CIA director John Brennan has ordered one of the largest reorganisations of the spy agency in its history.
In a memo to staff, the director said that the
changes were driven by a wider range of
threats and the impact of technological
advancements.
The reforms aim to impose greater
accountability on managers and to improve
cyber capabilities.
The biggest change is the breakdown of the
division between operators and analysts.
Historically, those who run operations and
those who interpret the intelligence they
gather have been kept separate in different
divisions and offices.
Under the new plans they would brought
together in 10 "Mission Centres", each run by
an assistant director.
There are a handful of such facilities at the
moment, including the Counter Terrorism
Centre, where analysts and operators have
worked side by side for the past decade.
Digital revolution
In his memo to staff, the spy chief
highlighted the dangers presented by cyber
terrorism, but also the opportunities that
technological advancement offered the
agency.
He called on the CIA to "embrace and
leverage the digital revolution" and
announced the creation of the Directorate of
Digital Innovation.
Mr Brennan told reporters that the cell-like
nature of the agency often meant that there
was no one person he could hold accountable
for a spying mission.
"There are a lot of areas that I would like to
have better insight to, better information
about, better access to," Mr Brennan said.
Correspondents say the changes are a result
of increasing concerns that the CIA's focus on
terrorism following the September 11th
attacks has blunted its abilities to deal with
other threats.
The move to greater accountability comes
after Mr Brennan admitted that some officers
had acted beyond their authority following a
2014 Senate report that criticised the
agency's use of enhanced interrogation
methods.
Responding to the report, the director
admitted that some of the methods were
"abhorrent" but defended the CIA's record
