George W. Bush's position on:

Director of Intelligence: After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the intelligence agencies of our country have been under scrutiny for the failures which culminated in the deaths of over three thousand Americans, causing a commission to recommend the creation of a National Director of Intelligence position. The current debate is over where this new position will be located (under the executive or legislative branch), as well as how much power it will hold.

Description of candidate's position: In August, Bush recommended the creation of a position of National Intelligence Director (NID), who will serve as Bush's intelligence advisor and as the head of our intelligence community. This organization will allow the Director of the CIA to be able to focus only foreign intelligence collection and analysis. The director will be appointed by the President and will report directly to the President. Bush's website.

Quotation from the candidate: "Today I'm asking Congress to create the position of a National Intelligence Director. That person &endash; the person in that office will be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and will serve as the President's principle intelligence advisor and will oversee and coordinate the foreign and domestic activities of the intelligence committee. Under this new reorganization, the CIA will be managed by a separate Director. That National Intelligence Director will assume the broader responsibility of leading the intelligence community across our government." August 2, 2004 from the Bush website.

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, an independent bipartisan commission created by legislation and the signature of the president, recommended replacing the current position of Director of Central Intelligence with a National Intelligence Director. This recommendation is similar to what President Bush is proposing. There are, however, a few differences between the 9-11 commission's recommendations and President Bush's proposal. For one, Bush will have control over monetary discretion rather than the Director having control, which is what the commission recommends. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States website.

Negative: The Brookings Institute, an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis and public education, states that Bush's proposal for the director to have a coordinating role rather than a controlling role, which means that the power would remain where it is right now. This would mean that it would only reform the intelligence organization in name only, not in structure, which would not solve any of the failures which occurred on September 11, 2001. Brookings Institute website.

Comparison: While both candidates support the creation of this position, there are differences in how the position will be located organizationally. In President Bush's proposal, the Director will be coordinating, not controlling all intelligence agencies and will be appointed by the President. Kerry's proposal would allow the Director to directly oversee the agencies, instead only coordinating them. Kerry's position is closer to the 9-11 Commission recommendations. Kerry's website.

Sources: All sources are linked to the relevant passage.

Link to Kerry's director of intelligence issue page