White House Intel Advisory Board Has No Members

President Obama has still not appointed anyone to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
Source: www.fas.org...

The PIAB has broad responsibility for conducting internal executive branch oversight of intelligence, and it is specifically charged with alerting the President to intelligence activities that may be unlawful or contrary to executive order or presidential directive. Although the PIAB rarely releases its findings to the public, it is positioned to play a potentially important role in the intelligence oversight process. Its actual performance seems to depend on the qualifications of Board members, which have sometimes been minimal, as well as the receptivity of an Administration to the oversight process.

In the current political turmoil around the world from Iran elections fiasco to the Honduras Coup it seems that it might be wise for the administration to get off its butt and fill these open positions on this very important board.

What do you think about this?

So what is the purpose of this advisory board you might wonder. Well here is an excerpt below from a key DOD document related to this situation.

Source: www.fas.org...

Questionable intelligence activities and significant or highly sensitive matters involving intelligence activities may have serious implications for the execution of DoD missions. It is DoD policy that senior leaders and policymakers within the Government be made aware of events that may erode the public trust in the conduct of DoD intelligence operations.

It seems that the Obama administration is ducking key intelligence services oversight with this move or should I say lack of a move. They are in effect giving the CIA and other intelligence gathering assets in the US government free reign to do as they please with no established oversight from an executive branch level advisory panel. This is not good.

[edit on 7/1/2009 by UFOTECH]

It is more likely an intentional oversight. If things go well, the Admin takes the credit. If not, then the line could be, "Uhh, we have, uuhhhm, been quite, uhhhh, busy, with, uhhhhm, other pressing matters, such as the, uhhh, economy. We uhhh assumed that the uhhh, professionals in the uhhhmm, intelligence services would uhhhh, do the right thing. We will now, uhhh, direct our full, uhhh, attention to correcting these errors in judgement, uhhhh, with close, uhhhhm oversight. Of course, if the TOTUS is present, the delivery will be a bit more smooth.

reply to post by Viking04


I had not seen that TOTUS line.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Teleprompter of the United States of America.

That makes me laugh. It is so sad but true.

TOTUS has his own blog:

baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com...