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29 July 2004

White House Report, July 29: Intelligence Reform

Bush "pleased' with progress on intelligence recommendations

President Bush is pleased with the progress being made by a taskforce he created to help review recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, White House spokesman Trent Duffy told reporters July 28.

According to Duffy, Bush held the third video-teleconference with his task force from his ranch in Crawford, Texas and "is pleased with the work that was accomplished this week at the ranch and in Washington on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission."

The bipartisan commission's report about U.S. intelligence prior to the September 11, 2001, attacks was released July 22 and contains several recommendations for improving the U.S. handling of intelligence.

The spokesman pointed to internal reforms already being made in the CIA and FBI to make "America safer" and said that Bush's "most solemn priority is to protect the American people."

"The President's main focus right now is on analyzing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and taking those steps that will make America safer. And that's where his focus is," Duffy said.

According to a White House official, Bush has previously "laid out three principles for reform, including improving human intelligence, improving the use of technology in intelligence gathering, and improving the coordination among intelligence agencies."

When asked about a timeline for a decision about recommendations, Duffy responded, "We want to move quickly, but we want to get it done right, and that's why [Bush] has his top advisers going through all these recommendations."

"We have an historic opportunity to improve and make changes to our intelligence capabilities as we fight this war on terror, and that's why they're proceeding at an appropriate pace," he said.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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