The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to withhold funding from the nation’s intelligence director over concerns that his office, which was created to streamline operations in the nation’s spy community, is instead becoming bloated and bureaucratic. […]

The bill would require the nation’s intelligence director, John D. Negroponte, to present a detailed rationale for any additional increases to his staff or risk losing a portion of his budget. The measure was endorsed by Republicans and Democrats.

“We’re concerned about some of the steps that are going on” at Negroponte’s office, said Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Hoekstra said Negroponte needed to demonstrate that any further expansion would improve coordination among intelligence agencies, and would not amount to “putting in more lawyers and slowing down the process.”

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the committee, cited similar concerns.

“We don’t want more billets, more bureaucracy, more buildings,” Harman said. “We want more leadership.”

Amen sister!

Not thinking things through is a bitch, isn’t it? So is language that is too ambiguous; which is how so many programs gain so much bloat so fast. Normally when you put on this kind of weight so fast it has adverse health effects, but you’d be hard pressed to find an IC program that has come to an untimely end no matter how fat it got. As I mentioned earlier, they could almost start their own agency at the rate their growing. Oh and don’t forget they’re encroaching on real estate that was supposed to go to an agency that has long been desperate for space.

The sad thing is that this Charlie Foxtrot isn’t in any real danger of being rectified, which means the only real course of action is waiting for the next debacle and dreaming of a happy place where the will to act is stronger than the desire to retain a seat.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.