20 Years Later, Assessing the Value of the ODNI

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Intelligence Community veterans answer a question: Was (and is) the ODNI worth having?

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 26: (L-R) National Security Agency Director General Timothy Haugh, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse prepare to testify during an annual worldwide threats assessment hearing at the Longworth House Office Building on March 26, 2025. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Posted: April 22nd, 2025

EXPERT INTERVIEWS — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) marks an anniversary today — 20 years since its creation as the top oversight entity within the U.S. intelligence community (IC).

The ODNI was born in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and the flawed intelligence that led to 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and given a mandate to correct “single-threaded intelligence reporting and analysis” and better integrate intelligence collected by the rest of the IC. It was tasked with other roles: a convening authority to bring the IC’s disparate agencies together to confront challenges; the preparation of the Presidential Daily Brief; the determining of the overall intelligence budget; and acting as a public voice for the IC writ large.

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