LAT: Bush Orders Major Expansion of CIA

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cia24nov24,0,2788522,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

President Bush has ordered what may be a major expansion of the CIA, calling for the beleaguered agency to add thousands of new analysts and spies as part of an ongoing build-up in the war on terrorism, according to a White House memorandum released Tuesday.

But the directive set no timetable for the changes and offered no indication that the White House intends to ask Congress for the massive funding increase such a plan likely would require.

The plan was outlined in a memorandum delivered to CIA Director Porter J. Goss last week. In it, Bush instructed the intelligence chief to increase the number of analysts and spies at the CIA by 50 percent. The figure stunned current and former intelligence officials, several of whom said the CIA has not charted such an aggressive course of growth since its inception in the aftermath of World War II.

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The Bush memorandum says the increases are to take place "as soon as feasible," and would be "subject to the availability of appropriations." Bush gave the agency 90 days to develop a "detailed budget and implementation plan."

Because of the caveats contained in the document and the low-key, mysterious manner in which it was released by the White House, the memorandum was greeted with a mixture of enthusiasm and skepticism in the intelligence community.

Prepare yourself for Fascism American Style.