Katrina raises further doubts about US intelligence community

As the fallout from the Katrina debacle spreads, there are new questions being raised about the 9-11 reforms.

Besides reorganizing domestic security, another position the 9-11 commission recommended was a central intelligence czar. This is Negroponte's position as DNI.

Katrina raises specific questions about the intelligence community reorganization. It remains unclear to what extent the "9-11 lessons learned" have not been fully implemented.

It is appropriate to generalize the systemic lessons from Katrina. We saw after 1941, the country mobilized, fought WWII, then developed the National Security Agency. NSA was created as a mechanism to ensure there was "not another Pearl Harbor."

Between 1945 and 2001, something didn't happen. Supposedly the 9-11 commission identified these issues.

In the wake of Katrina, it appears as though there are other "lessons from 1941" that still haven't been implemented.

It is appropriate the public and Congress have access to the 9-11 Commission findings. CIA director Goss would be prudent to ensure the public fully supports the needed reforms.

Without public backing for the needed reforms and modernizations, there remains more uncertainty and instability within the US intelligence community.

Let's hope the combined catalysts of 9-11 and Katrina set the intelligence community right. They cannot afford to get it wrong.