Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence

The new Department of Defense Office, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD/I), was recently created "in order to have a single office overseeing the organization, planning and execution of military intelligence missions.".

According to the Association of Former Intelligence Officers' (AFIO) Weekly Intelligence Notes (WIN 09-03) dated March 5, 2003:

"NEW DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE OFFICE EXPLAINED. Recent nomination testimony before the Senate Armed Forces Committee by the prospective new Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD/I), Steven A. Cambone, spelled out the intended role of the new defense intelligence position, dubbed the defense intelligence czar.

"One goal of the office will be to encourage the collection and distribution of 'predictive intelligence,' intended to give the upper hand to US military forces engaged with the enemy. Another function is to ensure that the large amounts of information collected in routine operations that currently does not filter back into the national intelligence community is provided to the collective community.

"Almost as important as the functions that are planned for the office were the items the job would not entail, i.e. USD/I was not created to challenge the authority of the DCI, and the office will not 'seek to direct the processes by which intelligence is collected, analyzed and disseminated.'

"Mr. Cambone, currently the OSD Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation, and a trusted aide to Secretary Rumsfeld in previous roles, assured the senators the USD/I would improve coordination between the DCI and the DOD. 'It is not an office whose purpose is to do the work of -- or substitute for the work of -- the DCI and the intelligence community as a whole,' he said. 'To the extent that it will be engaged with the Director of Central Intelligence, it will be through the Secretary of Defense, who is responsible for all intelligence matters within the department. And it is designed to enable the DCI, when he has needs that can be satisfied by the Department of Defense, to enable us to respond with alacrity.'

"This new office is intended to be 'small, probably under 100 people,' according Richard Haver speaking in an interview in his role as the Special Assistant to the new Under Secretary for intelligence. The new position will be 'focused on what comes out of the sausage machine, not how the sausage machine works.' But that simplification is not the whole story. If confirmed, Dr. Cambone said, his office would initiate an evaluation of 'the timeliness, relevance, and utility' of current military intelligence products. 'That evaluation would be used to recommend, as appropriate, changes in policy, plans, programs, requirements, and resource allocations to meet the needs of DoD officials.'" (Harvey) (InsideDefense.com, February 27, 2003 // R. Lardner; The Washington Post, February 10, 2003 // V. Loeb; Aerospace Daily, December 16, 2002 // S. Trimble). --

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