Intel Chiefs Urge Patience for 9/11 Plan

[Dover]

Associated Press Writer

Intel Chiefs Urge Patience for 9/11 Plan


WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials said Wednesday their organizations have made strides since the Sept. 11 attacks, and they joined former government officials in cautioning Congress against moving too far or fast in the name of intelligence reform.

..snip..

But the Iraq war identified other problems, especially a "group-think" mentality in which agencies were reluctant to challenge commonly held views on Saddam Hussein's arsenal.

"We have a connect-the-dots problem, and we've got a group-think problem. And we've got to solve them both. But if you optimize a government solution on only one of them, you make the other worse," said Hamre, president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Michael O'Hanlon, an analyst at the Brookings Institution, noted the criticism about a lack of imagination. "You could also say in Iraq ... we had too much imagination. We imagined things that weren't there."

Hamre and former National Security Agency Director William E. Odom expressed doubts about the proposed national intelligence director position. Hamre said he feared it would be poorly implemented and Odom said the commission's proposals could "cause far more problems than they will solve. "

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http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/US_Congress/Intelligence_Overhaul.html


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