Bill Would Give CIA More Power Overseas -Pincus, WP

[Rose Siding]

The CIA would be given authority to coordinate all human intelligence activities overseas, including those carried out by Pentagon and FBI personnel, under legislation proposed by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the fiscal 2006 intelligence authorization bill.

At a time when the CIA appears to be losing its preeminence in clandestine operations abroad, the House panel suggested language in the bill that it said was designed to clarify roles of the CIA director and the new director of national intelligence (DNI) regarding the collection of human intelligence outside the United States "by any department, agency or element" of the U.S. government.

In the past, the CIA has exercised similar authority in most cases, but the House panel decided to try to put that into law as a result of increased overseas operations by many government agencies, and reports that several Pentagon teams had been found operating overseas without the knowledge of CIA officials.

Under the House committee proposal, CIA Director Porter J. Goss would develop a process for coordinating clandestine human intelligence activities overseas, but it would be "subject to the approval of the DNI," John D. Negroponte, according to the panel's report, made available yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601535.html

[Roland99]

1. Why does this feel like a baaaad idea?

[bluedeminredstate]

2. Could be their track record

over the last few years in their ethusiasm for extracting useless information and interrogations resulting in deaths. I also think it's a really bad idea when they subcontract that kind of work out to "independent contractors" who answer to no one.
Keep it in house and let's follow the Geneva Conventions. We should, at the very least, pretend that we care about them.
Then maybe this isn't so bad.
One observation though: Goss is redundant and useless.

[Roland99]

4. Not sure Goss is useless. I read this as he's in control of foreign ops.

[Rose Siding]

6. Maybe they'll let him back into the NSC meetings

This week's Time Mag says that right now he's on an invitation only basis.

[Dover]

3. Hmmm....is this something that gets voted on? This needs to be

gone over line by line, with a fine-toothed comb.

[struggle4progress]

5. Harry Truman said forty years ago that the CIA was a mistake.

We should abolish it: it's just a den for thugs like King Bush I and his murderous lackeys like Posada ...