Defense and State

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 Defense Department /CIA Rivalry and its Impact

Abstract

This brief will both analyze and seek to understand the nature of the rivalry between Defense and the CIA in terms of budgets and general influence . Ultimately , this rivalry is healthy because intelligence is not an objective business , and in fact , checks and balances are needed here as in all other state functions

The present rivalry between Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency is a fact of life , and shows that bureaucracies concern themselves more with turf wars

and budgets than their own functioning and purpose . This is a serious issue for the security of the United States , and calls for intelligence reform are being made from Congress as well as the press This will seek to describe the nature of this rivalry , its impact and whether or not it can be used to help , rather than hinder , the security of the US

Speaking of this current decade only , the takeover of the White House by George W . Bush and is neo-conservative (neocon ) security advisers are the proximate cause of this rivalry . The simple fact is that war hawks such as Richard Perle and Paul Wolfewtiz desired intelligence on Iraq that suited their own ideological predilections . The CIA in its turn held that the threat of Iraq was not as severe as the neocon movement wanted to portray it . As a result , the Pentagon , under White House direction , sought to create their own integrated intelligence...