F.B.I. and C.I.A. Set for a Major Consolidation in Counterterror

In a major organizational shift, the entire counterterrorism sections of the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. will move into a single complex as a way of better coordinating the analysis and tracking of information, the White House said today. Under the reorganization, the two agencies will each maintain control of their own counterterrorism staffs, totaling more than 2,000 people. But a joint intelligence center to be created at the same location, probably in Northern Virginia, will report to George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence. That arrangement in particular has prompted civil liberties advocates to warn that lines of authority could become blurred, giving the Central Intelligence Agency a new role in domestic spying. President Bush announced details of the reorganizing in an appearance today at headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said the move was “an important advance” in creating a better, more integrated system for analyzing intelligence about terrorists. “All our successes in the war on terror depend on the ability of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to work in common purpose,” Mr. Bush said. “In order to better protect our homeland, our intelligence agencies must coexist like they never had before.” Full Story