The director of national intelligence must be able to foster the cooperation and collaboration of the various US intelligence organizations in order to provide the national leadership with the best-possible intelligence, James Clapper said Tuesday. “Given the complexity and diversity of the intelligence community, we must view it as an enterprise of complementary capabilities that must be synchronized,” Clapper told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday during his nomination hearing to be the next DNI, the nation’s intelligence czar. He said he thinks the DNI position already has the authority to serve in this role, but, if confirmed, he would be open to exploring areas where its authority might be extended, such as broader oversight of intelligence spending. President Obama nominated Clapper in June for this post. Clapper is currently undersecretary of defense for intelligence. (AFPS report by Lisa Daniel) (Clapper’s prepared remarks) (For more hearing documents, go to this SCCI Web page.)
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…