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Charles Allen

1 byte removed, 00:27, 20 November 2005
The presentation reviews "PDD-35," which set intelligence priorities. Providing strategic warning to US national interests was the highest priority, followed by supporting military commanders. Below the tiers of strategic intelligence and military support was a focus on "Rogue States" and "Strategic Nuclear Powers" and transnational issues, including: Proliferation Nuclear; Command and Control; Terrorism; Narcotics; Regional Conflict/Negotiation; and International Organized Crime. Pursuant to PDD-35, the slides note the establishment of the following "executive boards": Iran, Jul 96 ; China, Oct 96; North Korea, Jan 97; Cuba, Jan 97; and Russia, May 97. The slides note that in the "Tier II" or "Watch Tier" countries with potential for a major crisis in 6-12 months were Algeria, Angola, Burundi/Rwanda, Cambodia, Congo (Kinshasa), Haiti, and Indonesia.
While it is difficult to draw much from this presentation, it is worth noting that Iraq, was not among the enumerated priorities. [[George Tenet]] was a [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A99121-1997Mar20.html principal author of PPD-35.] In the Congressional Joint Inquiry Staff's (JIS's) review of the September 11 attacks, JIS Staff Director [http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/100802hill.html Eleanor Hill wrote]:
"PDD 35 was never amended despite language that required an annual review. As certain threats, including terrorism, increased in the late 1990s, none of the "lower level" Tier 1 priorities were down-graded so that resources (money and people) could be reallocated. To much of the Intelligence Community, everything was a priority -- the U.S. wanted to know everything about everything all the time...the vagueness of PDD-35 quickly translated into an overburdened requirements system within the Intelligence Community."
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