The Secret Government: Beyond Control?

I finally have had some time to digest the initial installment in the Washington Post's "Top Secret America" series on the post-9/11 growth of the U.S. intelligence, counterterrorism and homeland security apparatus. It's a stunningly comprehensive look at a secret world that raises some fairly serious questions about whether anyone, in or out of government, grasps the totality of what agencies and they're their contractors are doing in this realm.

First, in case you missed it, are some of the the key facts and figures:

• There are 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies that work on top secret programs.
• About 854,000 people hold top-secret security clearances.
• Intelligence analysts produce a total of 50,000 reports a year.

As someone who's observed the federal bureaucracy for 20 years, it's no surprise to me that outsiders can't get a handle on just how big an apparatus like this is, or whether anyone can properly understand and oversee the work it produces. But it's a little unnerving to see a number of high-level insiders say they don't have a grip on the system, either.

"The complexity of this system defies description," says retired Army Gen. John R. Vines, who was asked to review the Defense Department's most sensitive programs last year after a career that included commanding more than 100,000 troops in Iraq.

"We've built tremendous capability, but do we have more than we need?" asks Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair characterized the post-9/11 attitude as "if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing."

Of course, it's fairly easy to take anything that government does and make it seem massive, expensive and out of control. It's a big country, and a complex world. It's also very difficult to find the line between a healthy level of redundancy and sheer overkill. Here's the official reaction of current acting DNI, David C. Gompert, to the Post report:

In recent years, we have reformed the [intelligence community] in ways that have improved the quality, quantity, regularity, and speed of our support to policymakers, warfighters, and homeland defenders, and we will continue our reform efforts. We provide oversight, while also encouraging initiative. We work constantly to reduce inefficiencies and redundancies, while preserving a degree of intentional overlap among agencies to strengthen analysis, challenge conventional thinking, and eliminate single points of failure. We are mindful of the size of our contractor ranks, but greatly value the critical flexibility and specialized skills they contribute to our mission.

Note the phrase "intentional overlap." Doubtless, some of the redundancy that has developed has been built into the system purposefully. But it's also hard to believe that in the years since 9/11, when spending on security, intelligence and counterterrorism has consistently been exempt from budgetary restrictions and strict oversight, that we have evolved the ideal system for keeping America safe.