U.S. Policymakers Mull Creation Of

Domestic Intelligence Agency -- CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United Kingdom has MI-5, which roots out spies and terrorists in the British Isles.

Canada has CSIS -- the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Now Congress is asking: Should the U.S. have its own domestic intelligence agency?

On Monday, at the request of Congress, the RAND Corporation outlined the pros and cons of establishing a domestic intelligence agency. It also discussed different ways to organize a new entity, either as part of an existing department or as a new agency.

But there's one thing you won't find in the report -- a recommendation on what to do.

"We were not asked to make a recommendation, and this assessment does not do so," the report says.

Instead, says RAND's Gregory Treverton, the report provides a "framework" for policymakers to use when deciding whether and how to reorganize counter-intelligence efforts at home.

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My Comment: The answer is probably a yes. In the past Canada's domestic agency was run through the RCMP, but this policy was found to have shortcomings in combating domestic terrorism (The FLQ was a terrorist group fighting for Quebec independence). CSIS was established to focus on these threats, and others. Has it worked .... hmmm .... the jury is still out.

Fighting crime is one thing .... fighting terrorism and spying is another. The U.S. will probably benefit from a domestic agency whose responsibility is for terror plots and espionage. The American fear is that such agencies can be abused .... but one can say that such abuse can also occur in any of the other existing agencies.