Bush Nominates General Hayden as New CIA Chief
08 May 2006
President Bush has nominated Air Force General Michael Hayden to be the next director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Announcing his choice at the White House Monday, Mr. Bush said General Hayden has more than 20 years of experience in the intelligence field, and that he knows the intelligence community "from the ground up." The president said Hayden will enforce the secrecy and accountability that are critical to U.S. national security.
Hayden is currently deputy director of national intelligence, and former head of the National Security Agency.
His appointment must be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Senate. Several senior Republican members of Congress have signaled they are less than enthusiastic about the president's choice.
Earlier, Mr. Bush's security aide, Stephen Hadley, praised General Hayden and rebutted critics in Congress who say a civilian should lead the CIA.
The nomination is likely to revive the controversy surrounding Mr. Bush's authorization of a broad domestic eavesdropping program following the terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago. The president has said General Hayden, then director of the N.S.A., proposed and encouraged the surveillance program.
Senator Pat Roberts, a Republican who heads the Senate committee that will review Hayden's qualifications, said Sunday he was not yet ready to support the nomination.
Another Republican senator, Arlen Specter, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says confirmation hearings should center on the legality of the N.S.A.'s monitoring activities.
If he is approved by the Senate, General Hayden would replace Porter Goss, who announced his resignation as CIA chief on Friday.
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