Joe Lieberman: “The fact is that it was the experience of the commission with regard to the Nation's intelligence structure that worked…”

“The fact is that it was the experience of the commission with regard to the Nation's intelligence structure that worked in the 1970's that is the inspiration for that concept being included in this amendment. The work he is doing now in this area with this commission, I hope, will be considered by the panel convened under the amendment. As the Senator indicates, changes that have occurred are extraordinary. Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Admiral Owens, who was very comfortable with the new technologies and very far-sighted, said we are now at a point where our commanders can, for the most part now or on the verge in the very near future, can see the whole battlefield for miles ahead, around them, and in front of them. That has never been the case for people who have gone to war. This is because of these extraordinary not only satellites but helicopters, the unmanned aerial vehicles. The fact is at a given moment in real time today the commanders on the field--in fact, the heads of our military structure back at the Pentagon--can see exactly what is happening on the battlefield and be involved. As the Senator indicated, the dependence we have on communication and information, the potential threats to current methods of encryption of our messages is exactly what I hope this commission will go at.”