28 August 2004	Saturday	11 Rajab 1425

WASHINGTON, Aug 27: US President George Bush, embroiled in a fierce campaign battle over national security, on Friday gave the post of CIA director some of the broad authority that the Sept 11 commission envisioned for a new intelligence czar.

In what they described as an interim step toward more sweeping intelligence reform, aides said Mr Bush would sign a series of national security executive orders that would also create a new National Counter terrorism Center and enhance information sharing between intelligence agencies.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said an order enhancing the powers of the central intelligence director was designed to bolster US intelligence capabilities until Congress could act on a new national intelligence director.

A senior administration official said Mr Bush was expected to give the CIA director authority over budgetary and other matters at the National Security Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office.

The changes come 2-1/2 weeks before lawmakers return from their summer recess to Capitol Hill, where competing intelligence reform measures have already been proposed.

"Until the national intelligence director is created by Congress, we want to make sure that we have an interim structure in place to oversee some of these steps that we are taking," Mr McClellan told reporters.

A new intelligence czar with broad authority over the 15 United States spy agencies was a main recommendation of the bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

But to establish the post, Congress must amend the National Security Act of 1947 that created the CIA, the National Security Council and the Defence Department at the outset of the Cold War.

Mr Bush has nominated former US House of Representatives intelligence chief Porter Goss as CIA director to replace George Tenet, who resigned last month after spectacular lapses involving Iraq and Sept 11. -Reuters