Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld struck a cautious tone Tuesday on the need for a national intelligence director, saying any changes should not create new barriers between war fighters and agencies that collect intelligence.
As the Senate Armed Services Committee considered intelligence reform, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin also said he — personally — would support giving the proposed national intelligence director the authority to control the foreign intelligence elements of a national intelligence budget believed to be in the $40 billion range.
That would give the proposed director intragency spending control over huge swaths of the country's intelligence network, including the Defense Department's National Security Agency and National Reconnaissance Office, even though Congress ultimately would decide the figure in the absence of a presidential veto. Added budgetary powers, which the White House is considering, has sparked extensive debate.
