Greater spying role for Pentagon denied

Greater spying role for Pentagon denied
By Douglas Jehl The New York Times

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2005

WASHINGTON The White House has decided to reject classified recommendations by a presidential commission that would have given the Pentagon greater authority to conduct covert action, senior government officials said.

The decision was a victory for the CIA, which has long been the principal architect and instrument of the secretive operations. The agency has been struggling to retain its authority in the power structure headed by John Negroponte, the new director of national intelligence, especially as the Pentagon has pressed for a greater role in intelligence operations.

The White House will also designate the CIA as the main manager of the government's human spying operations, even those conducted by the Pentagon and the FBI, the officials said Monday.

The decisions were part of a detailed White House response, expected to be announced this week, to the 74 recommendations issued in March by the commission, headed by Lawrence Silberman and Charles Robb, that examined the role of intelligence agencies in detecting and countering the international spread of illicit weapons.
(snip/...)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/28/news/cia.php

... if only because Rumsfeld's behind the move to emasculate the traditional intelligence services. My guess is that DoD will operate as if this never happened because there's no effective oversight in this regard from Congress.

This is a re-print of the New York Times article here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1587266