[Infowarrior] - Executive Order 12333 Updated

[Richard Forno]

Fact Sheet: A Lasting Framework for United States Intelligence  
Activities
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/07/20080731-4.html

Background Briefing by Senior Administration Officials on the Revision  
of Executive Order 12333
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/07/20080731-8.html

...and....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/31/AR2008073101655.html

Bush Administration Announces Restructuring of Intelligence Agencies
By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 31, 2008; 5:15 PM

The Bush administration today announced a restructuring of the  
nation's intelligence-gathering apparatus, approving new guidelines  
that bolster the authority of the Office of the Director of National  
Intelligence (DNI) as the leader of the nation's 16 spy agencies.

The changes were part of a long-awaited overhaul of Executive Order  
12333, a Reagan-era document that establishes the powers and  
responsibilities of U.S. intelligence services. Most of the revisions  
were aimed at underscoring the predominant role of the DNI, the office  
created by Congress three years ago in the aftermath of the Sept. 11,  
2001, terrorist attacks.

The revamped order specifically places the DNI in charge of setting  
priorities for the 16 spy agencies as well as issuing guidelines on  
how intelligence is collected, analyzed and shared--including foreign  
intelligence, traditionally the domain of the CIA. It also gives the  
DNI a greater voice in the hiring and firing of senior intelligence  
officials.

The document calls on intelligence agencies to use "all reasonable and  
lawful means" to safeguard American citizens, and reaffirms the  
nation's "long-standing commitment to protecting civil liberties," a  
senior administration official said in a briefing to reporters about  
the changes.

The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified by  
name, called the order a "foundational document" that will clarify  
responsibilities and improve coordination. "The order was simply out  
of date, and it needed to be updated to conform with the new  
intelligence structure," he said.
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Left essentially unchanged is a prohibition against assassinations of  
foreign leaders, as well as long-standing restrictions on human  
experimentation, the document states. It asserts that the intelligence  
agencies would "maintain or strengthen privacy and civil liberty  
protections."

Lawmakers of both major political parties immediately criticized the  
administration for what they said was needless secrecy in its  
development of the changes .

"We were only shown the document after it was complete and on its way  
to the president for his signature," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D- 
Tex.), chairman of the House intelligence committee. "After seven  
years of a go-it-alone presidency, perhaps I should expect nothing  
more from this White House. But this order will be binding on future  
administrations as well."

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, (R-Mich.), the committee's ranking Republican,  
said: "Given the impact that this order will have on America's  
intelligence community, and this committee's responsibility to oversee  
intelligence activities, this cannot be seen as anything other than an  
attempt to undercut congressional oversight.

The original Executive Order 12333, which was signed by President  
Ronald Regan in 1981, has been revised numerous times, but the new  
changes are the most sweeping in more than a decade, administration  
officials said.

Administration officials have been quietly negotiating the overhaul  
for more than a year, seeking to modernize the law to reflect the  
DNI's new role. Critics have charged that the authorizing statutes  
that created the DNI failed to give it the budgetary and policy- 
setting authorities it need to lead the intelligence agencies.