WASHINGTON — The nation's top military and intelligence officials warned senators Tuesday against a rapid restructuring of U.S. spy agencies during a hearing that also exposed fault lines within the Bush administration over whether the Pentagon should yield clout to a new intelligence director.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld cautioned lawmakers that sweeping reforms could disrupt U.S. operations as the nation continues to fight insurgents in Iraq and pursue terrorists in Afghanistan and other countries.
"We need to remember that we are considering these important matters ... while we are waging a war," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "If we move unwisely and get it wrong, the penalty would be great."
It was Rumsfeld's most extensive remarks on the subject since President Bush this month endorsed the creation of an intelligence director who could take over agencies now under Pentagon control. Rumsfeld was wary of the changes.
Acting CIA Director John E. McLaughlin echoed Rumsfeld's comment and challenged statements by members of the Sept. 11 commission that the reforms they recommended should be enacted without delay.
"The commission says that the country cannot be patient," he said. "But to quote a saying I learned during my Army years: If you want it bad, you will get it bad."
Their remarks, combined with similar statements of caution from Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), the Armed Services Committee chairman, represent an effort by the administration and key congressional allies to slow down a process expected to produce the most sweeping changes to the intelligence community in half a century.
More than a dozen congressional committees have convened hearings during the August recess to consider proposed reforms, with legislative leaders calling for possible votes this fall.
Many of the proposals would weaken the Pentagon's power over the U.S. intelligence community. Nine of the United States' 15 spy agencies are part of the Department of Defense, which controls more than 80% of the U.S. intelligence budget. Tuesday's hearing provided a glimpse of the differences among senior officials in the Bush administration -- and key Republicans in Congress -- over the wisdom of those reforms.
Rumsfeld raised several arguments against giving the CIA director or a new intelligence czar exclusive authority over the budgets of the intelligence agencies and decisions on hiring and firing senior personnel.
