MOVING ON INTEL REFORM

President Bush’s choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Florida Rep. Porter Goss, brings a unique blend of experiences to what has become one of the most critiqued jobs in America. While Rep. Goss’ time working for the CIA and nearly a decade of overseeing it as chair of the House Intelligence Committee is a plus, his lackluster support for reforming the agency is troubling. Fortunately, the sentiment in Congress and the White House is that change must come – quickly.

In announcing his choice Tuesday, President Bush praised Rep. Goss as someone who “knows the agency and knows what’s needed to strengthen it.”

Rep. Goss, who worked as a CIA case officer for nine years in the 1960s, may know the agency. As chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, he may know what needs to be changed. The question, one that is likely to be asked repeatedly during Senate confirmation hearings this fall, is whether he has the will to make needed changes.

The 9-11 commission, which issued its final report last month, criticized intelligence agencies for not following up on leads and for not sharing information. Reforms were needed quickly to prevent another terrorist attack, the group warned.

Rep. Goss, to date, however, has advocated a go-slow approach. “The unintended consequences of action we take could wreak havoc if we get it wrong,” he said during a congressional hearing earlier this year to consider reforms. “So we aren’t going to go there.”

If he is confirmed by the Senate and becomes head of the CIA, he will have to go there and soon. His boss has made it clear that he plans to quickly follow many of the 9-11 commission’s recommendations. One of the most important is the creation of a director of national intelligence. This new position will in some ways diminish the power of the CIA director, who now serves both roles.

Although the director of the CIA is nominally in charge of overseeing intelligence gathering by 15 agencies, he has no authority over the other entity’s budgets and roughly 80 percent of intelligence spending is done by the Department of Defense.

Last week, President Bush said he supported creating a director of national intelligence position but he has yet to commit to giving this person budgetary authority. Without budgetary oversight, this position becomes just another layer of bureaucracy.

President Bush, by quickly choosing a CIA director and embracing other reforms, is laying the groundwork for critical improvements in the U.S. intelligence community. It is up to Congress to make sure that the president’s choices and fixes do not fall short.