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 The total U.S. intelligence budget was $67.9 billion in the fiscal
year to Sept. 30, according to official figures. That was up only
marginally from $67.6 billion the previous year, but followed a
steady decline since a peak in 2010.
A variety of factors comes into play, official sources say.
The decline reflected the end of military operations in Iraq in 2011
and the drawdown in Afghanistan, said Bruce Riedel, a former senior
intelligence official and security adviser to President Barack
Obama.
"Those operations were extremely expensive, not just for the
military but also all the civilian agencies. Now that military
operations have resumed in Iraq and spread to Syria the costs for
intelligence will go back up again," he said.James Clapper, the
director of National Intelligence, has warned that the United States
is being exposed to increased risk.
 "For the past year or so, the IC has been working through what I’ve
referred to as the 'Perfect Storm' of factors that cut into our
capabilities," Clapper said in a speech in July.
Apart from budget cuts, he cited a loss of intelligence sources
because of "unauthorized disclosures," a reference to revelations by
former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, and policy decisions that
excluded some areas of surveillance.
"We as a nation, in my considered professional opinion, are
accepting more risk than we were three years ago, or even one year
ago," Clapper said.
Steven Aftergood, an intelligence expert with the Federation of
American Scientists, also linked the cutbacks partly with the end of
engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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"Beyond that, I think hardware programs such as spy satellites are
being extended beyond their original operating lifetime. New
initiatives are being deferred, hiring has slowed, and so forth. To
manage these kind of reductions well is a challenging task. Some
loss of capability is to be expected," Aftergood said.
The overall 2013-2014 budget included $50.5 billion for "National
Intelligence Program" activities, which include such agencies as the
CIA, and another $17.4 for military intelligence activities,
officials said.
Figures laying the long-term trend were compiled by the Federation
of American Scientists and validated by an intelligence official.
(Reporting By Mark Hosenball; Editing by David Storey and Gunna
Dickson)
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