Misspent Hysteria Over Mike Hayden
The president didn't balk on Monday. He named General Michael Hayden to assume the vancancy left by outgoing DCI Porter Goss. Everyone in the Beltway and the MSM produced questions regarding Hayden (naturally, quite a few of them threw in the fact that he had knowledge of the NSA surveillance program, and worked with it) but none of the arrows fired at him this weekend hit their mark. As a matter of fact, much to the chagrin of many, Hayden seems to be rather liked by those in the Senate according to the New York Sun. (HT: Captain Ed)
Despite open hostility from several senior senators, President Bush's nominee for director of Central Intelligence, General Michael Hayden, looks likely to make it through confirmation hearings in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He faces more criticism in the House, whose members face re-election in November.
Although committee members were hesitant about expressing their support for General Hayden yesterday, few Democrats offered serious reservations to his nomination, and several Republicans expressed wholehearted support. There was a widespread feeling, however, that General Hayden might smooth his passage through the committee if he were to resign from the military.
"General Hayden is more than qualified for the position of CIA director," Senator Bond, a Republican of Missouri, said. "The job of CIA director is to track down and stop terrorists. That's exactly what General Hayden has been doing. His exemplary military background and his recent assignment running America's 'early warning' terrorist surveillance system are clear strengths that only highlight the critical intelligence experience that [he] brings to the CIA. I look forward to the confirmation process, but see no evidence that General Hayden is anything but highly qualified for the position."
Senator Lott, a Republican of Mississippi, offered similar praises. "General Hayden is smart and well-qualified, with a lot of good experience. I look forward to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, but my inclination is to support him."
Senator Hagel, a Republican of Nebraska, said through a spokesman that Mr. Hagel likes General Hayden, but has some questions about the National Security Agency wiretapping program - which General Hayden oversaw in his earlier role as NSA director - and will wait until the hearings to reach a final determination.
The only two nuts that seem to have a serious problem with Hayden are Feingold and Specter. Both of which have made hay out of this story. Two weeks ago, Arlen Specter was talking about freezing the money for the NSA until the White House capitulated to demands from the nutters. Feingold has tried to use the program to give the administration a black-eye, citing Orwellian conspiracy theories that rival the "jack-booted thugs" under John Ashcroft kicking in doors of private citizens for no reason whatsoever. (As opposed to the jack-booted thugs that laid siege to Waco, and ripped Elian Gonzales away from his family here in the states to be sent back to Cuba; those thugs the Left likes and defends.)
Problem number one for these two dunces is the program itself. Americans still overwhelmingly agree that the program is useful and has been an effective tool in the GWOT. It has kept us safe since 11 September, and despite legal scholars wrangling over its legitimacy under jurisprudence, even that has begun to subside in the wake of public opinion. Some day, I'm sure, we'll see a court challenge, but it's not coming today, or likely anytime soon.
Another problem that these nutters face is the fact that Hayden is highly-qualified for the job. His redux of the NSA--putting it back on track, so to speak--was phenomenal, and none too soon. Under his leadership, the NSA was molded into what it needed to be: A highly-effective, pro-active intelligence agency able to handle the rigors of the 21st Century. And many (even Democrats) are admitting this point of fact.
And yet another problem that is facing the "murder board" he'll have to face during his hearings is that it appears Gen. Hayden is open to the possibility of retirement. This move isn't to cower before the Senate committee, or the media. But rather, it defuses a potentially contentious nominee; especially one where the MSM breathlessly reported that it was unprecedented that a member of the military be in charge of a civilian intelligence agency. Au contraire ...
Below is a list of past CIA directors that also had served in the military, and retained their rank and service to the military while overseeing CIA operations. I think the media should take note of the fact that the first four directors of the CIA were military guys. Sabrina brought this up on Sunday, regarding her reservations in such a move. (I explained to her later that this wasn't as unprecedented as the media made it out to be.)
Rear Adm. Sidney Souers, USNR
January 23, 1946 - June 10, 1946
Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, USA
June 10, 1946 - May 1, 1947
Rear Adm. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, USN
May 1, 1947 - October 7, 1950
Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, USA
October 7, 1950 - February 9, 1953
Vice Adm. William Raborn, USN (Ret.)
April 28, 1965 - June 30, 1966
Adm. Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret.)
March 9, 1977 - January 20, 1981
If he resigns, then the only questions remaining are in regard to the NSA program. What is asinine about that is that he will be testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Folks, they already know about the program, and all of its inner workings. Pat Roberts from Kansas is the chair, and I doubt he's going to let loose cannons like Rockefeller, Feingold, and Feinstein jeopardize any sort of classified materials in these hearings. (That goes double for Rockefeller; trust me on this.)
If he resigns, there is nothing to stand between him and the DCI position. The White House might have been gearing up for a fight, but that will come soon enough. The fight will arrive when the next batch of judicial nominees are appointed. The Democrats lack a leg to stand on if they try to block Hayden, and they lack the spine for a long, drawn-out war over him. Hayden will be confirmed, and the CIA should be better because of it.
Publius II
The president didn't balk on Monday. He named General Michael Hayden to assume the vancancy left by outgoing DCI Porter Goss. Everyone in the Beltway and the MSM produced questions regarding Hayden (naturally, quite a few of them threw in the fact that he had knowledge of the NSA surveillance program, and worked with it) but none of the arrows fired at him this weekend hit their mark. As a matter of fact, much to the chagrin of many, Hayden seems to be rather liked by those in the Senate according to the New York Sun. (HT: Captain Ed)
Despite open hostility from several senior senators, President Bush's nominee for director of Central Intelligence, General Michael Hayden, looks likely to make it through confirmation hearings in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He faces more criticism in the House, whose members face re-election in November.
Although committee members were hesitant about expressing their support for General Hayden yesterday, few Democrats offered serious reservations to his nomination, and several Republicans expressed wholehearted support. There was a widespread feeling, however, that General Hayden might smooth his passage through the committee if he were to resign from the military.
"General Hayden is more than qualified for the position of CIA director," Senator Bond, a Republican of Missouri, said. "The job of CIA director is to track down and stop terrorists. That's exactly what General Hayden has been doing. His exemplary military background and his recent assignment running America's 'early warning' terrorist surveillance system are clear strengths that only highlight the critical intelligence experience that [he] brings to the CIA. I look forward to the confirmation process, but see no evidence that General Hayden is anything but highly qualified for the position."
Senator Lott, a Republican of Mississippi, offered similar praises. "General Hayden is smart and well-qualified, with a lot of good experience. I look forward to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, but my inclination is to support him."
Senator Hagel, a Republican of Nebraska, said through a spokesman that Mr. Hagel likes General Hayden, but has some questions about the National Security Agency wiretapping program - which General Hayden oversaw in his earlier role as NSA director - and will wait until the hearings to reach a final determination.
The only two nuts that seem to have a serious problem with Hayden are Feingold and Specter. Both of which have made hay out of this story. Two weeks ago, Arlen Specter was talking about freezing the money for the NSA until the White House capitulated to demands from the nutters. Feingold has tried to use the program to give the administration a black-eye, citing Orwellian conspiracy theories that rival the "jack-booted thugs" under John Ashcroft kicking in doors of private citizens for no reason whatsoever. (As opposed to the jack-booted thugs that laid siege to Waco, and ripped Elian Gonzales away from his family here in the states to be sent back to Cuba; those thugs the Left likes and defends.)
Problem number one for these two dunces is the program itself. Americans still overwhelmingly agree that the program is useful and has been an effective tool in the GWOT. It has kept us safe since 11 September, and despite legal scholars wrangling over its legitimacy under jurisprudence, even that has begun to subside in the wake of public opinion. Some day, I'm sure, we'll see a court challenge, but it's not coming today, or likely anytime soon.
Another problem that these nutters face is the fact that Hayden is highly-qualified for the job. His redux of the NSA--putting it back on track, so to speak--was phenomenal, and none too soon. Under his leadership, the NSA was molded into what it needed to be: A highly-effective, pro-active intelligence agency able to handle the rigors of the 21st Century. And many (even Democrats) are admitting this point of fact.
And yet another problem that is facing the "murder board" he'll have to face during his hearings is that it appears Gen. Hayden is open to the possibility of retirement. This move isn't to cower before the Senate committee, or the media. But rather, it defuses a potentially contentious nominee; especially one where the MSM breathlessly reported that it was unprecedented that a member of the military be in charge of a civilian intelligence agency. Au contraire ...
Below is a list of past CIA directors that also had served in the military, and retained their rank and service to the military while overseeing CIA operations. I think the media should take note of the fact that the first four directors of the CIA were military guys. Sabrina brought this up on Sunday, regarding her reservations in such a move. (I explained to her later that this wasn't as unprecedented as the media made it out to be.)
Rear Adm. Sidney Souers, USNR
January 23, 1946 - June 10, 1946
Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, USA
June 10, 1946 - May 1, 1947
Rear Adm. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, USN
May 1, 1947 - October 7, 1950
Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, USA
October 7, 1950 - February 9, 1953
Vice Adm. William Raborn, USN (Ret.)
April 28, 1965 - June 30, 1966
Adm. Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret.)
March 9, 1977 - January 20, 1981
If he resigns, then the only questions remaining are in regard to the NSA program. What is asinine about that is that he will be testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Folks, they already know about the program, and all of its inner workings. Pat Roberts from Kansas is the chair, and I doubt he's going to let loose cannons like Rockefeller, Feingold, and Feinstein jeopardize any sort of classified materials in these hearings. (That goes double for Rockefeller; trust me on this.)
If he resigns, there is nothing to stand between him and the DCI position. The White House might have been gearing up for a fight, but that will come soon enough. The fight will arrive when the next batch of judicial nominees are appointed. The Democrats lack a leg to stand on if they try to block Hayden, and they lack the spine for a long, drawn-out war over him. Hayden will be confirmed, and the CIA should be better because of it.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:22 PM
2 Comments:
Under Gen. Hayden the NSA has forced tecom companies to implement domestic spying hardware.The NarusInsight is one type of domestic spying hardware.Capable of monitoring 10 billion bits of data per second.For reference thats 39000 DSL lines in realtime. After data capture Narus can replay data. Think of it as Tivo for the internet for 39000 DSL users. They talk about limits but this hardware is anything but.
Narus Ltd http://narus.com
General Hayden is clearly very qualified, but his confirmation hearings will give the Senate an opportunity to dig into the NSA domestic wiretapping that has bothered so many Senators.
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