(2006-1023-F) Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the U.S. Intelligence Community

The materials in FOIA 2006-1023-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. The Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the U.S. Intelligence Community was often referred to as simply the Aspin-Brown Commission. This colloquial results from the more common use of the names of the Commission’s two chairs, former Department of Defense secretaries Les Aspin and Harold Brown. The Commission was authorized by the Intelligence Authorization Act for the Year 1995 (Public Law 103-359, October 14, 1994) in 1994 following an October 1993 incident in which 18 U.S. Army soldiers were killed by soldiers of a Somali warlord. The intent of the Commission was to assess the status of the changing intelligence community following the Cold War and to offer suggestions on how to adapt. It released its report, Preparing for the 21st Century: An Appraisal of U.S. Intelligence, on March 1, 1996. The Commission was tasked with studying 19 specific issues. The first three of these were: what should be the roles and missions of the intelligence community in terms of providing support to the defense and foreign policy establishments and how should these relate to tactical intelligence activities; whether the roles and missions of the intelligence community should extend beyond the traditional areas of providing support to the defense and foreign policy establishments, and, if so, what areas should be considered legitimate for intelligence collection and analysis, and whether such areas should include for example, economic issues, environmental issues, and health issues; and what functions, if any, should continue to be assigned to the organizations of the intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency. President William Jefferson Clinton named former Secretary of Defense Les Aspin the first chair of the Commission. After Aspin’s death in May 1995, former Secretary of Defense Harold Brown became chair of the Commission. Warren Rudman was named vice chair of the Commission. In addition, President Clinton and Congress appointed the following members: Lew Allen Jr., Zöe Baird, Ann Z. Caracristi, Tony Coelho, David H. Dewhurst, Norman D. Dicks, J. James Exon, Wyche Fowler Jr., Stephen Friedman, Porter J. Goss, Anthony S. Harrington, Robert J. Hermann, Robert E. Pursley, John W. Warner, and Paul D. Wolfowitz. The same year that the Aspin-Brown Commission released its report, Congressman Larry Combest, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released his own study on the U.S. Intelligence community, entitled ―IC 21: Intelligence Community in the 21st Century.‖ In it, he offered his own suggested changes in the intelligence community. Ultimately, however, the Clinton Administration favored the Aspin-Brown Commission’s recommendations. When released, the Commission’s report suggested a number of changes for the U.S. Intelligence community. The New York Times, however, said the report lacked imagination and courage, and that it was largely unimaginative. Ultimately, the changes to U.S. intelligence practice suggested by the report were largely ignored. The report did have the effect however of improving management within the U.S. intelligence community and it also brought about an increase in budgets for various U.S. intelligence agencies. Another positive effect of the report was that it enlightened high level government employees, and the public in regards to the intricacies of intelligence gathering and assessment. Clinton Presidential Records relating to the Aspin-Brown Commission consist of White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject Files, White House Staff and Office Files, Automated Records Management [Email] and Tape Restoration Project [Email], and NSC Cables and Emails. The WHORM Subject file FG065 contains talking points for the President’s meeting with Brown Commission members, printed on note cards. The White House Staff and Office files contain materials maintained by individual offices and staff members. Records responsive from this FOIA are chiefly located in the files of the National Security Council (NSC). In the Global Affairs office, James Eisenhower’s papers contain memos regarding the the Administration’s response to the Aspin Brown Commission report. In the Intelligence Programs office, responsive material is located in the files of Rand Beers, Don Mitchell, and George Tenet. These consist of memos regarding response to the commission recommendations and several copies of the full report. In addition, these files also contain commentary and summaries related to Senator Combest’s IC21 report. In the office of Legal Advisor, Mary Derosa’s files contain the same types of records as those of Beers, Mitchell, and Tenet. Automated Records Management System [Email] (ARMS) and Tape Restoration Project [Email] (TRP) e-mail records responsive to this FOIA originate in the following agencies: Office of Policy Development (OPD), Office of the White House (WHO), National Security Council (NSC) and Default e-mails belonging to no specific agency. These e-mails are primarily administrative in nature relating to the Aspin-Brown Commission members and their service on the Commission. However the majority of e-mail are simply press releases related to the naming of Commission members. Further records pertaining to the Aspin-Brown Commission may be found in the NSC Cables, Emails, and Records Management Systems. The NSC Cables contain cables which reference or mention the Aspin-Brown Commission’s conclusions. The NSC Emails consists of communications regarding the ongoing work of the commission, the Administration’s response to its recommendations, drafts of related materials intended for release to the press, as well as those communications which make reference to the Aspin-Brown Commission’s findings.