Remaking U.S. Intelligence - Part II: The Money
The problem is the ambiguity of the DNI's authority. At least 85 percent of the nation's intelligence budget is administered by the Pentagon, which runs the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (which builds satellites), and the Defense Intelligence Agency. The DNI has been given the authority to "determine" the intelligence budget, but its exact powers are untested.
Many observers have been waiting for a showdown between the DNI and the Pentagon over one of its massive procurement programs, which are notoriously late and billions of dollars over budget. "They haven't yet taken a two-by-four to anybody's head and said, 'Go do this,'" says one prominent reformer who works closely with the DNI. Officials at the DNI acknowledge those expectations. "There were people who were just looking for high noon on the Memorial Bridge between John Negroponte and Don Rumsfeld—you know, .45s at 20 paces," says Patrick Kennedy, the deputy DNI for management. "We've resolved every issue to date in a way that I think has not surrendered one iota of the DNI's rights and authorities and, in fact, [has] advanced them." One factor that helps: Many top DNI officials are respected military brass who know how to work with the Pentagon.
An early test of the DNI's authority involved a $25 billion satellite system called Future Imagery Architecture. Run by the National Reconnaissance Office, FIA was meant to be the foundation for the next generation of America's space-based surveillance efforts. Instead, it was a managerial nightmare—five years behind schedule and billions over budget. Poor quality control and technical problems raised questions about whether the system would ever work properly. With aging U.S. spy satellites needing replacement and FIA sucking money from other projects, the DNI moved decisively, canceling half the classified project—the part that dealt with telescopelike electrical lenses.
The move took Negroponte's personal intervention—and support from the White House. "It was killed, dead, buried, stake in the heart," says Kennedy, who oversees the budget. "We have an alternate [system] that will deliver the capability that we've needed cheaper, better, faster." The move ruffled feathers, but DNI officials believe it sent the right message on runaway programs. "The DNI demonstrated that it will take those on," says Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, the DNI's acting deputy director. "Everybody certainly isn't going to be happy."
The real test for the DNI will come next year, with preparation of the 2008 budget, the first budget the office is developing from scratch. To prepare for it, the DNI and the Pentagon are surveying the vast array of technical capabilities, from surveillance and eavesdropping to top-secret sensors that detect heat signals, radiation, and other kinds of emissions. U.S. News has learned that there are some two dozen intelligence programs that each cost over $500 million a year. Despite the big budgets, officials have already identified some key gaps, particularly in locating terrorists and detecting underground activities relating to weapons of mass destruction. "I think the toughest beast remains getting good, reliable information about the hardest targets," Negroponte says, "whether it's North Korea or Iran or counterproliferation or counterterrorism."
At stake is nothing less than the future of U.S. intelligence capabilities. Officials face some tough funding trade-offs—for example, relying less heavily on what insiders call "big buses," or billion-dollar satellites that take years to build, and more on unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, for surveillance. In particular, the DNI must decide whether to invest in another big $20 billion satellite system known as Space Radar, which, if successful, could detect objects in virtually all weather conditions at any time of day or night. Another source of concern is the NSA, which is in the throes of a 10-year, $5 billion modernization effort. So loosely managed have the agency's programs been that in 2003, Congress gave the Pentagon authority to sign NSA contracts.
NEXT:Part III: The Spies