Charles Skelton: “Mr. Chairman, in these days with the cold war behind us, Berlin Wall having come down, we find ourselves in a comparable…”

“Mr. Chairman, in these days with the cold war behind us, Berlin Wall having come down, we find ourselves in a comparable era, as we did in the 1920's and the early 1930's where there was no known adversary on the horizon. I support the bill as it is, and I oppose the amendment to reduce the authorization. Serving on the Committee on National Security, and there are a few of us on this Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that do, also as a member of this committee, I know the value of timely and accurate intelligence to military commanders as well as to the administration and the State Department. In these days where the predictability of the future is so cloudy, that is when, Mr. Chairman, it is all the more important for us to have the best, the finest intelligence network we can. More than that, it is more than just being able to collect intelligence. We need the analysts who can give us that predictive analysis as to where we think problems may arise. Successful military operations, successful diplomatic operations which minimize the risk of problems and lives of American service men and women cannot, simply cannot be conducted without excellent intelligence and excellent analysis. As a member of both of the committees that deal with this I pay particular attention to the needs of the military as well as the other. I believe this bill responds to those needs, I support it.”