Clapper Letter on NDAA

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is joining the chorus of Obama administration voices warning against detainee-related language in a pending Senate defense authorization bill. In a letter sent Wednesday to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) at her request, Clapper doesn't dissect the National Defense Authorization Act's provisions in detail, but he says they threaten to gum up and complicate the process of gathering intelligence from terrorism suspects. "Taken together, the various detention provisions, even with the proposed waivers, would introduce unnecessary rigidity at a time when our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals are working more closely than ever to defend our nation effectively and quickly from terrorist attacks," Clapper wrote in the one-page letter (posted here.) "These limitations could deny our nation the ability to respond flexibly and appropriately to unfolding events—including the capture of terrorism suspects — and restrict a process that currently encourages intelligence collection through the preservation of all lawful avenues of detention and interrogation."