> Give the record of rampant political corrupt and abject failure at the CIA for the last 50 years, it past time this failed agency be closed. What ever useful function that might exist at CIA can be reassigned to any of the other 16 Intelligence agencies.
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What could possibly be the justification for the USA or any other country to need 16 Intelligence agencies. Is that in itself intelligent?
There are needs for many types of intelligence for different needs and the agencies to oversea them. There is also a need to compartmentalize much of that information for safety and national security concerns. One of the real problems in the intelligence industry is the different methods that the data is collected and the verification methods they use for credentialing process when the source has not been properly vetted to establish their credibility. One of the major problems is the Internet and easy access so that almost anyone can plant false information online that may appear to be a serious threat that has to be checked out. The other problem that began surfacing during the early 90's was that a lot of the intelligence agencies became dependent on open sources (basically anything in print or online on the Internet; once the newspapers came online it became even easier). Now we find ourself in a situation where there is literally too much information and unvetted sources and propaganda out there to sort through. It's a mad house.
As to doing away with many of the intelligence agencies that would require an in-depth study to see if there are crossover needs or if any of the intel could be shared without there being any national security or compartmentalism issues or interagency conflicts. I'm fairly certain some of the military agencies might be able to do that without too many issues. The others I don't know without doing a lot more research.
Bottom line - sometimes things are not nearly so easy to do as they first seem.