Current, Ex-Spy Officials Oppose Agency

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Current, Ex-Spy Officials Oppose Agency

Apr 16, 10:57 PM (ET)

By CURT ANDERSON

WASHINGTON (AP) - While the Sept. 11 commission appears likely to recommend an overhaul of U.S. intelligence agencies, the idea that a separate domestic spy agency be created outside the FBI is meeting strong opposition from current and former officials.

FBI Director Robert Mueller, former Director Louis Freeh, Attorney General John Ashcroft, his predecessor Janet Reno and CIA Director George Tenet all recommended against a new homeland spy agency in testimony before the panel this week.

In a rare alignment, the position of the five on the issue dovetails with that of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU maintains that such an agency could evolve into the ultimate Big Brother, with power to launch covert activities against U.S. citizens, dig into private lives and conduct surveillance without legal cause.

"Even during the most frigid days of the Cold War, we never saw the need to create a secret police force that would work outside the constraints of the Constitution," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040417/D8209QG80.html