WASHINGTON, July 31 (AFP) - US lawmakers are highly critical of a key recommendation from the commission that investigated the September 11, 2001 terror strikes, which calls for naming a cabinet-level intelligence chief who will work out of the US president's office, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
A rare vacation-season hearing was held on Capitol Hill Friday to consider the recommendations, with President George W. Bush and other public officials moving unusually swiftly to act, after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry called for immediate adoption of the advised reforms.
"Several GOP (Republican) and Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about that idea, saying that placing an intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center inside the Executive Office of the President could increase the potential for misuse of information and could threaten the independence of US intelligence analysts," the Post said.
Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who serves on the governmental affairs, intelligence and armed services committees, said "a top priority of reform must be greater independence and objectivity of intelligence analysis (that is) not tainted by the policies of whatever administration is in power."
"How does putting the director even closer to the policymaker do anything other than to make this problem even more difficult?" Levin asked.
The paper also quoted an unnamed senior administration official as saying that Bush will oppose the idea.
Bush "wants to protect intelligence agencies from any undue influence" and ensure that analysts retain their autonomy, the official was quoted as saying.
At his Democratic Party's convention in Boston this week, Kerry called for immediate adoption of all of the commission's recommendations, including the creation of a cabinet-level intelligence center.
The July 22 release of the report by The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States issued a broad indictment of US intelligence and air defenses in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which killed almost 3,000 people.
It also took aim at the executive and legislative branches, urging them to take swift action on reforms, just over three months ahead of the US presidential election.
The report had plenty of blame to go around for the administrations of both former president Bill Clinton and Bush, who is seeking re-election in the November 2 vote.