National intelligence director to head State Dept's Iraq policy
"John D. Negroponte's departure as the nation's first director of national intelligence comes as the two-year-old office and the broad, post-Sept. 11 reorganization that created it have yet to reach the goal of uniting the intelligence community under a single leader.
But Negroponte's move to become Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy, and his replacement by retired Navy Adm. John M. McConnell, had little to do with any assessment of Negroponte's tenure or with the unfinished state of intelligence integration, a range of senior administration officials said.
Instead, it stemmed directly from the urgent need to fill a State Department job, vacant since early last summer, that was seen as crucial to implementing the new Iraq policy that President Bush plans to announce next week.
Negroponte will take charge of State's Iraq account as the administration begins a sharply uphill effort to turn around a failing war and persuade the new Democratic Congress to follow its lead. [He is] a career diplomat who served as Bush's ambassador at the United Nations and in Baghdad before becoming intelligence chief in April 2005." [1]
"Senior administration officials said that Ms. Rice wanted Mr. Negroponte to focus on China and North Korea, which have been among his focuses in the intelligence post, and on Iraq, a country he knows particularly well.
. . . Ms. Rice would continue to play a central role in Iraq policy, the official said, but she has also made it clear that she wants to devote more time to a broader diplomatic initiative aimed at Middle East peace.
. . . John E. McLaughlin, a former director of central intelligence who is a friend of Mr. Negroponte, said . . . he believed that Mr. Negroponte’s familiarity with the latest intelligence from Iraq would help to bring a 'realistic' view of the situation there as the administration works to develop a new strategy.
But other intelligence experts expressed concern about what Mr. Negroponte’s departure might mean to the office he helped to establish. “My major concern about this appointment is not about the State Department, but what happens at the D.N.I. office,” said Lee H. Hamilton, who served as co-chairman of both the 9/11 commission and the Iraq Study Group." [2]
So former CIA chief Robert Gates is the new Secretary of Defense and career diplomat turned national intelligence director Negroponte is about to lead the Department of State's Iraq agenda and help with President Bush's new plan for Iraq. Are military and intelligence the only two choices?
sources
[1] The Washington Post. Negroponte Moves to Job Considered Crucial at State Dept. January 5, 2007.
[2] The New York Times. Spy Chief’s Choice to Step Back Feeds Speculation. January 5, 2007.
posted: saturday, january 6, 2007, 5:09 AM ET
update: saturday, january 6, 2007, 5:49 AM ET
tags: negroponte iraq
But Negroponte's move to become Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy, and his replacement by retired Navy Adm. John M. McConnell, had little to do with any assessment of Negroponte's tenure or with the unfinished state of intelligence integration, a range of senior administration officials said.
Instead, it stemmed directly from the urgent need to fill a State Department job, vacant since early last summer, that was seen as crucial to implementing the new Iraq policy that President Bush plans to announce next week.
Negroponte will take charge of State's Iraq account as the administration begins a sharply uphill effort to turn around a failing war and persuade the new Democratic Congress to follow its lead. [He is] a career diplomat who served as Bush's ambassador at the United Nations and in Baghdad before becoming intelligence chief in April 2005." [1]
"Senior administration officials said that Ms. Rice wanted Mr. Negroponte to focus on China and North Korea, which have been among his focuses in the intelligence post, and on Iraq, a country he knows particularly well.
. . . Ms. Rice would continue to play a central role in Iraq policy, the official said, but she has also made it clear that she wants to devote more time to a broader diplomatic initiative aimed at Middle East peace.
. . . John E. McLaughlin, a former director of central intelligence who is a friend of Mr. Negroponte, said . . . he believed that Mr. Negroponte’s familiarity with the latest intelligence from Iraq would help to bring a 'realistic' view of the situation there as the administration works to develop a new strategy.
But other intelligence experts expressed concern about what Mr. Negroponte’s departure might mean to the office he helped to establish. “My major concern about this appointment is not about the State Department, but what happens at the D.N.I. office,” said Lee H. Hamilton, who served as co-chairman of both the 9/11 commission and the Iraq Study Group." [2]
So former CIA chief Robert Gates is the new Secretary of Defense and career diplomat turned national intelligence director Negroponte is about to lead the Department of State's Iraq agenda and help with President Bush's new plan for Iraq. Are military and intelligence the only two choices?
sources
[1] The Washington Post. Negroponte Moves to Job Considered Crucial at State Dept. January 5, 2007.
[2] The New York Times. Spy Chief’s Choice to Step Back Feeds Speculation. January 5, 2007.
posted: saturday, january 6, 2007, 5:09 AM ET
update: saturday, january 6, 2007, 5:49 AM ET
tags: negroponte iraq
Labels: condoleezza rice, department of state, intelligence, iraq, john negroponte, robert gates
posted by eric at 3:59 AM
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