MOSCOW, November 20 (Sputnik) – Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan is considering wide-ranging structural changes to the organization, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
"I have become increasingly convinced that the time has come to take a fresh look at how we are organized as an agency," Brennan was quoted as saying to an internal CIA committee in a message obtained by the newspaper.
In September, the CIA director appointed an in-house task force to evaluate if the intelligence-gathering organization's "current structure, and ways of doing business, need adjustment," according to the publication.
In what was dubbed "a major deal" by a former senior CIA official speaking on condition of anonymity, the potential sweeping changes could see the organization's four major directorates split into more hybrid "centers". Those would combine analytical, operational, scientific and logistic sections currently structured as the National Clandestine Service, Directorate of Intelligence, Science and Technology Directorate, as well as the Directorate of Support.
Former Director Michael V. Hayden expressed concern that the overhaul could leave out the creation of "basic skills, knowledge and database" by integrating the employees of four basic branches in place since the CIA's inception in 1947, according to the Washington daily. Other officials – also speaking on condition of anonymity due to being unauthorized to discuss internal CIA deliberations – expressed concerns over the potential corrupting effects of analysts collaborating with operational staff.
"There is the possibility for [analysts] to get too close to the issue and be too focused on trying to achieve a certain outcome," a former Counterterrorism Center officer was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.
John O. Brennan was appointed as head the Central Intelligence Agency on March 8, 2013. Under the December 2004 Intelligence Reform Act, he reports to the Director of National Intelligence.
