"The domestic "threat environment" is as bad as it was in the summer of 2001, before the September 11 attacks, Tenet said. "

I'm watching this hearing on CSPAN right now. Its very interesting. Tenet in particular looks very smart here. I think he is well regarded for good reason.

Thompson pointed out that Tenet's warning seems to be in conflict with the executive threat level (currently yellow). Tenet says he is planning to talk with the executive on this, but he is letting his opinion be known regardless.

The basic issue here is FBI and CIA communications SYSTEMS and information SYSTEMS. This is essentially computer geek stuff. (Mueller specifically mentions that he is running Oracle 9i. :) ) The new methods of information operation in the FBI may cause concern. Whereas before the FBI tried to avoid collecting information which is not admissable, they are trying to change this culture. This makes sense from an intel perspective. I think they are going the right direction there. What is the civil liberties impact of this? It could be quite serious. It could also be nothing to worry about (what is not admissable is still not admissable). The problem is that this concern was only mentioned in passing and not seriously discussed. There may need to be a new balance here.

Catch this on CSPAN if you can...

I need to do more thinking about this.