CIA Chief Panetta Provides Economic Intel Brief

Highlighting the potential impact the worldwide economic downturn may have on global security and foreign policy, new CIA Director Leon Panetta said today that the agency is now producing a new daily intelligence document for President Obama and other top officials that focuses on economic issues.

Panetta says the new intelligence product, known as the Economic Intelligence Brief, is intended to make sure that policymakers “aren’t surprised by the implications of the worldwide economic crisis.”

The first brief was presented to the White House this morning, after a request from the Obama administration, Panetta said.

He said the briefs would “cover overseas developments –- economic, political, leadership developments,” as well as “the implications of those developments in terms of the U.S. economy.”

The new intelligence brief is another sign of the Obama administration’s focus on economic issues.

Since his first day in office, Obama has received daily briefings from his economic advisers that take place before the long-standard security briefing focused on the intelligence community’s daily assessment, known as the Presidential Daily Brief.

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Bush and Obama Administrations Practices Homeland Security Event

Officials of the outgoing and incoming Bush and Obama administrations are teaming up for a rehearsal of how to handle a theoretical national emergency.

Bush White House chief of staff Josh Bolten announced that the exercise, involving representatives of both administrations, will take place on Tuesday afternoon at the executive mansion.

Bolten said that such a joint rehearsal for a possible terrorism-era emergency is a matter of necessity, not just courtesy.

He said a few key members of the Obama administration and the current administration will get West Wing briefings on “incident management procedures” and “continuity of government procedures.”

Bolton said officials will “work on a specific scenario … and talk about who does what” in the event of a homeland security incident.

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