THE WORLDWIDE THREAT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2001 U.S. SENATE, SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in Room SH-216, Hart Senate Office Building, the Honorable Richard C. Shelby, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. Committee Members Present: Senators Shelby, Kyl, Roberts, Thompson, Graham, Levin, Feinstein, Rockefeller, Wyden, Durbin, and Edwards. Chairman SHELBY. The Committee will come to order. I will submit my full statement that I have prepared for the record. The purpose of the hearing, basically, is to provide a public forum for the discussion of national security threats by our nation's senior intelligence officials, and to provide a context for the Committee's annual review of the intelligence community's budget. We look forward today, Director Tenet, to hearing from our witnesses, you and others, on a number of issues, including the proliferation of ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction; new and more threatening types of international terrorism; regional threats to U.S. interests; asymmetric threats designed to circumvent U.S. strengths and target our vulnerabilities; the evolving foreign counterintelligence threat; narcotics trafficking and international criminal organizations. We also hope to explore the challenges posed by, among others, the proliferation of encryption technology, the increasing sophistication of denial and deception techniques, the need to modernize and to recapitalize the National Security Agency, and other shortfalls in intelligence funding. I do want to welcome you again to the Committee, and this is our first open meeting this year, our first meeting with Director Tenet. And we also want to welcome Admiral Tom Wilson, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Mr. Tom Fingar, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. We have a new Vice Chairman of the Committee-he's not new on the Committee Senator Graham of Florida. Senator Graham? Vice Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your scheduling this hearing so early in the 107th Congress. This has become an annual event. It provides the Committee with an opportunity to see the big picture and to apply that vision as we pursue our detailed responsibilities in oversight, budget and legislation. (1) I want to thank the distinguished panel of witnesses for appearing today to help us commence with these issues that are so critical to the safety and welfare of the American people. I join the Chairman in welcoming the new members of the Committee, with a return engagement from Senator DeWine. I encourage the new members never to hesitate to question traditional thinking. I know them all well enough to know that they will not hesitate. Mr. Chairman, I also very much look forward to working with you. During my time on the Committee, I've come to value the importance of the role of this Committee, both in initiation and oversight. Mr. Chairman, you've provided leadership over the past four years on a wide range of critical intelligence issues, underscoring this Committee's key role. Mr. Chairman, I would like to say just a few words about what I see as the major challenge to the Intelligence Committee as we begin this new century. We spent the last half of the last century focusing on Germany and Japan and then focusing on the former Soviet Union. We are now twelve years beyond the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. Half a generation has passed since we faced a monolithic threat to our national security that demanded the vast majority of our intelligence and security resources. We have moved from the fear of total annihilation by one superpower to piecemeal destruction at the hands of countless and unseen enemies. It is a moving target that may require a completely different approach to its neutralization. And, of course, many of the old threats still exist as well. Although the Soviet Union no longer exists, Russia has emerged and remains a nuclear threat to the United States and our allies. Some of our citizens may see the United States of America as overwhelmingly powerful, perhaps even invincible in today's world, but we are not. Our policymakers face a mind-numbing range of decisions that must be made in order to protect our country. They need the best possible information our intelligence community can provide. Good intelligence is a force multiplier; it can save lives, it can head off conflict. Unlike the Cold War, in which diplomacy and intelligence were two arrows in our quiver, diplomacy will not help us in our fight against nonstate terrorists and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It is up to the intelligence community to identify and defeat these enemies. Our survival depends on your success. We have encouraged the DCI to think outside the box in dealing with these new threats. I challenge him today to build a new box. Some of the old structures that we have relied upon to accomplish the intelligence mission are not capable of being pulled and stretched to meet new needs. They may have to be completely dismantled and rebuilt to enable us to succeed against the threats of today and the threats of tomorrow. For this Committee, we should put our energies into identifying the intelligence collection gaps and determining how to plug them. The Committee plays a very special role in this regard. Unlike other congressional committees, which benefit in their oversight m a number of outside interest groups which keep a close eye - intelligence oversight is accomplished almost totally by ittee and our House counterpart. When it comes to the eyes and ears of intelligence oversight, we essentially are it. In that regard, I believe strongly that we need to increase spending on intelligence. Good intelligence saves lives, helps us to avoid conflict. It is absolutely essential to sound policymaking. I believe the intelligence community can and must more effectively use the resources it already has, but I have no doubt that the community needs more. The amount of money necessary to confront the growing challenge of terrorism alone is evidence of the need for more resources. It is my hope that the Bush Administration, despite its recent announcement that it will cap current defense spending, at least for the time being, will seriously consider increasing spending for intelligence in fiscal year 2002. A dollar spent well on intelligence can save many-fold the amount needed to be spent later on defense. This Committee plays a very special role. When it comes to this issue, we have a special responsibility to represent the interest of the intelligence community before those who will make these budgetary decisions. Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank the witnesses for appearing today to help us get started with the issues which are so critical. This hearing will help us frame our agenda. Mr. Tenet, continuity, as you know, is very important to a successful intelligence mission, and I look forward to continuing to work with you in the coming months. In reviewing your prepared statement, I was particularly interested in the analysis of issues related to Russia and China, and hope that you will expand upon them today. Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this important hearing. Chairman SHELBY. Director Tenet, I understand you will have an opening statement. Admiral Wilson and Secretary Fingar will submit statements for the record. You proceed as you wish. [The prepared statements of Mr. Tenet, Admiral Wilson, and Mr. Fingar follow:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF GEORGE J. TENET, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE WORLDWIDE THREAT 2001: NATIONAL SECURITY IN A CHANGING WORLD As I reflect this year, Mr. Chairman, on the threats to American security, what strikes me most forcefully is the accelerating pace of change in so many arenas that affect our nation's interests. Numerous examples come to mind: new communications technology that enables the efforts of terrorists and narcotraffickers as surely as it aids law enforcement and intelligence, rapid global population growth that will create new strains in parts of the world least able to cope, the weakening internal bonds in a number of states whose cohesion can no longer be taken for granted, the breaking down of old barriers to change in places like the Koreas and Iran, the accelerating growth in missile capabilities in so many parts of the world-to name just a few. Never in my experience, Mr. Chairman, has American intelligence had to deal with such a dynamic set of concerns affecting such a broad range of US interests. Never have we had to deal with such a high quotient of uncertainty. With so many things on our plate, it is important always to establish priorities. For me, the highest priority must invariably be on those things that threaten the lives of Americans or the physical security of the United States. With that in mind, let me turn first to the challenges posed by international terrorism. |