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Spies on the ground are only a small part of the problem. The big-ticket spending that is out of control has been satellites. For example, the CIA wants to build $1 billion-apiece "8X" spy satellites to photograph targets, even though it has sitting in warehouses about half a dozen satellites that have the capacity to take pictures for the next decade. The Air Force recently launched two $1 billion "Trumpet" signal intercepting satellites, which spend most of their time parked over the former Soviet Union. Furthermore, satellites may simply not be that useful. A highly classified CIA study recently concluded that satellites provide less than 10% of the valuable signal intelligence collected from such rogue states as Iraq and Iran. Most such data are scooped up by ground stations or via phone taps.
Meanwhile, Deutch still faces opposition. Despite Perry's backing, the Pentagon's military brass is fighting a rear-guard action to limit Deutch's control over their spy operations. Veteran CIA hands and Congressmen, on the other hand, are worried that Deutch is going overboard, satisfying the Pentagon's hunger for battlefield secrets at the expense of collecting political and diplomatic intelligence that his principal customer, the President, might need.
When Deutch fired two senior officers in connection with the Guatemala scandal last year, the ranks grumbled that such punishment for old operations now deemed politically incorrect would chill risk taking in the future. (Indeed, many senior officers buy $1 million insurance policies in case the agency abandons them to lawsuits.) The agency "still needs James Bonds," says a House Intelligence Committee member, Congressman Bill Richardson. "[It needs] spies who do the dirty work that needs to be done." The CIA's deputy director for clandestine operations, David Cohen, insists in an exclusive interview with TIME that his spies are still taking chances. Morale is "extraordinarily high in the field," Cohen says. "People are motivated."
But the spies were enraged even more by a New York Times Magazine article last December in which Deutch said they were "not as competent" as military officers he had left behind at the Pentagon. An agency division chief immediately fired off a cable to stations overseas telling them to ignore the director's slap. Deutch says he regrets the statement and has cut back on interviews.
There is deep anxiety at Langley that Deutch's grab for power is designed to advance his own career. The rumor circulating in Langley is that his secret game plan is to take over the Defense Department if Clinton wins a second term and if Perry resigns to return to private life. Deutch's senior aides insist that for now, his power is the spies' best friend. "At the end of the day, are we better off with John Deutch at the CIA?" asks his deputy Tenet. "The answer is yes." Considering how low the agency has sunk, what is good for John Deutch may be good for the CIA.