Tulsi Gabbard Discusses Reforms at ODNI
Tulsi Gabbard, the National Intelligence Director, appeared on Fox News recently to discuss significant reforms at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
In her segment on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Gabbard explained that Congress established the ODNI in response to the failures identified in the post-9/11 intelligence reports. The aim was to bring together various intelligence agencies to ensure the president receives accurate and timely information that is free from political influence. However, Gabbard expressed concerns that the agency has strayed from its intended mission.
“We haven’t managed to complete the mission we set out to achieve, and instead, it seems to have become politicized and bloated,” she stated. Gabbard highlighted that the new initiative, dubbed ODNI 2.0, has reportedly saved taxpayers over $700 million annually and has garnered praise from over 40% of the intelligence community.
She criticized the agency for transforming into an unwieldy bureaucracy that detracts from its primary objective of providing timely and objective intelligence to the president.
Gabbard emphasized that the ODNI was intended to establish a single independent agency tasked with overseeing the intelligence community and ensuring that information flows effectively between agencies.
“It’s crucial that the intelligence provided to the president is not only timely and relevant but also impartial, so he can act on the information he requires every day,” she added.
As part of her sweeping reforms, Gabbard announced the closure of a politically influenced center within the ODNI. This move comes after months of audits by her team and marks the first significant overhaul in the agency’s history.
The National Intelligence Bureau was established in 2004 with the intent to end the dangerous practice of “stove piping” intelligence, which had contributed to the failures leading up to the 9/11 attacks. Despite these efforts, recent findings and declassified documents indicate that issues of secrecy and compartmentalization still persist within the intelligence community.
A notable example occurred in 2017 when assessments from the Intelligence Community suggested that Russia had sought to intervene in the 2016 presidential election. Recently released documents revealed that much of the underlying intelligence was manipulated and kept from many officials.
