The final report of the September 11 commission to be released today will call for sweeping changes in Congressional oversight of intelligence agencies. The Washington Post is reporting that the panel will address the Bush administration’s controversial decision not to grant prisoner-of-war protections to captured al Qaeda suspects, calling for the development of “a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists.” Lawmakers who have seen the report told the New York Times that the commission would call for a reorganization of domestic-intelligence programs within the F.B.I., although not for a separate domestic security intelligence agency; for an office within the White House with an estimated 200 employees to coordinate the work of the 15 intelligence agencies; and for an interagency counterterrorism center to absorb the smaller antiterrorism center that the C.I.A. operates. Information about the previously disclosed recommendation to create a post for a so-called national security director indicates that the director would operate with cabinet- level authority in the executive office of the president, but would not be part of the cabinet.
9/11 Commission Will Release Report Today
HeadlineJul 22, 2004