WASHINGTON -- The White House on Monday was non-committal about the idea of a Cabinet-level intelligence officer to oversee the various intelligence agencies.

Final Report: 9/11 Public Discourse Project July 2004: 9/11 Commission Findings 9/11 Report: Joint Congressional Inquiry Members: 9/11 Panel Images: 9/11 Testimony Synopsis

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that acting CIA Director John McLaughlin was expressing his personal opinion, and not necessarily the view of the administration, when he said there is no need for a new national intelligence chief.

A bipartisan commission investigating the 2001 hijackings, which will release its final report this week, is expected to recommend the creation of a Cabinet-level position to oversee the nation's 15 intelligence agencies and control their budgets.

McClellan said the White House is "open to" ideas for improving the United States' intelligence in the fight against terrorism. But he declined to comment on the specifics until the panel's report is published.

Backers of the post say the intelligence community's lack of coordination was exposed on Sept. 11, 2001. Opponents of the position say another post for the intelligence community will only add another level of bureaucracy.

Without commenting on establishing an intelligence director, President George W. Bush weighed in on the federal panel's findings, many of which have been pre-released in the past months.

"Some of the reforms are necessary: more human intelligence, better ability to listen or to see things, and better coordination amongst the variety of intelligence-gathering services," Bush said.

Sen. John Kerry, Bush's presumptive Democratic opponent in the upcoming presidential election, has endorsed the idea.

McLaughlin said "a good argument can be made" for such a post.

But, he added on "Fox News Sunday," "It doesn't relate particularly to the world I live in. I see the director of central intelligence as someone who is able to do that and is empowered to do so under the National Security Act of 1947" that created the CIA.

Bush also weighed in on published reports that say the 9/11 panel's documents allege that eight of the Sept. 11 hijackers passed through Iran in the months leading up to the attacks.

Bush said he wants to "know all the facts" about that, though he added the CIA has told him Iran had "no direct connection" with the hijackings. However, he said, he's long had concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

At least one former CIA director is backing the concept of a national intelligence director.

James Woolsey told NBC's "Today" show it's a "wise idea" -- especially since there are lots more agencies gathering intelligence now than when the director of central intelligence position was created in 1947.

Woolsey told CNN that when the CIA was created in 1947, it did not have to deal with recent technology such as satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Report Due Out This Week

The commission already has been scathing about lapses before the United States' worst terrorist attack. What is unclear is how much blame the Bush administration will get.

The panel has been highly critical of both the Clinton administration and the current administration.

Since holding their final public hearings last month, panel members have labored in secret to craft a 500-page report. Committee members say they're aiming at a unanimous, bipartisan document.

Families of the 9/11 victims are likely to get a briefing before the report is published. Their pressure helped create the commission, in the face of opposition from the White House.

The report is expected to be released on Thursday.