies in the field would be assigned to collect.
"It's not a process driven by the opportunity to collect (intelligence)," the official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters at a briefing near the White House.
Instead, the official described the objective as "not analyzing what we collect, but analyzing what to collect."
The issue of policymaker influence on intelligence gathering and analysis arose in the current controversy over President George W. Bush's nominee for U.N. ambassador, John Bolton. Some State Department officials accused him of trying to influence analyst reports to fit in with his own ideas.
Independent experts also warned that the Negroponte plan could sacrifice much-needed long-range strategic thinking in order to serve the up-to-the-minute needs of policymakers, military commanders and law enforcement officials.
"The customer frame of reference is entirely on the 24-hour news cycle. That's a problem because analysts can't get out from underneath this growing in-box of daily tasks to look at long-term strategic issues," said Richard Russell, a former CIA analyst who teaches security studies at Georgetown University.
The structure could still be subject to change. But all 15 agency heads were briefed on its outline this week by Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, Negroponte's principal deputy.....