Gates unlikely to rein in Pentagon on intelligence

[rodeodance]

ho hummmmmmm



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061214/ts_nm/security_usa_gates_dc

Gates unlikely to rein in Pentagon on intelligence

By David Morgan Thu Dec 14, 8:08 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Robert Gates is unlikely to rein in the
Pentagon's controversial post-September 11 expansion into intelligence, despite concerns the U.S. military is ill-suited for espionage outside the battlefield, experts say.

But Gates, the former CIA director who will be sworn in as defense secretary on Monday, could help heal a rift between the Pentagon and civilian intelligence agencies caused by the confrontational tactics of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld.

"You're going to have a real change in tone at the top, and the watchword will be 'practicality,"' said Robert Grenier, former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center.

Well-known for his zeal for cooperation, Gates will make good on a public pledge to support U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte, whose 20-month-old office oversees 16 agencies, including several that are operated by the Defense Department.
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[intaglio]

1. Pentagon + Intelligence = Oxymoron n/t