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Sept. 11 Commission Leaders Call for New Intelligence Director to Have Budgetary, Personnel Authority By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — Stressing the need for the creation of a national intelligence director to achieve the “complete transformation” of the U.S. intelligence community, the heads of the Sept. 11 commission yesterday called for the position to have full budgetary and personnel authority (see GSN, Aug. 9). “We believe the national intelligence director must have power. And power comes from the budget. And power comes from personnel,” commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton told the House Armed Services Committee. “If he does not have that power, then we don’t think it’s going to be very effective,” Hamilton added. The Sept. 11 commission and the White House seemingly differ on what budgetary and personnel authority the new director should have over the various U.S. intelligence agencies. On Sunday, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said the administration was examining ways to provide the new director with “effective” levels of authority, suggesting the White House may be open to compromise. Several committee members expressed concern over the possible impact of the Sept. 11 commission’s reform recommendations on the Defense Department, which controls most of the U.S. intelligence agencies and about 80 percent of intelligence funding. “We must ensure that the commission’s recommendations, particularly those that involve restructuring much of the intelligence community, will make sense for dealing with all of our national security challenges,” said Representative Ike Skelton (Mo.), the top Democrat on the committee. While Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld previously opposed the creation of a national intelligence director, according to reports, he has recently come out in support of the position as envisioned by the White House. During yesterday’s hearing, committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) noted that the commission’s report did not attribute blame for the inability to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to either the Pentagon or any of the intelligence agencies under its control. While agreeing, 9/11 commission Chairman Thomas Kean said that a lack of coordination among intelligence agencies was a factor. As an example, he cited a 1998 statement by then-CIA Director George Tenet that called for all agencies to focus on al-Qaeda — a call that was apparently not received by those outside the CIA. “Now, that’s a very important thing when the head of an intelligence agency declares war. Nobody got it. Nobody got it in other agencies. Nobody got it, even in some cases, within the CIA. We can find no effect, basically, for that declaration of war,” Kean said. Hamilton rejected suggestions that military commanders would have reduced access to national intelligence assets, such as satellites, through the creation of a national intelligence director. To help prevent such a circumstance, the Sept. 11 commission recommended that one of three proposed deputy national intelligence directors also serve as defense undersecretary for intelligence, he said. “It is unimaginable to us that the national intelligence director would not give protection of our forces deployed in the field a very high, if not highest, priority,” Hamilton said. In addition, Hamilton said that all tactical intelligence programs should remain under the direct control of the Pentagon. “We do not remove the secretary of defense from direct, immediate control over the intelligence assets that are necessary for the war fighter. That stays exactly as it is today, and must stay the way it is today,” he said. Meanwhile, House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), yesterday called on President George W. Bush to convene a special session of Congress to move forward on legislation implementing the Sept. 11 commission’s recommendations. There are about six weeks left in the current congressional session, which is set to end in October. House Democrats said yesterday that a special session could be used to hold markup hearings on an intelligence reform bill introduced in April by Representative Jane Harman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee (see GSN, April 24). “Congress has had plenty of time to talk. This government has had plenty of time to talk. On the third-year anniversary of 9/11, which is in just a few days, we should have action to show to our country, and especially to … honor those who gave their lives so senselessly three years ago,” Harman said.
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