Review of covert operations ordered

US President George W. Bush has ordered an internal review into whether the Defence Department should run covert paramilitary operations traditionally mounted by the CIA, administration officials said on Tuesday.

The presidential directive, signed by Bush last week, asks the CIA and the Departments of State, Defence and Justice to report back to him in 90 days on ‘‘whether or not the paramilitary operations, currently under the control of the CIA, should be transferred to the Department of Defence,’’ an administration official said. The recommendation was first made by the 9/11 Commission. —Reuters