Bush backs new post of intelligence czar

President Bush on Monday proposed creating the post of national intelligence director, which the Sept. 11 commission had recommended in its report released last month. In the White House Rose Garden flanked by top administration officials, Bush said in a speech that he also wanted to create a counterterrorism coordination center that will become "our government's knowledge bank for information about known and suspected terrorists."

The White House divulged few details on what the proposed director and coordination center would do, and it was unclear how the changes would affect the way the federal government approaches data mining and computer security. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said last week that he would accept all of the commission's recommendations.