The press has been poring over the latest National Intelligence Estimate, at least the de-classified part they've been able to read. Most have discussed the report's estimate that Al-Qaeda has regrouped and is aiming to strike at the US again.
The Chicago Tribune wonders if the report was issued strategically since it coincides with the Senate's latest effort to pull the troops.
For our purposes, it is useful to ask where the report comes from and what the overall design of the intelligence apparatus in the U.S. is.
The report is the responsibility of the Director of National Intelligence who, according to its website: "serves as the head of the Intelligence Community (IC). The DNI also acts as the principal advisor to the President; the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to the national security; and oversees and directs the implementation of the National Intelligence Program."
The Intelligence Community is the term used to describe the 16 agencies and organizations that collect intelligence. The community was officially established by President Reagan in an executive order in an effort to coordinate the collection of intelligence. The idea that a director should oversee the entire community dates back to the 1950s, but did not become law until assessments of the intelligence failures that allowed the 9/11 attacks to occurred spurred its actual establishment in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act of 2004. Previously the head of the Central Intelligence Agency also served as the Director of National Intelligence, but now this position only oversees the CIA.
Though the purpose is to facilitate coordination, some suggest that the office is not given enough power to oversee the intelligence operations in other agencies like the National Security Agency.
