Under Negroponte, the intel czar’s office was praised by both congressional and executive-branch officials for greatly improving–via its National Counterterrorism Center–the sharing among relevant agencies of intelligence reports about terror threats. But the office was criticized for slower progress in sharing intel on other subjects–including nuclear proliferation–and for establishing a new layer of bureaucracy. A big criticism was that, in the face of alleged obstruction by former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the intel czar’s office had too little control over Pentagon intel agencies like the giant NSA. Assuming Clapper does become Pentagon intel chief, however, relations between Defense agencies and the intel czar’s office may improve considerably: four intelligence officials, who asked for anonymity discussing intel issues, say that Clapper once angered Rumsfeld by telling Congress he would be comfortable if his NGA operation was moved out of Pentagon control and under direct control of the intel czar. At the time, Hayden, then chief of NSA, expressed similar sentiments.
