According to David Isenberg, writing in the Asia Times, the report recommends that "responsibility and accountability for the P2OG would be vested in a 'Special Operations Executive' in the National Security Council (NSC). The NSC would plan operations but not oversee their execution in order to avoid comparisons to past abuses, such as the Iran-Contra operations run out of the NSC by Oliver North during the Reagan administration. Under the board's proposal, NSC plans would be executed by the Pentagon or the CIA."
Will the DSB's proposals be adopted by the Defense Department and forwarded to Congress for approval? The FAS' Steven Aftergood believes that the "U.S. needs effective intelligence collection systems in order to anticipate and respond to threats." However, he tempers this by reiterating his conviction that intelligence functions need strong and "effective oversight." Unfortunately, he added, "The agency has been allowed to operate in a vacuum for too long." Invigorated Congressional oversight is what is required to "keep the agencies on a straight and lawful course" and to keep the public informed. And unfortunately, Aftergood added, "That is something that appears to definitely be lacking at this time." For more please see the Bill Berkowitz archive. Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement. His WorkingForChange column Conservative Watch documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories and defeats of the American Right.
Bill Berkowitz
Article courtesy of Working for Change: http://www.workingforchange.com/index.cfm
Will the DSB's proposals be adopted by the Defense Department and forwarded to Congress for approval? The FAS' Steven Aftergood believes that the "U.S. needs effective intelligence collection systems in order to anticipate and respond to threats." However, he tempers this by reiterating his conviction that intelligence functions need strong and "effective oversight." Unfortunately, he added, "The agency has been allowed to operate in a vacuum for too long." Invigorated Congressional oversight is what is required to "keep the agencies on a straight and lawful course" and to keep the public informed. And unfortunately, Aftergood added, "That is something that appears to definitely be lacking at this time." For more please see the Bill Berkowitz archive. Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement. His WorkingForChange column Conservative Watch documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories and defeats of the American Right.
Bill Berkowitz
Article courtesy of Working for Change: http://www.workingforchange.com/index.cfm