DHS official: Terrorist threat center may need to move
The Terrorist Threat Integration Center has become one of the most robust sources of intelligence for federal agencies, but it might need to be placed under a new organization once it matures, a senior homeland security official said Wednesday.
Keeping the center under the CIA may not be the best option in the future, said retired Army Lt. Gen. Patrick Hughes, assistant secretary for information analysis at the Homeland Security Department.
"My view, which has not changed, is that at some point we need to consider the Terrorist Threat Integration Center coming under a different kind of management structure; perhaps under DHS, perhaps under an association structure of some kind," Hughes told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism on Wednesday.
Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., said many lawmakers believe TTIC should be moved under DHS.
TTIC was created last year to close the gap between analysis of foreign and domestic intelligence on terrorism. Comprised of elements of the CIA, FBI, Defense Department and DHS, the center merges and analyzes terrorist-related information collected domestically and abroad to form a comprehensive threat picture.
Hughes said the CIA initially provided the necessary structure that enabled TTIC to set up operations quickly. He communicates daily with TTIC for intelligence on potential terrorist threats, which is then used to make decisions such as what information should be distributed to state and local officials and whether the nation's threat level should be raised.
CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that TTIC has contributed to an overall improvement in intelligence collection and sharing activities.
"Is there still room for improvement? Yes, there is. Are we in a much better place than we were two years ago? Absolutely," Tenet said. "And I think that the Terrorist Threat Integration Center and the new information architectures and sharing architectures that we are bringing to bear, and the collaboration that it's fostering analytically, is a major improvement over where we were a number of years ago."
Some members of the House subcommittee questioned Hughes on whether his office, which is part of the DHS Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection directorate, is effectively integrated into the intelligence community and receiving reliable information in a timely manner.
"We are very concerned that you're essentially being in some ways pushed aside and having to fight when Congress has already determined your role," said Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y.
Hughes said he has direct access to TTIC, but acknowledged he sometimes has to rely on his experience as the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to access information from intelligence channels.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said the fact that Hughes has to rely on his credentials to get information is "a very dangerous situation for the homeland security of our country."
"Anyone who sits in your position, even if you're not an old war horse, should be able to get the information," Markey said.
Hughes disagreed.
"If I thought it was dangerous I would tell you," he said. "At times I have certainly been frustrated by it, but it's not dangerous yet."
Hughes added that intelligence sharing is improving every day, and he is laying the groundwork that will allow his successors to have better access to intelligence.
"Someone, hopefully far younger and far less experienced than me, is going to come into this job and their foundation is going to be very, very good," he said.