Peeking Under the NCTC's Tent

Alexandra Marks, a reporter with the Christian Science Monitor, provides readers this week with a tongue-in-cheek look at the secretive National Counter Terrorism Center and how effective the center is in combating terrorism. (The CIA, FBI, Defense Department and 15 other agencies send to the center's 30 separate computer networks mounds of intelligence, including government briefings, satellite photos, classified cables, phone conversations, gossip and routine threats to flag any "signals" that may indicate terrorist activity.)

The straight-to-the-point quote from the article:

... all the various departments have to work together in responding â€" something that hasn't always happened in the past.

In fact, that's one thing that worries some intelligence experts. The center doesn't have [direct] operational authority. "They don't have a roomful of buttons where they push things to make things happen," says John McLaughlin, former deputy director of the CIA. Instead, they have an office of strategic planning â€" a sort of "halfway house" that was the result of compromise, he says, so there would be no conflict with the CIA, FBI, and the Pentagon. So when the NCTC detects a serious threat, it draws up a plan and "recommends" actions for the other agencies.

On the lighter side, Marks pokes fun at the center's supposed secrecy. The center is "a tourist attraction of sorts â€" at least for reporters, lawmakers, law enforcement, and counterintelligence officials from around the world," according to the article. "Indeed, the NCTC comes complete with tour guides, photographers, and a gift shop full of the latest counterterrorism memorabilia â€" mugs, T-shirts, jackets, and even NCTC memorial coins."

There's also a sign warning employees: "Foreigners Present."