POLITICS: Negroponte Sworn in as U.S. Intelligence Chief, page 1

posted on Apr, 21 2005 @ 05:19 PM

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John Negroponte was confirmed by the Senate as the first U.S. National Intelligence Director today and was sworn into the positon shortly afterwards at a White House ceremony. The new position was created by Congress as a result of an independent commission's inquiry into the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Negroponte was formerly U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

www.usatoday.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — John Negroponte won easy approval by the Senate on Thursday to become the nation's first national intelligence director, a job created last year to better coordinate the nation's spy agencies following the Sept. 11 attacks and other intelligence blunders.

Within 45 minutes of his approval, Negroponte was sworn in at the White House by chief of staff Andrew Card as President Bush witnessed the ceremony. Negroponte will take over the task of giving Bush a daily briefing on intelligence matters, probably beginning next week, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Negroponte, 65, has called this his "most challenging assignment" in more than 40 years of government service. The Senate voted 98-2 to give the former Iraq ambassador the job.

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I really doubt the new position will have any positive effect on the intelligence sitution of the United States, but nonetheless Negroponte was a good choice for the position. Hopefully turf battles and squabbles won't get in the way of providing good intelligence to both executive decision makers and military troops.

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
NEWS: Negroponte the new Intelligence czar
WAR: Negroponte Asks UN to Provide More Help to Iraq

[edit on 4/21/2005 by djohnsto77]

Vajrayana

posted on Apr, 21 2005 @ 07:57 PM

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I'll admit I watched the confirmation hearings of John Dimitri Negroponte with skepticism, mainly from being yet another Yale alumnus (skull & bones?), shady periods as aide to Kissinger, and his questionable service as ambassador to Honduras, having had close ties with Battalion 316 leader General Gustavo Alverez Martinez, therefore providing covert support to the Contras that targetted Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and then his denial that CIA-trained operatives had committed any such abuses. Precursors leading up to the breaking of the Iran-Contra mess.

However I was impressed with the other areas of his 40+ years of service as ambassador to Mexico, Philippines among many many others, his fluency in 5 languages, and his ability to pass eight thorough background checks, a feat most senators would fail. He also strikes me as more of a thinking man and not that evasive, rather than a 'yes' man as we have in Porter Goss. I don't see him backing down from Rumsfeld when DOD/Intelligence budget procurements get decided. So despite a few skeletons, he gets my thumbs up. One of the better choices by this administration IMO.

[edit on 21-4-2005 by Vajrayana]

kazi

posted on Apr, 22 2005 @ 10:26 AM

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He knew what he was saying when he said this would be the biggest challenge of his career. Rumsfield will chew-him-up and spit him out like a grape seed if he tries to control the intelligence money. I'm sure he's already agreed to keep out of the pentagon intel areas, which make him another useless talking head.