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| General Hayden eyed to succeed Goss as CIA director |
| 2006-05-06 |
| Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who senior administration officials said Friday was the likely choice of President Bush to head the Central Intelligence Agency, has a stellar résumé for a spy and has long been admired at the White House and on Capitol Hill. But General Hayden, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, would also face serious questions about the controversy over the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program, which he oversaw and has vigorously defended. His Senate nomination hearing, if he is chosen to succeed Director Porter J. Goss, is likely to reignite debate over what civil libertarians say is the program's violation of Americans' privacy. Mr. Bush has often reserved decisions about top-level appointments until just before they are announced, but senior administration officials said Friday that General Hayden was the clear leading candidate. Confirmation hearings would give the administration's opponents a highly visible forum for questioning not only the eavesdropping program but President Bush's overall handling of national security. And while he might bring to the beleaguered C.I.A. the power of his ties to the White House and to his current boss, John D. Negroponte, director of national intelligence, General Hayden could find his background as an Air Force officer and specialist in technical intelligence systems does not suit some at the C.I.A., which specializes in traditional espionage. The C.I.A. has long resented the expenditure of billions of dollars on technical systems, like spy satellites, while complaining that the budget for human spies has been too low. Even though General Hayden has not been closely associated with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, his pedigree as a military officer could reinforce concerns at the spy agency that the Pentagon is intruding into its traditional bailiwick. While General Hayden has extensive administrative experience, he would face daunting challenges at the C.I.A., an agency that has been demoralized and has endured turbulence since the mid-1990's. As N.S.A. director until last year, General Hayden oversaw the program to intercept international phone calls and e-mail messages of Americans and others in the United States believed to have links to Al Qaeda. General Hayden, 61, has been the program's most public defender, repeatedly asserting that it is legal and constitutional even though the eavesdropping is done without warrants from a special court set up in 1978 to authorize such surveillance. "I've taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," General Hayden said at the National Press Club in January as he defended what the Bush administration calls the Terrorist Surveillance Program. "I would never violate that Constitution, nor would I abuse the rights of the American people." Some critics of the program say that General Hayden's public assurances that N.S.A. has always followed the laws governing domestic eavesdropping are difficult to square with his role in the secret program. Marc D. Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, said the nomination would be strongly opposed by civil libertarians. "We have to confront the chilling prospect that the incoming head of the C.I.A. believes it's permissible to conduct warrantless surveillance on the American public," Mr. Rotenberg said Friday night. Last year the C.I.A. lost its half-century-old standing at the center of the sprawling intelligence bureaucracy, as Mr. Negroponte succeeded Mr. Goss as the president's chief adviser on intelligence. Melissa Boyle Mahle, a C.I.A. officer from 1988 to 2002 who wrote a 2004 book on the agency, "Denial and Deception," said, "The benefit of someone coming from the D.N.I.'s office is obvious — he'd have the immediate ear of Negroponte." Though he has spent seven years at the N.S.A. and the director's office and away from the Pentagon, General Hayden is a career military intelligence officer. Several senior military officers have been C.I.A. director, and the current deputy director is Vice Adm. Albert M. Calland III of the Navy. A bigger issue for some intelligence professionals might be General Hayden's lack of experience in traditional human intelligence. Some officials want to intensify the C.I.A. concentration on the clandestine service, and Mr. Goss's resistance to such a narrowing of the agency's mission is said to have been one reason for his ouster. General Hayden, who grew up in a working-class family in Pittsburgh, drew mixed reviews at the N.S.A. He overhauled its management but began a multibillion-dollar modernization program, known as Trailblazer, which ran huge cost overruns and is widely considered to be a failure. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #11 I think we need to attack the cesspools here too. I am fed up with the Democrats and anyone who votes for or provides excuses for them. I am also feed up with Republicans that act like poodles instead of Republicans. |
| Posted by: SPoD 2006-05-06 23:45 |
| #10 FrankG - Protect them from what? I'm convinced a significant segment (at least 30%) of the population is simply too self-absorbed and has zero appreciation for any such efforts. They might be concerned about immigration, probably pissed at Halliburton and Exxon (or whoever) about gas prices, and really burned that Geena Davis is out of work and, BTW, How 'bout them [insert sports team here]! Recently, my confidence in the American public has only been buoyed by their negative reaction to the illegal alien protests. On every other point, many seem as clueless as the Moonbats. 9/11 is a distant bad dream which they were happy to dismiss as the aberration the MSM pushed. Our successes undermine the support. Ironic, no? As I've seen posted here, I believe there are two possible tracks... If we have a few very bloody failures, we'll regain the momentum to a fast-track solution: pre-emption and overwhelming force responses resulting in the elimination of the cesspools where the enemy breeds and the expulsion of those within our midst. If we aren't, if the status quo continues and we are merely bled from a thousand cuts, we will be undermined from within. Effectively, it's time to pray for rain. |
| Posted by: Sneasing Uleash8657 2006-05-06 22:50 |
| #9 One Dem has already predicted a "food fight". I'm sure that makes Americans comfortable about that parties' ability to protect them.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-05-06 22:02 |
| #8 The donks better be very careful with their firestorm. The vast majority of Americans support what has been done and that is without a strong defence ever having been made. If Hayden comes out and really stuands up for what has been done with domestic spying, it could really hurt the donks in September. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-05-06 21:46 |
| #7 hey Cleamble Cravins1399 that be |
| Posted by: Halliburton ferrets out snark div 2006-05-06 21:32 |
| #6 The preceding post was brought to you by the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce - which is (very) loosely affiliated with the Rantburgh (heh) Get 'Er Done Council. We also support the nomination of Gen Hayden and advocate the Nuke Option be employed at the first opportunity. :) |
| Posted by: Cleamble Cravins1399 2006-05-06 21:16 |
| #5 I very good pick. He is from Pittsburgh as I am and is life long friend of the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney (a revered figure in the NFL). A good catholic man. Most importantly he is a rabid fan of the Super Bowl champs the most hard nosed team in the NFL the Pittsburgh Steelers. Heis tough enough...God bless him in his new assignment. Brien |
| Posted by: Brien 2006-05-06 20:53 |
| #4 Politically, the assault will be good for the administration. Spying on terrorists remains popular. I welcome the debate. |
| Posted by: JAB 2006-05-06 13:13 |
| #3 He's going to run into a firestorm in the Senate. He's one of the top guys at NSA, and his nomination will allow the |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-05-06 11:56 |
| #2 He seems like a good guy. Any idea from the 'burg whether he'll be hardnosed enough to keep the pressure on the leakers and others in the CIA who don't seem to follow orders very well? |
| Posted by: JAB 2006-05-06 11:33 |
| #1 A good pick. I hope he survives confirmation. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-05-06 09:40 |