Intelligence chiefs cite advancements, challenges
The chiefs of the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency said Tuesday that their agencies have made progress in filling intelligence gaps that were exposed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but still face challenges in some critical areas.
More qualified analysts and better human intelligence capabilities continue to be primary needs for the intelligence community, CIA Director George Tenet and DIA Director Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The intelligence community, however, has made significant improvements in sharing information, especially since the Terrorist Threat Integration Center was created, the directors said.
Tenet said primary goals for the CIA are continuing to rebuild human intelligence capabilities and improving intelligence collection. He said the Bush administration's fiscal year 2005 budget adequately funds those areas.
"I think that the budget that's before you has a very strong emphasis in precisely the areas that we need to continue to make steady progress, particularly in human intelligence and special collection activities that allow us to defeat deception and denial [tactics]," Tenet said.
He cited areas that still pose a challenge for the CIA.
"I would say with regard to linguists, this is still a problem for the intelligence community," Tenet said. "We're still not where we need to be on language…and we're working quite hard at it."
The CIA is in better shape with analysts than two years ago, according to Tenet, but the agency needs "a significant augmentation" of analysts over the next five years.
Overall, DIA has made strides in hiring analysts and linguists, but needs more specialized analysts and better information management techniques to aid information sharing, Jacoby said.
"We are, for the first time probably in DIA's history, in a situation where we can hire significant numbers of analysts," Jacoby said, adding that a large number of current analysts are approaching retirement.
"I am very heartened by not only the number of people that we are attracting to the agency, but the breadth of language skills and depth of language skills in some of what we call low-density languages that are so important for the world today and the world of the future," Jacoby said. "I think we're in a situation where we're seeing far quicker improvement than I might have anticipated."
Jacoby touted efforts to beef up his agency's analytical operations. "In the information-sharing area," he said, "things are significantly improved, and I continue to push very hard personally and as the head of defense intelligence for application of modern information management techniques that will allow [analysts] to work much better."
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, noted that 14 inquiries or investigations have examined intelligence failures over the past two years, especially with regard to the Sept. 11 attacks and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Roberts voiced his concern that those efforts would damage the effectiveness and morale of the intelligence community.
"Is there anybody left down at [CIA headquarters in] Langley [Va.] doing their job?" Roberts asked. "I think the only thing lacking is an independent commission to investigate all the independent commissions and investigations."
Tenet acknowledged that the investigations have placed a strain on the CIA.
"We're spending a lot of time on it," he said. "I know it's important. This is a community that believes in oversight."