New Pentagon spy agency to focus on Iran, China
As it begins to pivot away from war zones in Iraq and
Afghanistan:
US: The Pentagon is creating a new intelligence agency that will
focus on Iran and China as it begins to pivot away from war zones in
Iraq and Afghanistan, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper said late Monday that the new Defense Clandestine
Service would make use of existing agents, authorities and assets and
work closely with the Central Intelligence Agency to track emerging
threats.
“It will thicken our coverage across the board,” it quoted a senior
defense department official as saying.
Case officers from the Defense Intelligence Agency already secretly
gather intelligence outside of conventional battle zones, the Times
said, and the latest move further cements cooperation between the
military and the CIA.
The new intelligence service is expected to grow “from several
hundred to several more hundred” agents in the coming years by shifting
personnel and funding from existing assignments, the Times quoted the
official as saying. Defense officials did not immediately respond to AFP
requests for further information.
The announcement of the new agency comes a week after the Pentagon
nominated Lieutenant General Michael Flynn -- who previously served with
the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) -- to head
military intelligence.
The selection of Flynn -- who had been a strong critic of military
intelligence when he served as the top intelligence officer in
Afghanistan in 2010 -- reflects the ascendancy of special forces in
recent years.
The JSOC has been behind the killing of numerous suspected top
insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years and carried out the
raid that killed Osama bin Laden nearly one year ago. AFP
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