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| Home Front: Politix |
| Pentagon Spy Agency Trimmed after Lawmakers Voice Concern |
| 2014-11-04 |
| [AnNahar] A Pentagon plan to create an overseas intelligence agency is being trimmed after politicians voiced concern with its price and purpose, The Washington Post reported. The new Defense Clandestine Service, announced by the Pentagon more than two years ago, is to use existing agents, authorities and assets and work closely with the Central Intelligence Agency to track emerging threats. But a report by the Post late Saturday said that the U.S. military's Defense Intelligence Agency would train and deploy at most only 500 undercover officers, approximately half of what was initially planned. Cutbacks also include a scaled-down training schedule and steering most of those involved towards more traditional DIA roles. Although case officers from the DIA already secretly gather intelligence outside of conventional battle zones, the Defense Clandestine Service, or DCS, is meant to further cement cooperation between the military and the CIA. But Congress, including members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee in particular, voiced concern that the Pentagon would be picking up the tab for CIA duties, the Post said. "We did reevaluate the DCS program after initial discussions with Congress," Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Commander Amy Derrick-Frost said in the Post. The former head of the DIA, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, was pushed out of his post earlier this year, according to the Post, after disagreements with other senior figures and amid efforts to speed up the plan to deploy more spies. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #4 Apparently we don't want to know what happens in the rest of the world. |
| Posted by: Sheamble Flailet5287 2014-11-04 15:29 |
| #3 Methinks the biggest problem with our intelligence community is we have too many agencies. Whatever happened to the idea of having a few well coordinated intelligence agencies sharing information recognizing the special needs of each agency. It appears we have spooks falling all over each other, ill-coordinated, and fighting turf wars more than sharing information on the bad guys. Top that with the intense politicalization of the intelligence community with true believers and promoting specific narratives to support one administration or the other and we have a festering fever swamp of a mess. Do we have any adult supervision of these people? |
| Posted by: Mystic 2014-11-04 11:16 |
| #2 The former head of the DIA, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, was pushed out of his post earlier this year, according to the Post, after disagreements with other senior figures and amid efforts to speed up the plan to deploy more spies. Both General Flynn and his civilian deputy were pushed out or forced to retire. The Klingons do not like competition. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-04 00:49 |
| #1 But Congress, including members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee in particular, voiced concern that the Pentagon would be picking up the tab for CIA duties, the Post said. Who knew? The Klingons exploiting DoD. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-04 00:18 |