Former president George Bush, reacting to the deadly terrorist attacks in the United States, made a strong plea here Thursday for removing constraints that hamper the ability of the US intelligence community to penetrate terror groups.
"The world we live in today is very different than what it was when this week began, very different," the father of President George W. Bush, told a business conference, referring to Tuesday's terrorist attacks feared to have killed thousands.
"We should make sure that these agencies responsible for protecting American citizens against terror are not forced to fight this critical battle with one armed tied behind them."
The former president, who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from January 1971 to January 1977, noted that the intelligence community had been criticized in the past for maintaining links with "unsavory people."
"People tried to make a lot out of the fact that at one point the intelligence community dealt with (former Panamanian strongman) Manuel Noriega," he said.
"Well, they did; but it isn't a nice, clean business. And if you're going to infiltrate some cell somewhere or a terrorist cell, you have to deal with people that are willing to betray their country, people that are willing to betray their friends, people that want money or other things."
In December 1989, then president Bush ordered US forces to invade Panama. Noriega was arrested and taken to Florida to stand trial.
The trial began in 1991, and Noriega's attorneys argued his wealth largely came from the CIA, for which Noriega was an informant, and not from illegal activities.
Noriega however was convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering, and remains in a Miami federal prison.
"I think we're going to find that we have to do more in the way of human intelligence and that means we're going to have to take a broad look at exactly what constraints the intelligence community, not just CIA, but the community itself, is operating under," the former president said.
However, an official intimately familiar with the US intelligence community said that besides an age-old executive order banning assassinations of foreign leaders, the CIA has precious few legal constraints limiting its activities.
"The CIA is not pushing for any expansion of its existing legal mandate," the official said.
The official said the agency often risks drawing criticism, if it begins cooperating with so-called "unsavory characters" involved in human rights abuses or possible crimes.
"But there is nothing preventing the CIA from recruiting such individuals if they have access to important information," the official told AFP. "There are no legal constraints."
The United States fields a total of 13 intelligence-gathering organizations, including the CIA, the National Security Agency -- responsible for electronic eavesdropping around the world -- and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
US security experts have repeatedly complained that US intelligence agencies rely too much on technical means of data collection, such as spy satellites and electronic eavesdropping devices, at the expense of human intelligence.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source