OPINION:
As we look back 25 years this month on what led to the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in our history, we should remember one of the clearest lessons from that tragic day: Intelligence failures happen when agencies operate in silos and critical information does not reach the right people in time.
Disturbingly, some of the structural challenges that existed prior to 9/11 bear a striking resemblance to those facing the intelligence enterprise today.
Recent events underscore just how high the stakes of this mission are. In June, authorities disrupted an alleged plot by anti-government extremists who planned to use explosive-laden drones and firearms to attack the UFC Freedom 250 fight at the White House.
In just a two-week span in March, a radicalized pro-Iranian attacker killed three innocent Americans in Austin, Texas, and two Islamic State group supporters attempted to detonate improvised explosive devices in Manhattan.
These incidents are part of a broader and increasingly complex pattern of terrorist threats unfolding across the United States. From foreign-inspired extremism and homegrown radicalization to domestic terrorism, the danger facing American communities is growing.
The safety of the American people depends on an effective, efficient intelligence enterprise. Yet as these threats intensify, the federal government’s primary intelligence-sharing arm for state and local law enforcement is not adequately prepared to meet the moment.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) was established in the wake of 9/11 to serve as a critical conduit between the intelligence community and state, local, tribal and territorial governments.
But a persistent lack of understanding of I&A’s statutory role within the intelligence community has fueled mission creep, inconsistent oversight, politicization, civil liberty concerns, high turnover, low morale and significant training gaps for personnel. These failures have ultimately weakened the agency and eroded public trust.
Earlier this year, Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, testified to the House Homeland Security Committee and warned that persistent weaknesses within I&A pose “operational risk[s]” to the nation’s security posture. He identified intelligence fragmentation, poor technological integration and a lackluster field presence as major vulnerabilities that will ultimately hinder the ability to detect threats before they materialize.
These concerns have been echoed by the governors, sheriffs and first responders who depend heavily on I&A every day, and they have underscored that effective intelligence sharing is built on trusted relationships as much as it is on databases and technology.
I&A faith-based partnerships also play a critical role in protecting vulnerable communities. Antisemitic assaults in 2025 killed more members of the Jewish community globally than in any other year in the past three decades.
Jewish organization leaders have consistently emphasized to the committee the need for better information sharing.
According to the director of national intelligence’s 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, “the most likely terrorist attack scenario in the Homeland involves U.S.-based lone offenders.” I&A is uniquely positioned to combat homegrown violent extremist threats because its mission extends beyond traditional federal law enforcement to leverage firsthand knowledge and community-level awareness of the partners often closest to emerging threats.
I&A’s two-way, information-sharing role is particularly important to lone-actor threats, where warning signs may be fragmented across different jurisdictions or organizations.
To preserve what makes I&A uniquely valuable, the agency must be reformed. Law enforcement officials, federal stakeholders and community leaders broadly agree that I&A must become a more agile, focused and field-oriented agency.
That is why the House of Representatives passed my “I&A Mission Reorientation Act of 2026,” legislation that would update I&A’s statutory responsibility to clearly define its focus, reinforce accountability and improve operational effectiveness.
Earlier this year, the House also passed other bipartisan I&A reforms from the Committee, including Colorado Republican Rep. Gabe Evans’ “ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act of 2026.”
These bills would realign the office with its true mission, strengthen field personnel’s capabilities and streamline bureaucracy to ensure intelligence flows swiftly to decision-makers on the ground.
As a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, the attacks of 9/11 fundamentally shaped my life and my approach to national security. And for those of us serving on the House Committee on Homeland Security (the committee created in direct response to 9/11), the responsibility is clear: We cannot allow the intelligence framework built in its aftermath to fail with American lives on the line.
• Rep. August Pfluger, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, represents Texas’s 11th District in Congress and chairs the Republican Study Committee.
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