The following op-ed has been adapted from the Project for National Security Reform’s recently released report (.pdf), “Turning Ideas Into Action.” It is the third of three that WPR has featured. The first can be found here. The second can be found here. The National Security Act of 1947 established the National Security Council (NSC) to draw upon the expertise of the diplomatic, military, and intelligence departments and agencies to advise the president and coordinate policy. Today’s NSC consists of the president as well as select department secretaries and agency heads. A national security adviser and a small National Security [...]
President Obama welcomed Senator David Boren and Senator Chuck Hagel asco-chairmen of his Intelligence Advisory Board. “I look forward toworking with Chuck and David in their new roles — they will report tome, they will have my full support, and they will have the fullcooperation of my national security staff,” Obama said. ThePresident continued his remarks by commenting on his intendedtransparency, where appropriate, when it comes to the IAB.
If there is one lesson we should have learned from 9/11 regarding intelligence collection and analysis, it is that the national intelligence bureaucracy’s “need to know” bias should be replaced with a cultural emphasis on the “need to share.” That’s why it is alarming to hear that the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) has decided to shut down uGov, a webmail system for the IC and those who need to work with it on a regular basis. The exact reasons for the decision are still unclear, but it seems that they primarily involve concerns over network security: Something might leak out [...]
