A Better Government | Intelligence Reform
A New FBI
Much criticism fell on the FBI after 9/11 for its partiality towards criminal justice over national security operations. In response, some have called for the creation of a domestic intelligence agency, loosely analogous to the British MI-5 service. However, as the 9/11 Commission has explained, the creation of a separate domestic intelligence agency would distract attention from necessary reforms in other areas, as well as divert valuable – and limited – resources and personnel. Rather, the Commission recommended the FBI make an “all-out effort to institutionalize change… [creating a] specialized and integrated national security workforce… at the FBI consisting of agents, analysts, linguists, and surveillance specialists who are recruited, trained, rewarded, and retained.”
Since 9/11, and more specifically, after the release of the 9/11 Commission Report, progress has been made at the FBI, due in large part to the effort of FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. Change, however, has come slow. As the Commission’s December 2005 follow-up report asserts, “the FBI’s shift to a counterterrorism posture is far from institutionalized, and significant deficiencies remain. Reforms are at risk from inertia and complacency; the must be accelerated, or they will fail.”
At a recent Congressional hearing, 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean and Vice-Chairman Lee Hamilton confirmed the pace of reform is still too slow: “Numerous problems still impede the Bureau: failure to improve the FBI’s inadequate information technology; continuing deficiencies in the FBI’s analytic capabilities; shortfalls in information sharing; too much turnover in the workforce and bureau leadership, and insufficient investment in human capital and training.”
9/11 Commission Recommendation:
“A specialized and integrated national security workforce should be established at the FBI consisting of agents, analysts, linguists, and surveillance specialists who are recruited, trained, rewarded, and retained to ensure the development of an institutional culture imbued with a deep expertise in intelligence and national security.”
Read the recommendation in context in the 9/11 Commission Final Report, Chapter 13
Follow-Up to Recommendation:
December, 2005 9/11 Public Discourse Project Report Card:
Create FBI national security workforce, grade: C
Progress is being made—but it is too slow. The FBI’s shift to a counterterrorism posture is far from institutionalized, and significant deficiencies remain. Reforms are at risk from inertia and complacency; they must be accelerated, or they will fail. Unless there is improvement in a reasonable period of time, Congress will have to look at alternatives.
Excerpt from the testimony of 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations Hearing on 9/11 Commission Recommendations, June 6, 2006:
The FBI:
FBI reform has been moving in the right direction, but has been far too slow. These problems have been well-documented not only by the Commission, but by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General, and the excellent work of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Numerous problems still impede the Bureau: failure to improve the FBI’s inadequate information technology; continuing deficiencies in the FBI’s analytic capabilities; shortfalls in information sharing; too much turnover in the workforce and bureau leadership, and insufficient investment in human capital and training.
We have great respect for the reform efforts of Director Mueller. There are steps forward, and sometimes -- with computer systems, for example -- steps backward. The Bureau is still struggling.
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