Rumsfeld: Bush administration still discussing intelligence reforms

WASHINGTON - (KRT)

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made it clear Tuesday that the Bush administration was still debating how to carry out critical details of intelligence reforms that President Bush already has announced.

Rumsfeld told a Senate committee that one of the major questions still left unresolved is how powerful a new national intelligence director should be in overseeing the intelligence agencies.

Senators on the Armed Services Committee pressed Rumsfeld on whether the new intelligence director would take over some of the powers held by the secretary of defense. He declined to give his view.

"We are still looking at these things. They're terribly important. And I am not in the position to say anything other than the devil's in the details," Rumsfeld said.

"While the president has made a number of decisions and announced them, that he believes will improve the intelligence community, some aspects of his proposals are still under discussion."

Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

Try something, just get a grip on something.

It was obvious that he was treading water. Not wanting to be against the administration, but not wanting to admit he's unwilling to give up any of HIS power either.

I continue to yell at my TV! Everyone in the house thinks I'm NUTS!

This is an incredibly important process, and we should be careful that we don't pass something really quickly and regret it later. Remember the Patriot Act?

I think that for now, since our intelligence gathering is likely to be closely connected to military operations against terrorist targets, it makes sense to have most of the intelligence capabilities located in the Department of Defense. No?

It was time for a change on 9/12. Military jets are flying everywhere, every day where I live and the "intelligence" guiding them is asleep at the wheel. That is why the changes have been recomended among many other reasons. I hear what you're saying but the military and it's intelligence are old and in the way. Billion$ not getting the job done. Iraq intelligence?, you get my point.

But the Iraq intelligence was mostly the CIA. George Tenet was the one who told Bush it was a "slam dunk" in Iraq, not Don Rumsfeld.

I think the military jets are in the air in order to intercept hijacked airliners. They basically have to react to what happens. In order to have a PRO-active domestic intelligence agency we'd have to strengthen the Patriot Act and set up many more sting operations like the one in Albany. And that's bordering on entrapment.

I'm more interested in foreign intelligence gathering. The recent arrests made in England and Pakistan have led to a lot of great intelligence and another string of arrests. Kudos to the Bush administration. Hey, if Kerry were president we'd give him credit right?

that even THINKS it might tread on our constitution first. Then go from there. LEAVE OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS ALONE.

If they have a problem they can resolve it without stepping on any rights. They've handled problems until 9/11 with no problem and the only problem on 9/11 is pertinent info wasn't passed up the chain and first responders didn't respond at all until too late.

You are a seriously stupid Freeper...not even intelligent enough to pose things in ways that don't "out" you....

Going...going....GONE! :hi:

Gotta disagree with you there. It's been three years now -- there's no definition of "quickly" that could possibly apply.

I think the real issue at this point is that we shouldn't let Bush screw anything up on his way out the door. If there's a reason to go slow, it's that in a matter of weeks he might very well be a lame-duck president, and in no position to impose institutional changes with any sort of credibility.

And let's not forget that Bush opposed creation of the 9/11 Commission at the outset. He had no interest in receiving recommendations from anyone, and no interest in instituting intelligence reforms of his own. The issue here is not haste. It's that Bush is the wrong man to be entrusted with the task of making changes in intelligence-gathering or any other aspect of our nation's security.

Bushco discussing intelligence is like Jethro discussing Quantum Mechanics. Also, Bush and "reform" shouldn't be used in the same sentence.

Bush ever do intelligence reforms? Gotta have it to reform it.

and executive branches of government. Read Rummy's words again with that in mind...

Is there a well established power brokerage that has evolved since W.W.II. I have always seen signs that papa bush and the neo-cons have had a power over every President in our time. The Bay of Pigs is when it surfaced with authority. Few dispute the CIA's backdooring of JFK. The School of the Americas is a monument to this unchecked force within the intelligence community. And recently on the surface was the government funded group caught giving $2M to Chavez opponents. That too is a group under the control of papa bush and the neo-cons. Am I wrong?

executive branch. Congress has taken orders for too long. The report probably wasn't perfectly nonpartisan, but the gist of it is that our senators and representatives are picking up the slack.

It's good.