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CIA Gives More Power to Spies to Bolster Intelligence Operations
[Free Beacon] The Central Intelligence Agency under President Trump is giving more authority to field operatives and cutting excessive bureaucracy in a bid to boost intelligence operations, CIA Director Mike Pompeo says.In his first news interview since taking charge of the agency in January, Pompeo also said he believes America's greatest long-term security challenge is the threat posed by China, not Russia. During a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of a security conference in Aspen, Colo., Pompeo revealed the CIA is preparing intelligence options for the president, including covert action, for use against North Korea in efforts to counter the threat of a future nuclear missile attack. He also outlined how the CIA is stepping up counterintelligence programs against foreign spies and leaks of intelligence. Other disclosures by the CIA chief included new details of North Korea's drive to develop reliable strategic nuclear missiles and a renewed CIA focus on stealing foreign secrets. "Look, our primary mission is foreign intelligence," Pompeo told the Washington Free Beacon. "That is at the core of what we do, and so the ability to go collect against the most difficult places, the most difficult targets in a way that is not one off, that is deep and robust and redundant, is something this agency is really good at when they are allowed to do it. And the president is going to go let us do it." Similar to the Pentagon shift in giving military commanders greater authority to act in the field, the CIA is unleashing its spying power--clandestine operations, intelligence analysis, and technical prowess. The CIA chief said decentralizing spying authority presents both risks and promise. "In nearly every one of those cases it increases the risk level," he said. "It also greatly enhances the likelihood you'll achieve the outcome you're looking for." The shift followed an internal agency review earlier this year that identified several areas where the CIA needed new guidance, or CIA activities that are allowed under law but had been restricted under President Barack Obama's administration, Pompeo said. The CIA director said he meets regularly with Trump during intelligence briefings and noted that the president has been very supportive of agency reforms aimed at improving CIA operations. A former Army officer who until January was a Republican member of the House, Pompeo said the two most immediate security threats are Islamic State terrorists fleeing the Middle East and North Korea's aggressive effort to field long-range missiles with nuclear warheads that can strike the United States. Posted by: Besoeker 2017-07-26 |
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