Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today issued a report that found serious errors in the collection and analysis of pre-war intelligence regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs and ties to al-Qaeda.

The report was unanimously approved by the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Dianne Feinstein is a member of that committee and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security. Senator Feinstein also released "Additional Views" on the report, which document her specific concerns with how pre-war intelligence was gathered and analyzed. Her additional views are attached.

"The flawed intelligence documented in the Committee's report presents a clear case that we need to restructure the Intelligence Community," Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said. "The 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, as well as statements to Congress and the American people by the Administration regarding both Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction and ties to al-Qaeda, were inaccurate. Iraq was the first case of preemptive war by the United States, and we have learned an important lesson - that preemptive war depends on good, actionable intelligence. In this case, the intelligence was both bad and wrong."

Senators  Feinstein and Wyden offer  their views on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's report on pre-war intelligence regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to al-Qaeda.    (7/9/04)

" The Committee's report does not acknowledge that the intelligence estimates were shaped by the Administration," Senator Feinstein said. "In my view, this remains an open question that needs more careful scrutiny. Unless Administration officials, from the President on down, had information not made available to the Senate Intelligence Committee, there was clearly an exaggeration of either an 'imminent' or 'grave and growing' threat to the American people."

To reform the intelligence community, Senator Feinstein has introduced legislation (S. 190) to create a Director of National Intelligence with the statutory and budgetary authority to oversee our nation's intelligence-gathering efforts.

"Currently, one person leads the Central Intelligence Agency and at the same time nominally oversees the entire Intelligence Community, but he has only limited budget and management authority over the myriad agencies that range from the CIA and DIA to the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency," Senator Feinstein said. "It is time to put somebody in charge of the entire Intelligence Community and give him the authority to manage and restructure the agencies as we sustain intelligence gathering in this new asymmetric non-state terrorist world."

Among other reforms, the bipartisan legislation would separate the current position of Director of Central Intelligence (currently held by one individual, who both runs the CIA and the intelligence community as a whole) into two positions: a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to lead the all segments of the Intelligence Community and a Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DCIA) to serve as head of the CIA.

The legislation, which was originally introduced in June 2002, is cosponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Trent Lott (R-S), Bob Graham (D-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). The concept was endorsed by the House-Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the September 11 attacks.

A summary of the legislation follows:

The bill:

• Creates the position of "Director of National Intelligence" to head the Intelligence Community.
  
• Gives the Director of National Intelligence the responsibilities which, under current law, relate to the Intelligence Community, including the authority to:
  
• Sets collection priorities for the Intelligence Community, ensuring that collection is directed against the targets which most threaten our countries;
• Ensures that the elements of the Intelligence Community cooperate and share information effectively;
  
• Coordinates Intelligence Community distribution of intelligence products to decision makers who need the information to make critical national security choices; and
  
• Allocates Intelligence Community resource to ensure that money and people are properly distributed and used.

In addition, the bill:

• Clarifies and augments the Director of National Intelligence's authorities to direct the creation of the intelligence community budget: this will ensure meaningful and effective leadership of the Intelligence Community in the area of resource allocation.
  
• Clarifies and augments the Director of National Intelligence's authorities to reprogram intelligence community funds and personnel. This will provide for meaningful and flexible authority to expend Intelligence Community resources.
  
• Provides the Director of National Intelligence with an Intelligence Community General Counsel and Inspector General to assist him in carrying out his duties: This will ensure that the Intelligence Community is guided by effective and independent legal counsel who answers to only the Director of National Intelligence and that there is an Inspector General with authority to investigate fraud, waste and abuse on a community-wide basis.
  
• Creates the position of "Director of the Central Intelligence Agency" to head the CIA. This will allow the CIA to be led by a chief whose only duty is to ensure that the Agency does the best possible job in collecting, analyzing and disseminating intelligence.