By Calvin Biesecker
The terrorist threat facing the United States today is becoming more decentralized and diverse and includes an increasing threat from homegrown terrorism, Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean, the former chiefs of the 9/11 Commission, said yesterday.
Al Qaeda has been weakened but the United States has no “firm grasp” on how weakened it is, Hamilton told the House Homeland Security Committee. He also said that Pakistan has become the new “hub” and center” for the terrorist threat.
Still, the threat is diversifying and groups once thought to represent local or regional concerns are reaching out.
Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, and Kean, a former Republican New Jersey governor, noted that the failed Christmas Day and Times Square bombing attempts exemplify the diverse nature of the threat.
“In both of these cases, al Qaeda affiliates thought previously as regional or local threats demonstrated their ability to reach the United States,” Hamilton and Kean said in their prepared remarks. Hamilton added during his testimony that “We don’t fully appreciate the diversity of attacks.”
Hamilton and Kean are currently co-chairmen of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Preparedness Group.
The evolving nature of the threat requires new policy assessments and recommendations be made, they said. Since 9/11 information sharing within the intelligence community has improved and importantly analysts are driving the collection of data, which is a significant change, Hamilton said.
However, Hamilton and Kean said that there needs to be more clarity on the role of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Is the DNI a coordinator of the country’s various intelligence organizations to help them reach agreement or a leader of the entire intelligence community enterprise, they ask.
“The burden is on the President to clarify who is in charge of the intelligence community and where final authority lies on budget, personnel, and other matters,” Kean and Hamilton said. “In our estimation, we need a strong DNI who is a leader of the intelligence community. The DNI must be the person who drives inter-agency coordination and integration. At the same time, the DNI’s authorities must be exercised with discretion and consideration of the priorities and sensitivities of other intelligence agencies.”
The National Security Preparedness Group is studying the policy recommendations that should be considered in light of the evolving terrorist threat and plans to issue a report in September.