Reducing intelligence costs

Restructuring intelligence agencies
Reforming intelligence agencies

Context

During the Cold War, vast amounts of money were spend building up intelligence structures on both sides. In the post Cold War era, out of time and/or wasteful intelligence budgets and structures (especially duplication in organization and process in or between intelligence structures) need to be reassessed and restructured accordingly.

Implementation

Recently in the USA, the president's new bipartisan Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the Intelligence Community has begun its work.

Claim

The USA officially spends 28 billion dollars on gathering intelligence annually. Four fifths of this figure is absorbed by Pentagon managed agencies. The CIA's annual budget is about 3 billion dollars; the Defence Intelligence Agency receives 600 million dollars a year; the National Security Agency receives about 4 billion dollars; the National Reconnaissance Office, nearly 7 billion dollars; the Central Imagery Office, over one billion; and Tactical Intelligence and Related Activities receive about 12 billion dollars. According to a recent study, the CIA's intelligence directorate has about 1500 analysts, and the military has about 13000 carrying out analysis, much of it derived from analyses already completed.