He was rewarded by a specific declaration of support from Mr Bush, even though reports still surface of his imminent demise.The reorganisation is understood to have the support of the influential Senate and House intelligence committees, who have long sought a more rational structure, making the CIA more accountable for all intelligence gathering activities. Mr Scowcroft's involvement will, moreover, ensure it gets close attention in the White House itself.But the Pentagon will fight tooth and nail to retain control of the NSA, NRO and NIMO, which alone boast a combined budget of $15bn.Each is headed by a senior military officer. Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, will argue that since most of the information gathered by the three is for tactical battle operations, they should continue to be based within the Pentagon.The performance of each of them, however, has been criticised – none more strongly than the National Security Agency, accused of failing to keep up with modern electronic encryption technology, and of being unable to sift and evaluate the vast quantities of information it does manage to collect.This leads in to the prime shortcoming exposed by the events of 11 September and which no amount of organisational juggling will rectify: the shortage of on-the-spot human intelligence, revealing not what an enemy is saying or doing, but what is in his mind.. The General called it a "rather unique" view of the bombing – the video clip he played showed a man being blown into a thousand pieces by a US satellite-guided missile.
The General called it a "rather unique" view of the bombing – the video clip he played showed a man being blown into a thousand pieces by a US satellite-guided missile. "You'll see two vehicles, one pull up next to another," said Marine Corps General Peter Pace in his commentary on the clip. "You'll see an individual walk between the two vehicles just before a guided munition destroys both vehicles."The general – the vice-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff – did not know the precise location of the strike or type of missile used. He could not even tell exactly what the two vehicles were – they might have been armoured carriers or fuel tankers – from the fuzzy images taken by the plane's gun camera. Still, it was a rather unique view all the same.No one expected the Anglo-American military campaign launched inside Afghanistan to be a pretty thing.
No one doubted there would be innocent civilian victims – the so-called "collateral damage". But this week, five weeks into the war, the Pentagon revealed the result of its handiwork with footage that was as gruesome as it was mesmerising.As more questions are asked about the wisdom and efficacy of a military campaign that is almost entirely aerial bombing, the Pentagon is desperate to persuade people that the Taliban is being hit hard. Though they cannot release precise figures, the Pentagon claims that scores of Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters have been killed by the airstrikes. The US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said that he saw reports detailing Taliban losses twice a day; sometimes were six victims, sometimes 20.General Pace was asked if he could be more precise on the numbers of Taliban dead. He replied: "I can't give you an estimate, but I can give you a flavour for the type of war ...
