Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Spy News Network Proposed for CIA

A task force commissioned by Central Intelligence Agency Director Robert M. Gates recommended forming an exclusive electronic “news” network to carry secret satellite data and intelligence reports from around the world. The multimillion-dollar operation would broadcast from CIA headquarters at Langley, Va., six days a week to President Bush and fewer than 100 other government officials--a number set by Gates. “This will be the only news network where the producers are trying to limit their audience,” one Administration official said. Gates has advocated such a network for years, but another CIA official said it did not yet have final approval. To guard secrets, monitors would be placed “at or very near the desks of the users,” said Gary E. Foster, a CIA deputy director.