Dismantle the CIA? Remove the DIA and NSA from the Department of Defense umbrella? Sen. Pat Roberts hasn't shared his intel reform plan with the Democrats, nor with the White House yet, but he did run a two page summary by CBS' Bob Schieffer on Sunday:

Roberts' plan would put the CIA's three main directorates — Operations, which runs intelligence collection and covert actions; Intelligence, which analyzes intelligence reports; and Science and Technology — into three new, separate and renamed agencies, each reporting to a separate assistant national intelligence director. It also would remove three of the largest intelligence agencies from the Pentagon.

Although the measure would essentially dismantle the CIA, Roberts said in a paper he released: "We are not abolishing the CIA. We are reordering and renaming its three major elements."

"No one agency, no matter how distinguished its history, is more important than U.S. national security," the paper said.

A congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there would be no CIA director, and the agency's parts would have new names under a new management structure.

Despite Roberts' assertion that he wouldn't abolish the CIA, some intelligence officials think that sounds exactly like what he is trying to do.

Actually, I'm intrigued by such a proposal, what we have now clearly doesn't work. But I imagine it will never get anywhere. But who knows?

UPDATE: And the CIA-led Iraq Survey Group has apparently decided, contrary to earlier reporting, not to project the threat Iraq might have posed had the US not invaded. A follow up report by the LA Times' Greg Miller reports: "Charles Duelfer, speaking by telephone from Baghdad, said the search team had discussed making such a projection but decided not to pursue it. Duelfer said the fact that the idea was discussed might have created the impression among officials in Washington that such speculation would be a component of the final report."

MORE: Here's more about Roberts' plan -- and reaction -- from the NY Times.

And a friend from that world says of Roberts' plan, "Terrible idea, will never happen ... if DoD loses NSA & NGA (DIA is irrelevant), the services will simply recreate NSA & NGA under new names, under full DoD control."

He adds, "Keep in mind that recasting the IC has been a 'big new idea' since 1955 ...we're still waiting. Never underestimate the power of inertia."

Indeed.

Posted by Laura at August 22, 2004 06:00 PM