Four years, two wars, and the worst domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history later, the White House now thinks we might want to reorganize U.S. intelligence agencies.
President Bush said Monday that “now may be a time to revamp and reform our intelligence services,” opening the way for consideration of changes at the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and other agencies.
The Bush administration has not acted on a number of far-reaching proposals to reorganize the government’s intelligence organizations, including recommendations made last year by a Congressional inquiry into the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and other independent intelligence panels.
Expanding the powers of the director of central intelligence and establishing a domestic intelligence agency like the MI5 in Britain are among ideas now circulating in Washington as the independent commission looking into the attacks holds hearings and prepares to make its own recommendations.
Mr. Bush, speaking to reporters at his ranch in Texas at an appearance with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, did not mention any specific changes but said he looked forward to receiving the commission’s proposals. “We’re thinking about that ourselves and we look forward to working with the commission,” he said.
Two quick things. One, Bush may be looking for a way to say he’s “doing something” while the 9/11 Commission highlights one administration breakdown after another. It’s a way to change the conversation away from the things Bush could have done but didn’t, to something proactive Bush can do in the future. How Bush will deal with the “what took so long?” question is a mystery.
And two, it’s more finger-pointing at the intelligence community, which is obviously the administration’s scapegoat of choice.
The president’s comments are an indication that he is turning attention to intelligence matters at a moment when the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are under intense criticism by the commission.
I’m not sure if this is going to work, but it’s clear that the White House is prepared to pass the buck to the FBI and CIA. There’s some rhetorical acrobatics at play and if Bush’s isn’t careful, he’ll trip.
The standard line had been that the administration was prepared to act on the terrorist threat but those darn intelligence agencies never alerted them to the gathering danger. That approach seemed adequate until we learned of all the warnings the White House received from those darn intelligence agencies, including the Aug. 6 PDB that told Bush that Osama bin Laden is “determined to strike in US,” and referencing his desire to “retaliate in Washington,” making “preparations for hijackings,” and looking at “buildings in New York.”
So the standard line switched. Sure, the White House says, those darn intelligence agencies told us about the threat, but no one told us what to do about it.
It’s like a bad Abbott and Costello routine…