On Monday, President Bush nominated air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to be the new CIa chief. If the nomination is confirmed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gen. Michael Hayden will succeed Porter Goss who resigned last Friday under pressure.
"Mike knows our intelligence community from the ground up. He has been both a provider and a consumer of intelligence. He's overseen the development of both human and technological intelligence. He has demonstrated an ability to adapt our intelligence services to the new challenges in the war on terror," Bush said during an Oval Office announcement.
Hayden is a four-star air Force general. From 1999 to 2005, he headed the National Security agency. The CIa's failure to anticipate the terrorists' attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, prompted the US Congress to recommend the creation of a new office with the mission to oversee all intelligence agencies. John Negroponte is the director of national intelligence and Gen. Michael Hayden was appointed last year as deputy director.
Speaking on National TV, Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, described Hayden as "the best person for the job, the right man at the right time."
Gen. Michael Hayden has a remarkable résumé. He is highly admired on Capitol Hill. During his confirmation hearing for the national intelligence post in april 2005, he received overwhelming support.
Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said that, while introducing Hayden, he had erred when describing him as excellent. "I have crossed that out and put outstanding."
The president "could not have made a finer appointment," said Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine. Senator Carl M. Levin, D-Mich., called him "a wonderful choice."
"Hayden is supremely qualified for this position. He's the right man to lead the CIa at this critical moment in our history. Mike Hayden was unanimously confirmed by the Senate last year for his current post. and I call on the Senate to confirm him promptly as the director of the Central Intelligence agency," Bush said.
"There's probably no post more important in preserving our security and our values as a people than the head of the Central Intelligence agency," Hayden said, adding that he looked forward to the confirmation process. "This is simply too important not to get absolutely right," he said.
During the weekend, anticipating his nomination, leading Senate Democrats and Republicans have expressed serious doubts about Hayden directing the CIa. Most consider that General Hayden is a very able man but they argue that he is not suited for this particular job.
The critics have strong reservations about the CIa, a civilian agency, being headed by a military man. Moreover, during his tenure as National Security agency director, Hayden oversaw the highly controversial anti-terrorism spy program authorized by President Bush. Last but not least, Hayden's intelligence expertise is not in the clandestine service.
Republicans and Democrats alike question the wisdom of putting a military officer in charge of the civilian spy agency. Thirteen of the 19 CIa directors had military backgrounds before their appointment. There has been a tradition of balancing a military director with a civilian deputy or vice versa. But times have changed.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that "this appointment ... signals that we are not that concerned about having an independent intelligence community independent of the Department of Defense."
Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., said that Bush's choice could leave agents with the impression that the CIa has been "just gobbled up by the Defense Department." The choice of a military officer will only reinforce the concerns of many at the CIa that the Pentagon is intruding into the affairs of the primary civilian intelligence agency.
Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told aBC that "while Hayden was well-respected, the CIa is a civilian agency; it operates differently."
Senator Roberts, R-Kansas, acknowledged his "real concern" about a military officer leading the CIa. "
Members of the Senate Intelligence committee, which will conduct the confirmation hearings, are likely to ask questions about Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's drive to expand military intelligence operations.
But according to National security adviser Stephen Hadley, "the military background is in many ways a plus." He insisted on the fact that Hayden would not take orders from the Pentagon. "But make no mistake. He will not be reporting to Don Rumsfeld."
Senator Roberts, R-Kansas, told Wolf Blitzer that Hayden could head off the issue by resigning from active military duty. "That'd be his call. But if somebody is concerned about that, he could certainly do it."
Hadley said Hayden shouldn't have to resign his commission. "The president actually thinks it's a strength. He understands the military aspect of the intelligence business," Hadley said.
Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia, finds this issue irrelevant. "Just resigning commission and moving on, putting on a pin-striped suit versus an air Force uniform, I don't think makes much difference," Chambliss said on aBC.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., agrees. "It makes absolutely no difference to me whether he is a general or a retired general. Either way, it sends the exact wrong signal to CIa officers in the field at a critical time," Hoekstra said.
General Hayden would also face serious questions about the very controversial National Security agency's domestic surveillance program, which he oversaw while Director of the NSa.
Without court warrants, the NSa monitored the communications of people inside the United States who were in contact with suspected terrorists outside the country. This program counts many critics among members of the Senate who consider that the program is a violation of law and an assault on civil liberties.
Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He has warned that "General Hayden would not get a pass on the eavesdropping issue."
"These hearings on Hayden are going to be some of the most important that have been held in a long time, because the Congress has been kept in the dark on a handful of issues," said Mr. Wyden.
"He cannot expect to come to the witness table before our committee and repeat the empty statements the administration has made," Wyden said.
according to Marc D. Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, the nomination will 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.
Senate Judiciary Chairman arlen Specter, R-Pa., had said that he would use Hayden nomination hearing as an opportunity to raise questions about the legality of the domestic surveillance program. "I'm not going to draw any lines in the sand until I see how the facts evolve," Specter said, adding that he feels frustrated by the amount of information Hayden has shared.
"There is no doubt there's an enormous threat from terrorism, but the president does not have a blank check. Now, with General Hayden up for confirmation, this will give us an opportunity to try to find out," Specter said
Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is known to support the NSa program. Like many lawmakers, he has much esteem for Hayden. Yet he does not embrace the nomination. "I'm not in a position to say that I will vote for him," Roberts said.
according to the senior Bush administration official, the White House would welcome a public discussion about the N.S.a. program during General Hayden's confirmation hearings.
"We are very comfortable having a debate on that issue," the official said. "We feel that there is no more qualified person to defend this program."
Finally, General Hayden lacks experience in traditional human intelligence. General Hayden is a specialist in technical intelligence systems. This kind of knowledge does not suit those at the C.I.a., who believe that the agency needs to focus in traditional espionage.
They complaint that billions of dollars are wasted on technical systems that are useless to fight against terrorists. Meanwhile, the budget for human spies has been and remains too low.
Former CIa Deputy Director John McLaughlin said it would be important for Hayden to have a civilian deputy "who is steeped in the culture of the business and very familiar with what CIa does day to day."
To balance the CIa between military and civilian leadership, the White House may be planning to move aside the current CIa Deputy Director, Vice admiral albert Calland III. His successor would likely to be a veteran of the agency's clandestine service.
"We need to be able to get the unvarnished intelligence and we need to be able to get it from a civilian, whose independence would be unquestioned. General Hayden is the wrong man at the wrong place at the wrong time," Hoekstra said.