House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra Key Lawmaker Says U.S. Needs Strategic Plan for Intelligence by John Shaw Rep. Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is examining the complex challenges that confront Americaís intelligence community in obvious ways. He reads voraciously, especially books and articles dealing with defense, foreign policy and intelligence. He travels extensively, meeting with U.S. and foreign intelligence officials in far-flung locations. And he consults widely with intelligence experts, probing them for their technical insights and strategic vision. But Hoekstra also finds wisdom and perspective about U.S. intelligence in less predictable places, such as his childrenís soccer games. Hoekstra, like soccer parents the world over, is both amused and frustrated by the penchant of young soccer players to abandon their positions and race to the ball. It occurs to him that this ìbunch ballî tendency is not all that different from the approach taken by the U.S. intelligence communityóor Congress for that matter. ìThe intelligence community bunches around the issue of today, and we canít keep doing that,î Hoekstra said in an interview with The Washington Diplomat in his office at the House Rayburn building. ìWe need to play this like soccer where everyone understands their job, their positions on the field, and realizes that at certain times the action of the game wonít be in their area. But when the action moves over in their direction, they better have done all the training and practice and they better have their area covered. Because if theyíre a weak link, you suddenly become very vulnerable,î he said. The bunch ball metaphor struck Hoekstra during a recent hearing by the House Intelligence Committee on threats facing the United States. One expert told Hoekstraís panel that although the country is tightly focused on the Iraq war, terrorism, Iran and North Korea, China is making a number of shrewd and largely undetected moves to expand its position across Asia. ìThis concerns me,î Hoekstra said. ìWhat is China doing while the United States has its eyes on terrorism, Iraq, Iran and North Korea? What is Chinaís position going to be in five or seven years when we finally turn our attention back to Asia?î Affable, engaging and focused, Hoekstra, 51, has been a member of the House Intelligence Committee since 2001. He was selected last year by House Speaker Dennis Hastert to succeed Porter Goss as chairman of the panel when Goss was nominated by President George W. Bush to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency. As chairman of the panel, Hoekstra monitors the work of the 17 federal agencies with intelligence responsibilities and the $40 billion annual budget earmarked for intelligence. First elected to Congress in 1992 from Michiganís 2nd district, Hoekstra was born in Groningen, Netherlands, and moved to Holland, Michigan, with his family when he was 3 years old. Hoekstra studied political science at Hope College and later earned a masterís of business administration degree from the University of Michigan. He then worked as a furniture company executive, serving as a vice president of marketing for Herman Miller Inc. He is one of the few Fortune 500 business executives in Congress and brings to his congressional work the habits, language and worldview of a business executive. Hoekstra recalled that one of his last major projects for Herman Miller was drafting a strategic plan for the firm to enter the office seating business. He studied the market, considered future trends, examined the competition, and decided what part of the market his company could compete in. ìWe had a strategic framework that we developed and implemented over three to five years,î he explained. ìIt became one of Herman Millerís most profitable business segments. We did the planning, the basic foundational work. This approach translates from the private sector to problem solving in Washington.î Hoekstra said this analytical approach has helped him craft educational legislation, investigate the Teamsters, and now assess the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community. Over the next two years, Hoekstraís panel will conduct a comprehensive and fundamental review of the potential threats facing the United States in the coming years and the allocation of the nationís intelligence capabilities and resources to confront those threats. ìIntelligence is not about today or yesterdayóit is about tomorrow. Our review will not necessarily be directed to hot topics of the day but instead to the more important question of how we can best anticipate, detect and react to the threats we anticipate five or 10 years in the future and hopefully prevent them from occurring,î he said at the House Intelligence Committeeís first hearing of 2005. Specifically, Hoekstra said his panel will assess the short-, medium- and long-term threats that the United States faces. ìPutting in place a strategic plan is not very sexy, but itís very important. You canít make good long-term decisions if you donít do the ground work to make sure youíre well informed and understand the issues in their complexity,î he said. ìI want the right intelligence structure in place to give the policymakers of the future the intelligence they need.î The U.S. intelligence community, Hoekstra argues, must adapt to the fact that the nation is at war and there are urgent daily demands that must be met. He said policymakers must provide soldiers with tactical intelligence and protection overseas while uncovering current threats at home. ìWhile we are confronting tactical and reactive problems, we also need to view national security with a strategic eye. We must think long term,î he said. As he reviews the global scene, Hoekstra sees a complex landscape in which the United States faces challenges from traditional powers such as China, ìrogue nationsî such as North Korea and Iran, international drug lords and racketeers, and non-state actors such as terrorist networks that reach across continents to kill Americans overseas. With nuclear, chemical, biological and electromagnetic weapons now able to be delivered in a suitcase with little or no warning, Hoekstra said the United States has been thrust into a ìwildly different environmentî than it confronted in the Cold War. He noted that a central part of his mission as chairman of the House Intelligence panel is to educate the public about the dangers the nation faces. ìThe American people are all over the board on terrorism. They donít know what to think: Is it a threat or was it an event? I want to help the American people think about terrorism,î he said. Informal and unpretentious, Hoekstra is careful to avoid getting seduced by Washingtonís power scene. He returns home to Michigan nearly every weekend to be with his wife and three children. He even decided not to get an apartment in Washington. Every evening he pulls out a sleeping bag and sleeps on a couch in his office. Hoekstra spent the early part of his congressional career working on education and budget matters, but his focus has shifted firmly to intelligence issues. ìI spend 80 [percent] to 90 percent of my time doing intelligence stuff. Iíve been doing this since 9/11. For me, intelligence work has shifted from a backburner issue, an interesting skill set to have, to one that has become essential,î he said. Hoekstra has ambitious goals for U.S. intelligence, saying it should try to do more than preventing another terrorist attack or eliminating safe havens for terrorists. The countryís intelligence apparatus, he said, must try to understand and influence those who are fueling hatred toward the United States. ìIntelligence must provide the basis for more than national security policies. It must integrate American foreign and domestic policies. In so doing, we must be effective in supporting diplomacy as well as the efforts of the military,î he said. Shortly after assuming the panelís chairmanship, Hoekstra was catapulted into intense negotiations between Congress and the White House that resulted in a sweeping intelligence overhaul bill approved by Congress in December and signed into law by President Bush. The law is often described as the most far-reaching overhaul of the U.S. intelligence system since 1947. It created a Cabinet-level director of national intelligence, a position separate from the director of the CIA. Among other things, the director of national intelligence has significant authority over the $40 bil lion intelligence budget. The new law also mandates the sharing of national security-related information among government agencies, partly through compatible computer systems and common standards for security clearance. It also creates a National Counterterrorism Center to coordinate terrorism-related intelligence and to conduct strategic operational planning. In addition, the law establishes an independent privacy and civil liberties board to ensure protections for civil rights and individual privacy. ìThese reforms will take time to implement,î Hoekstra said. ìThis is one piece of the puzzle. I think we need to monitor it closely over the next two to four years and see if it is working as we expect.î Not surprisingly given his business background, Hoekstra said the part of the law he likes most is the creation of the national intelligence director. ìWhat we lack in the intelligence community is a chief executive officer. We have plenty of chief operating officers. But weíve never had a chief executive officer who is responsible for putting together all the pieces and developing a long-term strategic plan.î Hoekstra said that a crucial part of his job is to travel extensively to meet with U.S. and foreign intelligence officials. Since 2001, he has been to Iraq a number of times, as well as Europe, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Israel and Jordan. ìThis is where the rubber meets the road,î he said. To keep his constituents informed, Hoekstra writes a journal of his travels that he posts on his official Web site. It is a wonderfully vivid account that shows both the grueling and exhilarating aspects of travel. For example, he describes driving through the streets of Kabul, racing across the Libyan desert to meet Col. Moammar Gadhafi, and seeing New York City a week after 9/11. ìAs we reach the corner we see Ground Zero to our right. Unbelievable. Total destruction. A pile of rubble, but now, solemnly, a grave for 5,000 people. This is hardÖ. I still canít quite comprehend it all,î he wrote. Hoekstra said now that he is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he may have to be more circumspect about his descriptions of his travels. ìFrom transparency to secrecy. I guess thatís my new life,î he said with a smile. But Hoekstra isnít complaining. ìI have one of the best jobs in Washington, chairing the House Intelligence Committee, and being part of the mix of designing Americaís security policy,î he said. ìAnd just think, about 12 ago I was a furniture store executive in Michigan. This couldnít happen in any other country. What a great country we have.î John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.