… Et un coup d’œil sur les espions, — $48 milliards pour 2008

Le même texte de Robert Dreyfuss sur le Pentagone que nous signalions précédemment dans cette même rubrique mentionne l’augmentation considérable, à l’intérieur du budget général de sécurité nationale des USA, du budget affecté au renseignement. («Then there are the intelligence and homeland security budgets. Back in the 1990s, when I started reporting on the CIA and the U.S. intelligence community, its entire budget was about $27 billion. Last year, although the number is supposed to be top secret, the Bush administration revealed that intelligence spending had reached $44 billion. For 2008, according to media reports, Congress is working on an authorization of $48 billion for our spies.»)

La chose nous a paru assez intéressante pour être signalée à part, à partir d’un article du Washington Post du 4 mai auquel se réfère Dreyfuss.

«The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has authorized U.S. intelligence agencies to spend an estimated $48 billion in fiscal 2008, the largest amount ever included in an intelligence bill, thanks to inclusion of funding efforts associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

»In approving the bill Monday evening, the panel's chairman, Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), said, “The single largest intelligence authorization bill ever written by the committee [is] evidence of how important intelligence has become to our national security.” While the exact numbers in the measure are classified, intelligence experts estimate it has grown nearly 4 percent annually in recent years.

»The committee added to the Bush administration's funding request for “human intelligence” activities by the CIA and the Defense Department. In addition, Reyes noted, “we invest in language training for collectors and analysts and in language translation capabilities” and “add funding for sending additional analysts overseas.”»

Il faut remarquer combien les parlementaires restent orientés dans leur démarche de soutien aux dépenses de renseignement (comme aux dépenses militaires) sur l’idée de “guerre contre la terreur”, ce concept qui a totalement infecté la psychologie américaniste, avec la peur obsessionnelle qui l’accompagne. On voit ci-après que certains parlementaires (les républicains de cette commission) critiquent des engagements de dépenses pour une étude sur les menaces créées par le réchauffement climatique sous prétexte que cela détourne des fonds de la guerre contre la terreur. (On retrouve dans cette attitude l’hostilité de l’administration GW Bush pour la crise climatique.)

«[The committee's ranking Republican, Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.)] and his colleagues also took issue with the committee's request for a national intelligence estimate on how global warming may affect U.S. national security. Reyes said the issue of a “global climate crisis” was raised by “several former military commanders.” Hoekstra described it as a matter being handled by other agencies that would divert resources from the fight against terrorism. “Spending more on intelligence, but not spending it on the right priorities, is not the same as strengthening our intelligence community,” he said.»

Mis en ligne le 7 juin 2007 à 06H11