Not only is his plan unworkable, it's dangerously inept. The budget costings on this pork barrel proposal, will treble, at a time whe we can least afford this type of spending.

When Senator Pat Roberts unveiled his plan for revamping Intelligence services, I was struck once again by how very narrow minded and limited the thinking is on Capitol Hill. His new plan calls for removing the DIA, CIA and NSA, from under the Pentagon's purvue, and creating a bloated and byzantine bureaucratic morass.

Not only is his plan unworkable, it's dangerously inept. The budget costings on this pork barrel proposal, will treble, at a time whe we can least afford this type of spending.

The idea behind most of the proposed 9-11 recommendations, was to decrease inter-agency competition, and foster a more cooperative working environment among the different arms of our intelligence agencies. Senator Roberts plan appears to not only avoid addressing this, but actually appears as if it will worsen it.

Why not form a raw intelligence analysis unit, completely removed from political pressure and influence? This unit would be an interagency team, sharing information and cooperating, without fear of the pressures that have dogged any intel gathering body for over 60 years.

Each of the arms of our Intel community serves a specific function. Where there is overlap, that should be removed. Any oversight should be done by seasoned case officers, who have actually worked cases out in the more hostile places in this world. Placing an Ivy League desk jockey, who has never done more than come up the Washington inside track, in a position like Director, is absurd and in my opinion incredibly dangerous, given the times we live in. Again, instead of one Director, why not have a committee, comprised of a member from each area of Intelligence? This puts in place, a checks and balances scenario, but one comprised of hopefully apoltical individuals, who will foster cooperation and teamwork, over political expediency.

This agency would file regular reports to the Joint Intelligence Committee, and in fact have one of their members as part of the directorate. The old system of carrot and stick rewards, based on how one skewed reports to satisfy some political master would be gone. Our analysts should not have to fear career stopping ruination, because they have discerned something not pleasing to Capitol Hill, or make an error. Error is built in when analysing data, which is often coming from human intell, and therefore subject to flaws.

Perhaps adding a clause to any bill stating any  Senator, Congressman or lobbyist caught attempting to skew, suppress or influence Intell analysis reporting, will be subject to disciplinary measures, up to and including removal from office.

The Department of Homeland Security is the perfect shell in which to begin trialing new ways of working as a team. People criticise Tom Ridge's department, but fail to realise, this is a very young and raw agency, with huge potential, if run right. It is also much more user friendly to most Americans, as opposed to the other branches. And this is critical to our staying safe and becoming more secure here at home. Too many U.S. citizens are terrified of our Intelligence agencies, and often avoid reporting vital information because of it. And, rightly so.

In order for the U.S. to survive, we need to have that fear removed. The prevailing attitude in intell, is that most Americans are beneath them, and therefore suspect. People, who in the past have tried to report things have been treated rudely or worse, find themselves under scrutiny. The 9-11 committee touches on this in a tangential manner. There should be community outreach officers, chosen for their ability to communicate effectively and reasonably with the public and local law enforcement. An individual wanting to report something should be given a name and a contact number to call back. It doesn't matter if it's a rerouted phone number, what matters is treating John Q. Public with a modicum of respect. I submit, if we had had more user friendly contacts within our country, 9-11 may well have been averted.

 

Our taxes pay for their salaries, they work for all of us..not Washington political opportunists. It is past time for anyone who cares about what happens to us here in the U.S., to wake up and start adding our valuable input to matters as critical as this one is. Start writing and calling your respective Senators and Congressmen, with your ideas and opinions on this. It is your right and your privilege to do so. Don't waste this opportunity.