Bush asks for Nat'l Intell Director -to report TO the CIA Director?

[TexasSissy]

So the 9/11 Commission recommends instituting the position of National Intelligence Director, to be over ALL the intelligence communities, with hiring, firing, and budgetary power. This, they said, is necessary to ensure the various intell groups share information, under threat of termination, if necessary. Also, there needs to be one person to be held accountable for intelligence.

So what does Bush do? He makes it sound like he's in agreement, but he asks Congress for an NID who will report to the CIA Director! That would be just another layer of bureaucracy. A Director who would not have authority to MAKE the CIA Director do anything! Tenet was a big part of the problem. If there had been an NID UNDER Tenet, that would have solved nothing.

What a disappointment.

[MidwestTransplant]

1. That really sounds like another level of bureaucracy

[napi21]

2. That's not the way I understood it.

I listened to his announcement, and he said he's adking congress to authorize a National Intelligence Director. I would recommend the person with the advise & consent of Congress. The Congress would have oversight. The position of CIA Director would be a separate position.

I will try to find a transcript of his press release to confirm.

[TexasSissy]

12. Yes, that's the way he phrased it. It SOUNDS like he's doing what

the Commission is recommending, and he is, in part. But the article in www.cnn.com specifically states that the NID would report TO the CIA Director.

That would make the NID position much less effective. The whole point is for the NID to have authority over ALL the intel community, incl. the CIA Director.

[Caution]

3. this makes zero sense to me

regardless of the politics of it, this is just stupid. an NID who reports to the CIA? The whole point of the NID is that she is in charge of the NSA, the CIA, FBI intelligence and counter-terrorism, military intelligence, OSP (i just like to remind people of this group occasionally) etc etc.

If you stick in an NID under the CIA director, aren't you just putting the CIA in charge of everything? The agency that Bush blames for most of the MASSIVE intelligence failures of the last 4 years (9/11 and Iraq)?

How the hell do they expect people not to notice or call them on this?

[bluedog]

4. 0 sense!

does this mean that Condis job is irrelevant?

she is of no use to the security of the country and has pr oven to be ineffective.......we should eliminate her position!

[Daisey Mae]

5. NO DICTATOR LIKES TO GIVE UP POWER....

[OETKB]

6. Who really needs the intelligence?

I thought the National Security Advisor was the one who obtains and evaluates intelligence from various agencies. What exactly, then, is this position for? Further, the Congress also needs access to the intelligence since is has the purse strings and also war powers. If they are going to set up any agency, it should be free as possible of political influence, such as the GAO, and be available to the appropriate committes in congress as well as to the President. Why should one branch of government have to beg for this information or be kept in the dark in order to carry out its responsibilities? Wasn't this the source of the poor decision making by all parties in going to war in Iraq and making a sensible policy to deal with the pre and post-9/11 events?

[papau]

7. Appears our Nat'l media is lying to us - I do not see the Intel Czar in

Bush's announcement

It seems we have the CIA director supersized to "Nat'l Director", with an aid as CIA head, but with no new authority?


"Under the reorganization Bush is backing, the CIA would be managed by a separate director and the national intelligence director would assume the broader responsibility of leading the intelligence community government-wide."

Does this mean the Nat'l Director has hire/fire and budget over all 15 intel agencies - or is this just window dressing?

The CIA Director now "leads" all 15 intel groups - but just does not have hire/fire and budget control of them.

It sure looks like Bush - and our media - are pulling a fast one as they con us that Bush has accepted the Committee recommendations.

[napi21]

8. New Nat'l Intel Dir would head all agencies.

This person would have budgetary control over the agencies, but it was not specified that he/she would have hire/fire control over individual employees. I would doubt it.

Shrub is also recommending the establishment of a Nat'l Counter-terrorism Center. The Director of this center would report to the CIA.

I couldn't find a transcript, but I did find a video of Shrub's press release. It's pretty long (15 min. I think) but you can see for yourself exactly what he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5575678/

Upper right of the page is a pic of shrub, and link to the video.

[papau]

10. Thanks - budget control is more than the CIA head has now.

:-)

But hire/fire one layer down is a must have.

[papau]

11. Saw the video -still do not know what powers the Nat'l Director would have

What "oversee" authority does Bush see the Nat'l Director having?


The CIA director not only heads his own agency but also oversees the U.S. intelligence community, which has grown to 15 agencies, but the director has neither budgetary authority nor day-to-day operational control of the other agencies, most of which are in the Defense Department. A national intelligence director would oversee all the agencies.

COULD SOMEONE SAY WHAT "oversee" MEANS THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IT MEANS IN THE "CIA director oversees the U.S. intelligence community"


Why locating intel director outside of Executive Office of the President per MSNBC video of Bush announcement:

....McClellan cites undue political pressure

....President Bush says, "I think it ought to be a stand-alone group to better coordinate, particularly between foreign intelligence and domestic intelligence matters."

....White House chief-of-staff Andrew Card says the director is going to have a large staff and there wouldn't be room for them in the White House.

....accepting in totality the commission's proposals would have led to an unwieldy intelligence "czar" in the Cabinet.

KERRY SAYS CALL CONGRESS BACK NOW; BUSH SAYS SEPT. IS SOON ENOUGH -never mind that Bush resisted creation of the Sept. 11 in the first place, as well as establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. His fast call to action this time was widely seen as politically adept — and threw up obstacles to Kerry's nomination victory lap - as seen by our media.

But our media does not ask Bush for details!

[TexasSissy]

13. No, the CIA Dir. and the NID are two separate positions.

And from the several articles I read, it seems clear that the NID will NOT have hiring/firing power OR budgetary power, although Andrew Card said that the NID would have considerable input into the intel budget. (In other words, the NID can make suggestions? Like a CIA Dir. is going to listen to someone telling him what to do with HIS agency)

[kentuck]

9. The CIA has been reporting to the Repubs and the Bush family....

for generation...Why should we change that arrangement...Even when Dems are in office.