WASHINGTON — Wrapping up a lengthy investigation of Sept. 11 intelligence failures, lawmakers Tuesday endorsed a list of reforms designed to shore up the government's abilities to prevent future attacks.
But the proposals were greeted with skepticism from experts and criticism from at least one key senator on the panel for being too soft on the CIA and other intelligence agencies.
As expected, the report calls for the creation of a new Cabinet-level position to oversee the nation's intelligence community, and prods the CIA and FBI to fix an assortment of problems -- including the failure to share information -- that may have contributed to the success of the Sept. 11 plot.
But the members of the Senate and House intelligence committees, meeting jointly, could not agree on a range of crucial issues, including the continued role of the FBI in gathering intelligence on terrorist suspects in the United States.
And the report stops short of holding any public officials accountable for intelligence breakdowns.
The tone of the report surprised some experts, who said they had expected more aggressive measures from a panel that has been harshly critical of the performance of the CIA and other agencies during high-profile public hearings this year.
"It's largely cosmetic reform," said Loch K. Johnson, a professor at the University of Georgia and a senior aide on landmark congressional investigations of the intelligence community in the 1970s and 1990s. "To have a Cabinet member and give him a fancy title is really not going to change anything, I don't believe."
Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) of the Senate Intelligence Committee expressed frustration with the outcome, adding that he and other lawmakers planned to submit a minority report with dissenting views.
In particular, Shelby said, he thought committee members should have been willing to assign blame for specific breakdowns. "There's been no accountability for people who made terrible decisions," Shelby said. "If you do something well, you should be rewarded. If you do it poorly, that should be pointed out."
Shelby reiterated his long-standing criticism of CIA Director George J. Tenet, saying, "There have been more failures on his watch than anybody that I know of in the history of the CIA." Despite his reservations, Shelby said, he voted in favor of the report.
