Negroponte and Hayden to Head National Intelligence
Ambassador John Negroponte, currently the top administration representative to Iraq, has been nominated to become the nations first national intelligence director. And Air Force Lieutenant General Mike Hayden, who since 1999 has served as Director of NSA, has been nominated as deputy national intelligence director.
Lt. Gen. Hayden is clearly a strong choice and may signal... and may signal the combined agencies with the type of changes and leadership to expect.
And Negroponte, former Ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and the UN, as well as serving in various roles with the State Department and as President Reagan’s Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs is likely to be easily confirmed and a capable leader for the agencies in question.
I'd really like to hear Porter Goss' take on the nominations.
UPDATE: The Washington Post has the transcript of this morning's press conference. It includes President Bush's response to questions regarding Syria's involvement in Rafik Hariri's murder and their support for terrorist and Ba'athist holdouts from Iraq.
