The Colossal Failure of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence

[bridgit]

'Like its counterpart, the office of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has been a colossal failure. Both offices were created in the wake of 9/11 as part of the nervous and unnecessary overreaction to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Hurricane Katrina exposed the futility and feckless nature of the office of Homeland Security. And now the inspector general of DNI has confirmed the ineptitude and mismanagement of the DNI.

The Intelligence Reform Act created the DNI in December 2004 to centralize intelligence production and end CIA's dominance of the intelligence production process within the intelligence community. Centralized intelligence production simply does not work and, in fact, increases the opportunities for politicized intelligence. When CIA director William Casey wanted to politicize intelligence for President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, he appointed Robert Gates to the key positions of deputy director of intelligence and chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

These positions allowed Gates to tailor all CIA intelligence analysis, including the National Intelligence Estimates, the daily briefings for the president, and all current intelligence. This is the only time in the CIA's history that one individual controlled these positions, and it led directly to the politicization of intelligence on the Soviet Union, Central America, and Southwest Asia. Gates's efforts led the CIA to thoroughly miss the decline and fall of the Soviet Union. Centralized intelligence production free of debate and dissent also produced the phony intelligence analysis that supported the decision to go to war against Iraq in 2003.'

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Colossal-Failure-of-Th-by-Melvin-A-Goodman-090403-833.html

[babylonsister]

1. Could this be a hit piece on Gates?

Wasn't he the prez of TX A&M in 2003?

[bridgit]

2. Hmmm, yeah he was come to think of it...

[arcadian]

3. So you mean creating another layer of bureaucracy makes things not work?

Go figure.



Incidentally here are the offices of the ODNI with the National Counter-terrorism Center in the background. As far as I know, I'm the only person who's photographed it, except for press photographers and they would never disclose where these buildings are located. The contractors working at the gate had a conniption when I whipped out my camera and started snapping off pictures.

Seriously, the WaPo articles about this place would say, "undisclosed location, address omitted for national security reasons", Well, the building is in Vienna, Virginia near Tysons Corner on Farm Bureau Road.