Reorganizing U.S. Domestic Intelligence: Assessing the Options
Abstract
Terrorism remains prominent on the national agenda, and whether the country's prevention efforts match the threat we face stands central in policy debate. One element of this debate is questioning whether the United States, like some other countries, needs a dedicated domestic intelligence agency. Congress directed that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis perform "an independent study on the feasibility of creating a counterterrorism intelligence agency" to examine this issue (U.S. House of Representatives, 2006, p. 122). This report provides a framework for debate and culminates in a discussion of the pros and cons of creating such an agency. RAND was explicitly asked to frame the issues but not make a recommendation. While RAND was asked to evaluate U.S. domestic arrangements in general, specific evaluations of particular agencies and their performance were not part of its charter. In particular, while RAND discusses the FBI's transformation initiatives, an evaluation of that transformation was beyond its charter. Such an independent evaluation would be valuable. The fact that the transformation is very much a work in progress did, however, complicate RAND's task in framing the issues, for much of the public debate is still rooted in pre-September 11 conceptions of the shortcomings of the domestic intelligence enterprise in the United States. This document aims to enrich the discussion among homeland security policy makers, state and local governments, law enforcement organizations, civil rights and civil liberties organizations, and private sector organizations with interests in homeland security. The study is part of a larger body of RAND research related to homeland security, intelligence, and terrorism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA488974
Entities
People
- Gregory F. Treverton
Organizations
- RAND Corporation