TO: Barbara Grewe

FROM: Gordon Lederman

DATE: July 31,2003
RE: DBA Briefing Request

Attached is a draft DBA briefing request and cover memorandum to Dan and Steve. We
look forward to your comments. I will not be in the office on Friday, August 1.
Accordingly, please convey your comments to Kevin Scheid at 331.4069. Thank you.

cc: Kevin Scheid

Thomas H. Kean DEA Briefing Request No. _
CHAIR

Lee H. Hamilton
VICE CHAIR The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the
Richard Ben-Veniste
"Commission") requests informal background briefings from the Drug Enforcement
Administration ("DEA"), if possible by , 2003, concerning:
Max Cleland

Fred F. Fielding
(1) An overview of DEA's mission, capabilities, and history.
(2) How DEA engages in strategic and tactical intelligence and links intelligence with
Jamie S. Gorelick its law enforcement activities.
Slade Gorton (3) How DEA conducts intelligence and law enforcement both domestically and
abroad, including any legal considerations associated with intelligence collection and
John Lehman
analysis.
Timothy J. Roemer (4) DEA's institutional linkages with (a) the Intelligence Community, (b) other federal
agencies such as the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
James R. Thompson
and (c) State and local law enforcement - including any requirements for or legal
barriers to sharing of intelligence or law enforcement information.
Philip D. Zelikow
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (5) DEA's role in the war on terrorism.
(6) DEA's current understanding of the links between terrorists and narcotics
traffickers.

This request is for an "off the record" briefing that will be attended by a limited
number of Commission staff whose investigative focus encompasses these issues. The
requested briefings are for general background purposes only and will not be a
substitute for subsequent interviews the Commission and its staff may wish to
conduct.

August _, 2003 Daniel Marcus

General Counsel

TEL (202) 331-4060

FAX (202) 296-5545
www.9-11 commission.gov
 Treasury Document Request
Page 2

DRAFT MEMO TO DAN AND STEVE:

Dan and Steve -

Teams 2 and 6 would like to schedule a briefing by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DBA) because the
DEA provides one possible model for how the U.S. Government has tackled an interdisciplinary problem
analogous to terrorism.

As you know, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was created in 1973 to unify federal efforts against
narcotics. When President Nixon proposed the creation of the DEA in 1973, he talked about how "the federal
government is fighting the war on drug abuse under a distinct handicap, for its efforts are those of a loosely
confederated alliance facing a resourceful, elusive, worldwide enemy." A 1973 report by the Senate Committee
on Government Operations supported the creation of DEA in order to end interagency rivalries and to provide a
focal point for federal, State, and local efforts.

The problems that DEA was designed to remedy parallel the challenges posed by the contemporary war on
terrorism, including the need to unify federal capabilities, promote federal information-sharing, bridge the
foreign/domestic operational and legal divides, and coordinate federal, State, and local efforts. Accordingly,
Teams 2 and 6 wish to receive an overview of how DEA has approached these challenges and whether the U.S.
Government would benefit from adopting a DBA-style model for counterterrrorism.

Attached is a draft briefing request. We look forward to your comments. Thank you.