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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tuesday, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing to recognize and reflect on the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks and to look into the changes made to our intelligence community since those attacks. Because of the sensitive nature of the information shared during the Intelligence Committee hearings and meetings, this hearing was one of the few open hearings the committee will hold this year. Newly appointed Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, former-General David Petraeus, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were the witnesses.
“The horrific attacks on September 11th exposed failures within our intelligence community that needed to be addressed in order to prevent attacks like those from ever happening again,” stated Westmoreland. “For that reason, Congress formed the 9/11 Commission to examine what exactly happened on September 11th and where the holes were in our national security system that led to the devastating attacks that day.”
Since the September 11th attacks, and in conjunction with the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), our nation’s intelligence community made many changes to the way they operate. For example, under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, Congress created the position of the Director of National Intelligence, a new position meant to coordinate the different intelligence agencies and encourage interagency communication. In addition, Congress created the National Counterterrorism Center, providing a centralized strategic planning agency that coordinated with each intelligence agency. Both of these shifts went to implementing a key recommendation by the 9/11 Commission to centralize our intelligence agencies and to create communication between agencies.
“While there have been a few highly publicized slips since September 11, 2001, the intelligence community as a whole has proven to be very successful in their ability to adapt to the changing needs in the war on terror and their ability to fight against terrorists both at home and abroad,” stated Westmoreland. “We have seen a dramatic increase in communication between agencies and an uptick in our human intelligence capabilities and have had very important successes – including the high-profile mission resulting in the death of Osama Bin Laden. In order to maintain these successes, we must continue to ensure the intelligence community has both proper funding and proper oversight. As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I look forward to continuing to work with Director Clapper and Director Petraeus as they carry on their fight to root out terrorists both at home and abroad, and keep our country and our citizens safe from harm.”
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has jurisdiction over the intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Security Agency. Congressman Westmoreland joined the committee during the 112th Congress and serves as the Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee.