Mel Goodman
The Washington Post
July 13, 2007

In his July 8 op-ed, "Getting the CIA We Need," David Ignatius said the "White House has done better on intelligence during the past year," during which the Pentagon has virtually taken over the intelligence community. The top positions, including the director of national intelligence, the director of the CIA and the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, are now in the hands of active-duty or retired general officers. The top position at the National Counterterrorism Center is held by a retired admiral.

The militarization of intelligence leadership is a blatant unmaking of the kind of intelligence community that President Harry S. Truman created 60 years ago. The absence of independent civilian control over the intelligence community threatens civilian control over decisions to use military power and risks tailoring intelligence to suit the purposes of the Pentagon.

Mr. Ignatius also has too much confidence in the CIA director, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who "understands the importance of accountability." If that were true, Gen. Hayden would be releasing the CIA's accountability report on the failures surrounding Sept. 11, 2001, so that Congress and the nation could make their own judgments about accountability.

MELVIN A. GOODMAN

Senior Fellow
Center for International Policy