The Future of U.S. Intelligence Agencies

By Anna Kasten Nelson

Several months ago, Congress established a 17-member panel, headed by former Defense Secretary Les Aspin, to study the future of the Central Intelligence Agency and 11 other federal intelligence agencies. An accumulation of issues -- including the failure of the C.I.A. to foresee the rapid demise of the Soviet Union, its failure to uncover the espionage of employee Aldrich Ames early on, and its reluctance to discipline those responsible for supervising him -- has raised questions about the