Intelligence

To address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st Century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with substantial authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. The legislation calls for a separate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

International terrorism, a major threat facing the U.S. in the 21st century, presents a difficult analytical challenge. Techniques for acquiring and analyzing information on small groups of plotters differ significantly from those used to evaluate the military capabilities of other countries.

Counterterrorism requires the close coordination of intelligence and law enforcement agencies including the Department of Homeland Security. Although the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 removed previously existing statutory barriers, there remain many institutional and procedural issues that complicate cooperation between the two sets of agencies. Key provisions of USA PATRIOT were set to expire at the end of 2005, but Congress passed a brief extension in late December.

A surveillance program against communications in which one party is believed to be a member of Al Qaeda or affiliated with Al Qaeda and one party is in the U.S. has been conducted outside the parameters of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), generating extensive criticism. The effort, Administration officials maintain, is directed at terrorists plotting attacks on the U.S., and requires the agile interceptions of calls using technologies not envisioned in FISA procedures. Administration officials maintain that the effort lies within the President's constitutional prerogatives and is justified on the basis of the Joint Resolution providing Authority for the Use of Force (P.L. 107-40) of September 18, 2001. Others assert that FISA warrants and court orders are the sole source of this kind of surveillance authority and that FISA includes expedited procedures and that changes in statutory law should have been sought.

My Position on Wiretapping Issue:

Most recently in a response to media inquiries to the NSA surveillance probe, I told reporters that “Not enough is known about these cases to make a judgment about the program. However, I am generally uncomfortable using the broad interpretation of one law to avoid compliance with all other relevant laws.”