Obama administration official calls Washington Post investigation a threat to national security.
The Washington Post began to unveil the findings on Monday of a two-year investigation into the changes in the United States intelligence community since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The Top Secret America report calls into question the ability of the intelligence community to keep the country safe, suggesting it has grown 'beyond control.'
In the first installment of a three-part series, Washington Post's Dana Priest and William W. Arkin write:
"The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work."
Their investigation found that since 9-11, "33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built," and "Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Post, "Nine years after 9/11, it makes sense to sort of take a look at this and say, 'OK, we've built tremendous capability, but do we have more than we need?"
A senior White House official told CNN on Monday that some of the growth in the intelligence community after 9-11 was "inefficient," but added, "we are looking at those inefficiencies. And remember, we have prevented attacks."
Many in the Obama administration are expressing concern about the database the Washington Post has compiled. One official told 'Good Morning America' anchor
George Stephanopoulos that the report "could become a road map for adversaries."
For example, an interactive map posted on the 'Top Secret America' website shows thousands of government work and private contractor locations.
But reporter William Arkin told Stephanopoulos, "We’ve been through months now of negotiations and discussions with the government. I don’t think there is anything here that would do harm to national security," and added that it's important to counter what "the government would like to put out as the good news."
According to the Washington Post, government officials were invited to see the website for the project several times, with the opportunity to voice any concerns before publication.
» The Washington Post: Top Secret America
» CNN: Report: U.S. intelligence community inefficient, unmanageable
» ABC: Admin. Official: Existence of Washington Post Database 'Troubling'
» BBC: Washington Post exposes US 'intelligence flaws'
What do you think - Is America safer since 9-11? Does this report pose a threat to national security? Leave your comments below.