Director of National Intelligence: Another Bureaucratic Layer or an Effective Office?

Since its inception, the intelligence community IC has had several persistent problems that continue today -- information sharing, activity coordination, and analysis validity. As a result of 911, the IC was closely scrutinized. The findings of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States led to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, creating a Director of National Intelligence DNI to serve as the principal advisor to the President on intelligence. The 911 Commissions recommendation is thought to be an all-encompassing solution to various problems plaguing the IC. While creating a unbiased director who could focus equally on all members of the IC may seem like an all-encompassing solution, this research will examine the responsibilities of the DNI and determine what solutions it really can bring to the problems of the IC. The primary research question is as follows Is the DNI able to solve the persistent problems of the IC as required by the Intelligence Reform Act The results of the analysis indicate that the DNI will be able to help solve the problems of the IC however, to do that the director will require additional authority.