Fact Sheet: Strengthening Intelligence to Better Protect America

Today's Presidential Action

In his State of the Union Address, President Bush announced a new 
initiative to better protect America by continuing to close the "seam" 
between analysis of foreign and domestic intelligence on terrorism.  

The President announced that he has instructed the Director of Central 
Intelligence, the Director of the FBI, working with the Attorney General, 
and the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense to develop the 
Nation's first unified Terrorist Threat Integration Center. 

This new center will merge and analyze terrorist-related information 
collected domestically and abroad in order to form the most 
comprehensive possible threat picture.   

Since September 11, 2001, our government has been working together 
and sharing information like never before.  

The creation of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center is the next 
phase in the dramatic enhancement of the government's counterterrorism 
effort.  

The President has now directed his senior advisors to take the next 
step in ensuring that intelligence information from all sources is 
shared, integrated, and analyzed seamlessly -- and then acted upon 
quickly.   

The Administration will ensure that this program is carried out 
consistently with the rights of Americans.  

The New Terrorist Threat Integration Center

Elements of the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI's 
Counterterrorism Division, the DCI's Counterterrorist Center, and 
the Department of Defense will form a Terrorist Threat Integration 
Center to fuse and analyze all-source information related to terrorism.  

The Terrorist Threat Integration Center will continue to close the 
"seam' between analysis of foreign and domestic intelligence on terrorism.  

Specifically, it will: 

# Optimize use of terrorist threat-related information, expertise, and 
  capabilities to conduct threat analysis and inform collection strategies.  

# Create a structure that ensures information sharing across agency lines. 

# Integrate terrorist-related information collected domestically and abroad 
  in order to form the most comprehensive possible threat picture.  

# Be responsible and accountable for providing terrorist threat assessments 
  for our national leadership.  

The Terrorist Threat Integration Center will be headed by a senior 
U.S. Government official, who will report to the Director of Central 
Intelligence. This individual will be appointed by the Director of 
Central Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the FBI 
and the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary 
of Homeland Security. [A1]  

The Terrorist Threat Integration Center will play a lead role in 
overseeing a national counterterrorism tasking and requirements 
system and for maintaining shared databases.  

The Terrorist Threat Integration Center will also maintain an up-to-date 
database of known and suspected terrorists that will be accessible to 
federal and non-federal officials and entities, as appropriate.  

In order to carry out its responsibilities effectively, the Terrorist 
Threat Integration Center will have access to all intelligence information - 
from raw reports to finished analytic assessments - available 
to the U.S. Government.  

A senior multiagency team will finalize the details, design, and 
implementation strategy for the stand- up of the Terrorist Threat 
Integration Center.[A2]  

Transforming the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Immediately after September 11, the President directed the FBI and the 
Attorney General to make preventing future terrorist attacks against the 
homeland their top priority - and they have responded.  

The FBI has: 

# Disrupted terrorist plots on U.S. soil.

# Established 66 Joint Terrorism Task Forces across America, with full 
  participation from, and enhanced communications with, multiple federal, 
  state, and local agencies. 

# Created a National Joint Terrorism Task Force at FBI Headquarters.

# Established a 24-7 Counterterrorism Watch center.

# Created new counterterrorism "Flying Squads" to deploy into the field 
  at a moment's notice.  

# Created Intelligence Reports Offices to facilitate the vital flow of 
  information. 

# Trained new analysts for the Counterterrorism Division, using a 
  curriculum developed with assistance from the CIA.  

The FBI is establishing an intelligence program to ensure that the 
collection and dissemination of intelligence is given the same 
institutional priority as the collection of evidence for prosecution. 
A new Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence will have direct 
authority and responsibility for the FBI's national intelligence program. 
The FBI is establishing intelligence units in all of its Field Offices.  

The FBI is implementing a revolutionary new data management system 
to ensure that it shares all the FBI's terrorism-related information 
internally and with the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security, and 
other appropriate agencies.  

Last year, by enacting the USA PATRIOT Act, the President and 
Congress took an important step to enhance the ability of the FBI and 
other law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute terrorism, 
and to share information with other government agencies.  

Enhancing CIA's Counterterrorism Capabilities

Counterterrorism is a long-standing priority of the CIA and the CIA 
has been pivotal to the major successes in America's War on Terror. 

The CIA has:  

# Disrupted dozens of planned terrorist attacks around the world.

# Continued to expand our insight into terrorist organizations and plans.

# Greatly enhanced its working relationships with foreign partners.

Since September 11, 2001, the Director of Central Intelligence has 
dramatically redeployed analysts and operatives against the terrorist 
target. He has: 

# Doubled the size of the Counterterrorist Center.

# Quadrupled the number of personnel engaged in counterterrorism analysis.

# Detailed 25 experienced analysts to work side by side with their 
  counterparts at FBI. 

The DCI created the position of Associate Director of Central Intelligence 
for Homeland Security to ensure timely, effective and secure flow of 
intelligence to agencies engaged in Homeland Security.  

A Key Role for the Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security will add critical new capabilities 
in the area of information analysis and infrastructure protection.  

The Department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection 
Directorate will: 

# Perform comprehensive vulnerability assessments of the Nation's 
  critical infrastructure and key assets.

# Receive and analyze terrorism-related information from the Terrorism 
  Threat Integration Center, as well as open sources, the public, private 
  industry, state and local law enforcement, and the entire federal family.  

# Map the threats against our vulnerabilities, in order to develop a 
  comprehensive picture of the terrorist threat and our ability to withstand 
  it.  

# Take and facilitate action to protect against identified threats, remedy 
  vulnerabilities, and preempt and disrupt terrorist threats, as consistent 
  with the operational authorities of the Department's constituent agencies.  

# Set national priorities for infrastructure protection, strategically 
  designed to maximize the return on the investment  

# Take a lead role in issuing warnings, threat advisories, and 
  recommended response measures to America's public safety agencies, 
  elected officials, industry, and the public.  

The Department will be a full partner in the Terrorist Threat Integration 
Center.  

The Terrorist Threat Integration Center will help the Department perform 
its critical missions. It will provide the Department with a full and 
comprehensive picture of the terrorist threat that will inform the actions 
of the Department.  

Some of the Department's functions are expected to be performed at 
the new facility housing the Terrorist Threat Integration Center.

The integration of elements of the Department into the Terrorist Threat 
Integration Center will ensure an unimpeded two-way flow of terrorist 
threat information.   

The Department of Homeland Security, working hand in hand with the 
FBI, will be responsible for ensuring that threat information, including 
information produced by the Center, is disseminated quickly to the 
public, private industry, and state and local governments as appropriate. 

Contributions of the Department of Defense

The Department of Defense has been a key player in the global war 
on terrorism, including prosecuting the war on terrorism overseas.  

Intelligence elements of the Department, including the National 
Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National 
Imagery and Mapping Agency, continue to make crucial contributions 
to our terrorism intelligence collection overseas.  

Appropriate DOD intelligence elements will participate fully in the TTIC, 
providing information, receiving information, and contributing to analytic 
efforts, under their own current authorities.  

DOD will have no new operational authority or responsibility under the 
President's announced program. The TTIC does not involve new activities 
by DOD; rather, it seeks to maximize and "fuse" the efforts of all of 
our counterterrorism intelligence efforts, as has been called for by 
many experts on both sides of the aisle.  

For more information on the President's initiatives, please visit 
www.whitehouse.gov  

                              -==-

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-12.html

Cheers, Steve..

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