Smart Intel Pick [Negroponte as NID Head]

PRESIDENT Bush just made a very promising choice for our first national intelligence director: Ambassador John Negroponte. Thinking creatively, Bush picked someone who has had to rely upon intelligence, rather than an insider who can't see beyond the system's self-satisfied, mammoth bureaucracy.

Normally, a diplomat would be a terrible choice to drive intel reform. Too many diplos just don't have the punch to make things happen. Negroponte's different. He's a hitter. With experience in Honduras during Central America's years of crisis, as well as in Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and now Iraq, this guy knows what it means to be blindsided by bad intel.

... Based on his track record for getting things done — blood on the floor be damned — Negroponte may be just the right man to provide top cover for Porter Goss..

The president nominated a National Security Agency hand — a techie in uniform — as Negroponte's top deputy. That's meant to give the NID immediate entry to the system, to help him understand how the labyrinth is laid out.

...His first challenge will be to figure out which outfits are earning their keep. Even for a man of his experience, it's going to be an eye-opener. The current system's No. 1 priority is self-perpetuation. That's also priorities No. 2 and 3.

Negroponte must be ruthlessly demanding. The huge, lumbering, inefficient intelligence bureaucracy will have to be scourged to the bone to get it to haul the required loads — bureaucracies only respond to severe and prolonged beatings.

Goss' purges at the CIA may have embittered careerists, but they were essential. Ambassador Negroponte will have to do the same for the entire system.

If heads don't roll, nothing changes. Let the axe fall. Then promote the rule-breakers.

"The president just made an inspiring start. He chose a tough guy for a tough job, a man of plentiful experience who's not afraid to make enemies. Let's hope Big, Bad John comes out of the corner swinging."

I've seen Ralph Peters on tv (either Fox or MSNBC) several times - sometimes I agree w him, sometimes I don't. From this article, it sounds like he agrees w many FReepers (based on threads when Goss became head of CIA) - clean out the deadwood.

I think some of us (and the MSM and congress critters) were a bit surprised about the Prez's appointment of Negroponte to this position - -based on this article, it sounds like he and his deputy are good picks (and a little more of the Prez's special brand of stratergy)

I liked his UN performance but did not know his history..I read about him, listened to people who know him and decided he had skills that might just be the right mix with his deputy..

You know what I've noticed about all of GW's appointments, Meg? Something they ALL have in common?

Self-assurance.

They don't need to see their names in lights to salve their egos. They're successful people in their own right . . . and they all seem to have GW's healthy wariness of the press. They know they can call a spade a spade because GW is gonna cover their backs.

There's been times when I haven't been "totally" pleased with Rumsfeld's performance . . . mainly when I thought we were playing patty-cake with the terrorists . . . but GW has steadfastly backed him up. Even when the press excoriated him for his bluntness. But GW stood firm.

And I think it is this STEADY leadership that gives his stewards the confidence to do their jobs. I've been following GW for a lotta years in politics, I've never seen or heard him berate one of his underlings in public. I suspect he's not afraid to do so in private . . . but it's this unwavering leadership that draws the kind of talented folks he's surrounded himself with.

I think historians will reward GW's Administration as being one with the most talented individuals ever to serve their country.

I read somewhere that Karl Rove could've earned millions and millions of dollars after the 2000 election if he'd "franchised" out his talents to individual politicians. Ditto for Condi. Can you imagine the BIG bucks ANYONE in the top tier of his administration could make if they turned into Lobbyists?

Yes, for the pessimists in the world, the bucks will still be there after GW's gone . . . BUT how many of us would put off readily-available million-dollar paychecks and continue to be a government employee when we didn't have to? That THE TALENT of this Administration did and are continuing to do so says all we need to know about GW.

Listening to the radio while driving I heard one of the MSM reporters whining that "he may be too close to the President". If that's the best criticism they can come up with, Negroponte must be an amazing choice. "Too close to the President" - what utter rubbish. You want distrust between the President and his Intelligence czar? "Well, I was afraid to tell about it because I wasn't sure how he'd react if I did so I kept quiet...." Trust is vital if the President is going t get the unvarnished truth.

   -Inside the Ring

...
    Tough-minded
    State Department foreign service officers (FSOs) don't always have the best reputations within the Pentagon. Military officers view them as too conciliatory when tough talk, or action, is needed.
    But John D. Negroponte, nominated yesterday as the first director of national intelligence, is a different breed of FSO cat, insiders say. A former Army Green Beret recalls dealing with Mr. Negroponte when he was an FSO in the American Embassy in Saigon.
    "My recollections of him are as a tough-minded guy who understood the Vietnam insurgency," the ex-Green Beret said.
    • Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough are Pentagon reporters.

You make a good point - this person needs to be close to the President. Funny, I don't call anyone whining when Bubba was in office that one of his staff was too close to him (interns excluded ;-) Is that because no one was or simply because the MSM didn't think about it and didn't care - - probably a little of both.

I've heard that 'he should have no problems getting approved by Congress'. I heard Rockefeller on Fox right after the announcement say that he thought it was an excellent choice. However, I suspect every-ready Teddy, Sheets, Plugs or at least one of the Dims will have to hammer him during his confirmation hearings, which would be totally unfortunate.

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