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• MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Interview of Assistant Secretary of Defense (SOLIC) Thomas O'Connell


Type of Event: Interview
Date: June 29, 2004
Prepared by: Len Hawley
Team Number: 3
Classification: SEeRE:r-
Location: The Pentagon, Room 2E258
Participants Non-Commission: Tom O'Connell, Harvey Dalton, Mark Thomas, Bob
Toney
Participants - Commission: Len Hawley and Bonnie Jenkins

Overview
(U) This interview focused on future military reforms needed to combat terrorism.
Thomas O'Connell is the senior DOD policy official responsible for counter terrorism.

Interview Results

¢) Evaluation of Progress to Date


Fair. A lot more has be done. We are at a cross roads. Given the legislation, everything
has to be negotiated with CIA. Immediate needs drive decisions and we are neglecting
long term capabilities. ·CIA is still back in the 50's and 60's thinking in terms of
counterintelligence. We have a new threat.

effective in this role. There are no effective


9/11 Classified Information

% Interagency Cooperation
We are hopelessly mired in deep distrust among State, CIA and the military.

I am not sure regional combatant commanders are capable of running the war on terror.
The problem is that until we can get an interagency coordination capability in
Washington and the country team we will not make progress.

Washington is dominated by agendas for Principals and Deputies meetings. The whole
place is tied up. No real action gets done. Participants are not always informed. They
walk into these meetings pretty cold. The whole process just grinds and sucks energy out
of momentum.

The CSG works pretty well. The participants seek to help one another. I try to help


DoD contribute to the process. The key is to have open and frank discussions of the
issues. This leads to good cooperation. Diminished egos help as well.
~SECRET

~DIA Capability
DIA can have a good HUMIT capability if they were to get serious about it. Go look at
its priorities. They have never given any priority to getting good people and training in
this area. They remain in the same mindset. HUMIT is a second-class effort. It is not
taken seriously. These are long term investments.

(U) SOCOM
We need to give SOCOM a chance. The regional commanders have got to buy in to their
efforts. SOCOM can open up links with special forces in various countries that are
needed to fight terrorism.

The military can become more seamless. It will get better as time moves on and people
work together.

We have to look in every ungoverned area in all regions. Terrorists cannot operate freely
in these areas. We need to be able do operations in all of them. They can become safe
havens.

(U) Radical Islam


SOCOM is farther down the line than everyone else in the military. They are careful.
They will take the time to put themselves in a good position. We can adapt our forces.

People in Washington need more understanding of the nature of the threat. It is a major
shortfall in fighting this wider war in the Muslim world.

~ A Common View of the Threat


The intelligence reporting today is too standardized and full of caveats. This does not
help policymakers take actions.

We also need to work on better approaches to leveraging existing data.

(U) A Joint Operating Concept


Our military is more comfortable preparing for major combat rather than fighting
terrorism.

We need to be effective against terrorist infrastructure. They cannot operate freely and
have the run of the country. Local forces should be effectively used.

END of INTERVIEW

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