August 25, 2004

Today the Commission completed two days of meetings in its offices in Arlington, Virginia.

Today's meetings included discussions with two former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence, and Dr. James Schlesinger, former Director of Central Intelligence and former Secretary of Defense. Each of them provided their perspectives on those proposals currently contemplated to re-organize the Intelligence Community, as well as on a broad range of recommendations for the Commission to consider in its work. Finally, the Commission received a presentation on one of the key issues being studied from one of its 12 working groups.

Yesterday's sessions were devoted to receiving information and discussing critical intelligence issues from three varied perspectives. The Commission met in classified, closed sessions with Thomas H. Kean, chair of the 9/11 Commission and Lee H. Hamilton, vice chair of the 9/11 Commission; William H. Webster, former director of Central Intelligence and FBI Director; and, Stephen A. Cambone, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. Central to the discussions were current policy recommendations for intelligence community reform and the effect various proposals would have on the ability of the United States to assess and respond to the challenges posed by weapons of mass destruction and other related threats.

The highly classified information discussed during these sessions required that they be closed to the public. The Commission nonetheless will continue to keep the public informed of its work through periodic statements and through its website, available at www.wmd.gov.

Commission Co-Chairs: