WASHINGTON — President Bush signed the most sweeping overhaul of the nation's intelligence-gathering apparatus in half a century on Friday, a move that he said would bolster America's defenses against "stateless networks" of terrorists.
But officials and key lawmakers said significantly more work lay ahead for the White House and Congress. Bush still must name a new national intelligence director, define the duties of the job and establish an office.
"This is only a first step," said former Indiana Rep. Timothy J. Roemer, a Democratic member of the blue-ribbon commission that spent 20 months investigating the pre-Sept. 11 intelligence failures and made most of the recommendations incorporated into the bill that Bush signed.
The law's co-authors, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), agreed that more must be done. "Our legislation is the platform for the work that lies ahead," they said in a statement. "We must ensure that our intelligence agencies have the leadership, agility and resources necessary for this new structure to succeed."
Topping the to-do list is naming the national intelligence director, a post created by the law. The director Bush selects will have significant latitude to define not only the job but also the evolving roles of the 15 agencies he or she manages.
"This is a start-up, and there are 1,000 detailed questions when you have a start-up," said Philip Zelikow, who was executive director of the Sept. 11 commission.
"A lot of it has to do with who is in charge and the way that person asserts their authorities. The first holder of the office will do a lot to define the institution."
Bush will have some time to work through many of the issues because key aspects of the legislation do not take effect for six months, Zelikow noted.
The law, formally known as the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, creates a national counter-terrorism center to serve as the primary organization that processes terrorism-related intelligence.
"Had such information been handled more efficiently and more wisely, [the Sept. 11 attacks] might have been -- might have been -- interrupted," said Democratic attorney Richard Ben-Veniste, a Sept. 11 commission member.
The legislation also includes several anti-terrorism provisions, adding 2,000 additional border patrol agents each year for five years, improving baggage screening procedures, imposing new standards on information that must be contained in driver's licenses and making it easier to track suspected "lone wolf" terrorists not linked to known terrorist groups.
