Brave New World and Beyond

"Brave New World," that novel about the dehumanization of man, seems to loom its mechanical head morbidly at today’s world and blink its bloodshot eyes as if it were to say: "I told you so!"

In a more practical vein, one might glance at this morning’s "New York Times" and wonder about the significance of President George Bush’s naming of Mike McConnel as mastermind of the nation’s 16 spy agencies, squeezing U.S. intelligence efforts under a single leadership, under direct presidential supervision.

Two juicy side effects:

1) The move to centralize intelligence gathering is apparently a smashing blow to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), long the symbol of U.S. interventionism abroad. Or has it just been given a face-lifting?

2) An important number of Republicans in Bush’s own party were less than happy about the reshuffle: six Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee walked out of Mr. McConnel’s briefing on the revision of Executive Order 12333--which appeared amid strong controversy concerning the unclear role of intelligence gathering related to the September 11 terrorist attack against the Twin Towers.  

The Republicans protested because they had received the 40 page revised order only minutes before the briefing. The walkout was led by Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who told the Times that "This is a pattern...It makes it impossible to do effective oversight." The Republicans appeared to be upset about the executive power's ruses to get controversial issues approved with the deadline ticking away.

The new structure of intelligence leaves the CIA in charge of carrying out covert action overseas..."unless the president determines that another agency is more likely to achieve a particular objective." Apparently its activities would be better coordinated, yet there is still room to wonder who would authorize, for example, the questioning of prisoners at secret locations in other countries, as denounced in major newspapers over recent months.

What is suggestive of the Brave New World is the increased centralization of the intelligence effort under the scrutiny of the executive power. Does not this move give excessive power to the executive branch? Does it not imply a meshing of spying efforts inside and outside the country, with the latent threat to the civil liberties of citizens? Although the government pretends to act in defense of the nation and its citizens, might not this concentration of spying power suppose a potential threat of abuse should the chief executive be tempted to use this intelligence information in an inscrupulous fashion?