Although
it was established in April 2005 to head the U.S. intelligence
community, the DNI has struggled because it has little power
to assert its authority. The intelligence community, which includes such
entrenched institutions as the CIA, has resisted the DNI's oversight.
As a result, the DNI has been hampered by distracting turf wars and
inter-agency disputes. The Obama administration entered office facing a
dilemma: whether to reassert the DNI as the leader of the community or
to scale the office down into a more modest role.
Blair,
as well as key congressional leaders, have pushed for the DNI to take
the leadership role. President Obama has publicly made a similar case,
saying that the DNI should be "the leader of our intelligence
community." The PIAB also takes this position, insisting the DNI be
given "acknowledged" authority. Its findings state:
The IC
[intelligence community] cannot continue to be an amalgam of
independent and specialized agencies, each operating according to its
own premises and policies. The very intent of the Intelligence Reform
and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) [which established the DNI] was to
provide for the effective integration of the IC. This has not yet
happened. For the IC to function effectively and deliver credible and
timely intelligence, it needs an acknowledged leader. This should be the
DNI.
However, there is a second strain of thought about
the DNI, one that suggests it would function better as a coordinator and
facilitator working on behalf of the intelligence agencies. In an April
28 memo, Under Secretary of Defense James Clapper, whom the White House
has since nominated to become the next DNI, argued for this role. Perhaps
unsurprisingly, this view is also often expressed by members of the
intelligence community, who would rather have a DNI that works on their
behalf as a coordinator agency than a DNI that works against them as an
oversight agency.
Though Obama advocated for a strong DNI
when announcing Clapper's nomination, in practice he has favored the
second approach, forcing the DNI to relinquish key authorities
over the CIA and de-emphasizing the DNI's oversight role. The White
House has also declined to aid the DNI in its ongoing struggle with the
Department of Defense. Both offices share oversight of multiple
intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency and
Defense Intelligence Agency. Congress designed the DNI to supersede the
Pentagon's authority of these agencies, but, lacking White House
support, the DNI has been unable to complete tasks as simple as counting the number of foreign-language
speakers in the agencies it supposedly oversees. Were Clapper to become
the next DNI, he would probably be more willing to concede oversight
authority to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who is Clapper's current
boss, and to the Pentagon, of which he is currently a high-ranking
official.