Intelligence

This morning, the Committee on Governmental Affairs holds its seventh hearing on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to reform America’s intelligence community. I commend my colleagues for their dedication to the vital mission assigned to this Committee, and I welcome the very distinguished witnesses whose testimony will help guide us.

We meet today after a somber weekend of remembrance. The anniversary of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks will forever be a day of tears and prayers for the victims, and for their families. On this third anniversary, tears and prayers were offered as well for the victims of terrorism in Russia, and for their families. Now, as three years ago, the grief of people of good will knows no borders.

We in government have an obligation to do more than grieve. The massacre of innocent schoolchildren in Beslan, and of innocents in Bali, Istanbul, Madrid, Jerusalem, Jakarta, and so many other places, reminds us that terrorism has both a global reach and an unlimited capacity for cruelty. We in government have an obligation to dedicate ourselves to the defeat of this enemy.

The role of this Committee in this effort is to transform an intelligence structure built for the Cold War into one that meets the demands of the war against terrorism. Thanks to the hard work of this committee and the many expert witnesses we have heard from, as well as the efforts of other committees and the Administration, this new structure is within our reach.

A recent news report put it this way, and I quote: “The White House, both chambers of Congress, and members of both political parties are beginning to sing from the same hymnal on overhauling the nation’s intelligence agencies, but they are not all in the same key yet.”

To continue the musical metaphor, I would add that, although we aren’t all perfectly in tune, neither are we tone deaf. We know what the American people expect of us, and we know what we must do to meet those expectations. We know that the stakes are high, and we know that reform cannot wait.

With each hearing, significant points of consensus are emerging. The need for a National Intelligence Director with sufficient authority over budget and personnel to do the job effectively becomes more and more evident. The power of this NID position cannot inhibit the competitive analysis advantage we gain from a vigorous intelligence community. Virtually every witness has endorsed a National Counterterrorism Center that will integrate our knowledge and coordinate our fight against global terrorism. Intelligence reform should enhance, not detract, from military intelligence and readiness.

There also is widespread agreement that the complex threats we face today and into the future require a new configuration that enhances information sharing. Larry Kindsvater, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, has described the situation this way: “No one and no organizational entity is actually responsible for bringing together in a unified manner the entire IC’s (Intelligence Community’s) collection and analytic capabilities to go against individual national security missions and threats, such as terrorism, North Korea, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and China.”

Against that array of threats, we need unity, but we also must preserve the competitive analysis of the 15 members of our intelligence community. Our intelligence network needs a hub, but the nation does not need a new bureaucracy. This hub, which I call the National Intelligence Authority, must be crafted so that we gain coordination, cooperation, and communication, and lose only our vulnerability.

As the title of this hearing indicates, the reform we undertake must be designed to meet the needs of both consumers and producers of intelligence, the government departments that use, collect and analyze intelligence to carry out their missions. I am pleased that we have with us today the extraordinary leaders of two such departments, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Secretary of State Colin Powell.  America has been fortunate indeed to be served by two such outstanding leaders in the war against terrorism.

As a nation, we should recognize how far we have come since September 11^th of 2001. The FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies have undergone significant internal restructuring. We have created the Department of Homeland Security and the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. We’ve expanded the Joint Terrorism Task Force program and the resources available to our first responders.  The President, members of Congress, and, of course, the members and staff of the 9/11 Commission have advanced the cause of intelligence reform, and put us on the path of continued progress.

Many details still must be resolved before the emerging consensus can be turned into real reform, but each day we are advancing the goal. We know, from the devastation at Ground Zero to the slaughter in Russia, that our enemy is capable of anything. Surely, we are capable of enacting true reform that will help make us safer.