The nomination of John Negroponte to be the first director of national intelligence should be welcomed as a move to put the right person in the right job. And not just because it's fun to say "Negroponte."
It is fitting that the post is being filled by a career diplomat with extensive knowledge of and experience with running covert operations, mounting counter-insurgencies and what damage failed and flawed intelligence can do to US credibility.
He will be in the center of the turf wars that have plagued the "intelligence community" in the US for decades. How he will accomplish moderating between competing agencies while coordinating the collection of intelligence will be anybody's guess. He has some true power, but a gargantuan job that may just be impossible to do.
Fortunately, he will have current NSA head Lt Gen. Michael Hayden, probably the best spy in the country (and an alumnus of Duquesne University here in Pittsburgh, one of my many alma maters) and possibly the person who knows more about gathering intelligence than anybody else on the globe.
The sniping from the New York Times and Nancy Pelosi notwithstanding, these two appointments are well done and should sail through the Senate.
Not everyone agrees with you. You might want to take a look at my rundown of blogosphere reaction here.
I have no opinion. I did think that Bush's comment in nominating him was amusing. Something to the effect that his experiences in Iraq will be invaluable in his new job. Presumably he meant being in a war zone, surrounded by enemies, and being subject to landmines and attack at every side. As good a description of Washington as any I've heard.
Posted by: Dave Schuler | February 18, 2005 at 11:05 AM