Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), House Intelligence Committee chairman, said Sunday the U.S. government should take a cautionary approach to moving responsibility for the U.S. drone program away from the CIA.
Rogers told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview the airstrikes have been a “very effective tool in disrupting the leadership of al Qaeda” and the government should be careful about shifting assets in the government that have expertise.
“The value of this program comes from the entire set of package, from trying to figure out who these people are, why they’re a threat, where they are, and then having the ability to do something about them,” he said, according to a CBS transcript.
Politico reports the CIA and the Defense Department both have their own drone programs and John Brennan, the CIA’s new director, said during his confirmation hearings he would bring transparency to the program.
Rogers’ comments came nearly a week after The Daily Beast reported the White House plans to put the Pentagon in charge of the drone program.
