Now the CIA Spies on the Economy

By Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers

The president and his CIA chief seem to be reading Foreign Policy Magazine, which recently suggested that the incoming administration change the nature of the daily intelligence updates to the White House. Today, CIA Director Leon Panetta told reporters that his agency was producing, at the request of the Obama administration, a new "economic intelligence brief" and distributing it to key policymakers. Reflecting the comments of the director of national intelligence, who called the economic crisis a serious national security threat, the new brief will focus on global economic issues, Panetta says. "It will cover overseas developments, economic, political, leadership developments," he says. "Obviously, the implications in terms of the U.S. economy will be analyzed as well." The first EIB was sent out today to "key players" in the administration.