T2 B5 Dea Fdr- Draft Dea Briefing Request 610

TO: FROM: DATE: RE:

Barbara Grewe Gordon Lederman July 31,2003 DBA Briefing Request

Attached is a draft DBA briefing request and cover memorandum to Dan and Steve. We look forward to your comments. I will not be in the office on Friday, August 1. Accordingly, please convey your comments to Kevin Scheid at 331.4069. Thank you.

cc: Kevin Scheid

Thomas H. Kean

DEA Briefing Request No. _

CHAIR

Lee H. Hamilton VICE CHAIR

Richard Ben-Veniste

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the "Commission") requests informal background briefings from the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), if possible by , 2003, concerning:

Max Cleland Fred F. Fielding Jamie S. Gorelick Slade Gorton John Lehman Timothy J. Roemer James R. Thompson

Philip D. Zelikow EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

(1) An overview of DEA's mission, capabilities, and history. (2) How DEA engages in strategic and tactical intelligence and links intelligence with its law enforcement activities. (3) How DEA conducts intelligence and law enforcement both domestically and abroad, including any legal considerations associated with intelligence collection and analysis. (4) DEA's institutional linkages with (a) the Intelligence Community, (b) other federal agencies such as the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and (c) State and local law enforcement - including any requirements for or legal barriers to sharing of intelligence or law enforcement information. (5) DEA's role in the war on terrorism. (6) DEA's current understanding of the links between terrorists and narcotics traffickers. This request is for an "off the record" briefing that will be attended by a limited number of Commission staff whose investigative focus encompasses these issues. The requested briefings are for general background purposes only and will not be a substitute for subsequent interviews the Commission and its staff may wish to conduct. August _, 2003

Daniel Marcus General Counsel

TEL (202) 331-4060 FAX (202) 296-5545 www.9-11 commission.gov

Treasury Document Request Page 2 DRAFT MEMO TO DAN AND STEVE: Dan and Steve Teams 2 and 6 would like to schedule a briefing by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DBA) because the DEA provides one possible model for how the U.S. Government has tackled an interdisciplinary problem analogous to terrorism. As you know, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was created in 1973 to unify federal efforts against narcotics. When President Nixon proposed the creation of the DEA in 1973, he talked about how "the federal government is fighting the war on drug abuse under a distinct handicap, for its efforts are those of a loosely confederated alliance facing a resourceful, elusive, worldwide enemy." A 1973 report by the Senate Committee on Government Operations supported the creation of DEA in order to end interagency rivalries and to provide a focal point for federal, State, and local efforts. The problems that DEA was designed to remedy parallel the challenges posed by the contemporary war on terrorism, including the need to unify federal capabilities, promote federal information-sharing, bridge the foreign/domestic operational and legal divides, and coordinate federal, State, and local efforts. Accordingly, Teams 2 and 6 wish to receive an overview of how DEA has approached these challenges and whether the U.S. Government would benefit from adopting a DBA-style model for counterterrrorism. Attached is a draft briefing request. We look forward to your comments. Thank you.