National Security Watch: A portrait of CIA-FBI dysfunction
The unclassified version of the Justice Department inspector general's report on the FBI's pre-September 11 performance, much of which was released last week, paints a revealing portrait of what several commissions have called the "dysfunction" of the nation's intelligence community. One section dissects the confusion over what, exactly, FBI officials who were detailed to work at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center were supposed to be doing ["Systemic impediments that hindered the sharing of information between the CIA and the FBI," page 308].
What is perhaps most striking is how poorly understood this program appeared to be, even by those in the middle of it. The idea seemed simple enough: Promote cooperation between the CIA and the FBI by exchanging personnel. What the inspector general actually found, however, was that there was never any clear guidance about the responsibilities of the FBI's "detailees" to the CIA. "None of them had defined duties that were clearly understood, either by them or FBI managers," the report concluded. Instead, each of the FBI officials saw his or her role at the CIA differently. One, whom the report calls Malcolm, said he thought he was supposed to be the "eyes and ears" of the FBI's New York field office at Langley. Another, Mary, said she simply ended up working just like any other CIA desk officer, with little regard to the FBI's interests.
The highest-ranking FBI official to be detailed to the Counterterrorism Center told the inspector general that he believed the FBI detailees were supposed to scan CIA cables for information that would be relevant to the bureau. But other FBI folks who worked at the CIA told a different story. "The detailees asserted emphatically that their function did not entail scouring CIA cable traffic for the FBI, and their efficacy would be limited if they were perceived by CIA personnel merely as moles for the FBI," the report says. Ironically, several CIA officials said that they always believed this was the function of the FBI officials. The upshot was that everyone assumed that somebody else was in charge of passing relevant CIA reports to the FBI, helping explain how crucial intelligence on two men who later turned out to be September 11 hijackers slipped through the bureaucratic cracks.
The Justice Department's inspector general report is just one of several similar reports about pre-September 11 failings undertaken by various agencies. Two other reports–by the CIA and Pentagon–haven't been released yet, even though a joint congressional inquiry called for the reviews in late 2002. A Defense Department official told U.S.News that the Pentagon's inspector general report will be completed "soon," but it had not been decided if the contents would be released publicly. The CIA has completed its review, according to various press reports. A former congressional investigator told U.S.News that the final version holds several senior intelligence officials accountable. But it's unclear whether the CIA report will ever be released. –Danielle Knight