15 Years Later: 9/11 and the Evolution of the American Intelligence Community
Including reflections from Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper
Sunday marked 15 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks — a devastating event that changed the course of our national history and set into motion dramatic changes for our Intelligence Community. It was the attacks of Sept. 11 that finally moved forward a longstanding call for major intelligence reform and the creation of a Director of National Intelligence.
Post-9/11 investigations included a Joint Congressional Inquiry and the independent National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known as the 9/11 Commission. The report of the 9/11 Commission in July 2004 proposed sweeping change in the Intelligence Community, which resulted in Congressional passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
The idea of a Director of National Intelligence was not new. In 1955, a blue-ribbon study commissioned by Congress recommended that the Director of Central Intelligence employ a deputy to run the CIA so that the director could focus on coordinating the overall intelligence effort.
This notion of a single figure to coordinate the activities of the entire IC emerged as a consistent theme in many subsequent studies of the Intelligence Community commissioned by both the legislative and executive branches over the next five decades. The IRTPA, signed into law Dec. 17, 2004, created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the formal position of the DNI to improve information sharing, promote a strategic, unified direction, and ensure integration across the U.S. Intelligence Community.
The IRTPA amended the National Security Act of 1947 to provide for a Director of National Intelligence who would assume some of the roles formerly fulfilled by the Director of Central Intelligence. Now, there is a separate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, who serves as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency and reports to the DNI.
In February 2005, then-President George W. Bush announced that John D. Negroponte, ambassador to Iraq , was his nominee to be the first Director of National Intelligence. On April 21, 2005, in the Oval Office, the president swore in Amb. Negroponte as the first U.S. Director of National Intelligence. The ODNI officially began operations April 22, 2005.
As the leader of the 17 Intelligence Community elements, the DNI serves as the principal advisor to the President and the National Security Council for intelligence matters related to the national security, and oversees and directs the implementation of the National Intelligence Program. The President appoints the DNI with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The DNI works closely with a President-appointed, Senate-confirmed Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence to effectively integrate all national and homeland security intelligence in defense of the homeland and in support of U.S. national security interests.
There have been four DNIs since the creation of the ODNI. In February 2007, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. (Ret.) John Michael McConnell succeeded Negroponte. McConnell served DNI until January 2009. Succeeding him was Navy Vice Adm. (Ret.) Dennis C. Blair, who served as DNI until August 2010. As the longest serving Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper was sworn in Aug. 9, 2010, and continues in the role today.
The core mission of the ODNI is to lead the IC in intelligence integration, forging a community that delivers the most insightful intelligence possible. That means effectively operating as one team: synchronizing collection, analysis and counterintelligence so that they are fused. This integration is the key to ensuring national policymakers receive timely and accurate analysis from the IC to make educated decisions.
The ODNI houses four main integration centers, including the National Counterterrorism Center, National Counterproliferation Center, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (formerly known as the National Counterintelligence Executive), and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. Along with the centers, there are several additional offices, including the National Intelligence Council and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.
In the intervening years since the launch of ODNI in 2004, the IC has faced a wide array of threats characterized by a morphing terrorist landscape, unrest in Syria, a growing cyber threat, and global instability driven in large part by climate change and diminishing resources. As a result, DNI Clapper has often described the current set of circumstances facing the IC as the “most diverse and complex” he has seen in his over half-century of work in intelligence.
Beyond the complexity of the current environment, the IC has been forced to contend with significant budget cuts and, in 2013, sequestration. However, through it all, the DNI has publicly affirmed that the IC is much better off today than it was 15 years ago — and even six years ago when he took over at the helm of ODNI.
“I am often asked if the IC is better off today than we were before 9/11 and before the launch of ODNI. It is my firm belief that the people of the Intelligence Community have upheld their commitment to service with absolute professionalism, and as a result our evolution has been astounding.
We depend on the principles of intelligence integration not just to help inform our national decision makers, but to keep Americans and our allies safe. The diversity of the threats we face demand that we continue to find ways to share information and work together to overcome our toughest challenges.
Out of tragedy, and by acknowledging our own failures, we have worked tirelessly to affect purposeful change to prevent attacks like that in the future. Through quiet, sustained service, America’s intelligence officers honor those who lost their lives years ago and since that day.
Progress may not be linear, nor will our work ever truly be done, but in my tenure as DNI, I have borne witness to their incredible achievements in service to this nation.”
— DNI James Clapper
