The CIA has quietly disbanded its controversial Center on Climate Change and National Security, an office created under Leon Panetta in 2009 to focus on environmental-security issues like water shortages and rising sea levels. A CIA spokesman said the study of these issues would continue at the agency, but no longer in a stand-alone office. From its start, the center drew criticism from Republicans, who considered it a costly distraction from the agency’s main focus. “It was unnecessary, wasteful, and totally out of place,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). “It’s critically important for the CIA to focus its resources on preventing terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”
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