General Hayden to Replace Porter Goss as CIA chief

CNN ^

[John Geyer]

CNN just broke on Anderson Cooper 360 that former NSA Chief General Hayden will replace Goss as the head of the CIA. It hasn't been announced yet by the president though.

[maine-iac7]

When the confirmation hearings come up, get your best chair, pop some popcorn, strap yourselves in and get ready for the ride. This guy takes no crap from anyone, and he will hand the Democrats their asses back on a plate.

I am going to enjoy this! Stocking up on popcorn and cherry coke. (I do love watching the demRats showing their true colors. and it tells you something that they are so afraid of him!)

[maine-iac7]

I love the vast amount of respect they have for General Hayden. Calling him an idiot and stooge while they suck John Kerry's toes for a 3 month stint in Nam he used to become Ted Kennedy's sidekick

right, and when Murtha comes out with his traitorous mouthings we were not supposed to day a word against him because of his "service to his country"

[maine-iac7]

Roger that. Perhaps she has run into someone who can't be intimidated with pilfered FBI files.

yep - or IRS info. (she also put one of her personal, long time bussies - oops, buddies (well, it was a woman friend of hers, so maybe the typo fits) - in as head of the IRS. With her illegal Filegate caper and access to peoples IRS files, she's been able to outplay the best of the KGB tactics. I firmly believe this is what is responsible for so many jelly-fish spines in DC. (And I don't doubt she had some personal training in Communist control tactics - we do know that hubby had personal visits and continuing contacts with Russia long before Glasnost)

If we can keep control until enough new folk get elected that she can't blackmail, we may just survive...or if, miracles of miracles, she finally gets caught up with in the suit next year e the 2 million she didn't report.

[maine-iac7]

It provides Bush with an opportunity for more house cleaning

I think since Rove got freed up again to do what he does best - we are going to continue seeing spring cleaning...Tony Snow was the beginning - week kneed mcClellen lost a lot of ground for us letting the libTArd press walk all over him.

[maine-iac7]

You underestimate the viciousness of liberal scum. Firing them won't stop them from running to the nearest media outlet telling the media and the world all they know.

Maybe it's also time for a change in the Attorney Generals office? Someone with the guts to start holding these traitors feet to the fire?

[maine-iac7]

A Hayden confirmation hearing will become a fishing expedition for any tidbits they can discover for their later efforts.

They wont have to - Spector has already announced he's going to do this

[Cap Huff]

My hunch is that this will NOT be a very good fishing trip for impeachment tidbits.

Bush seems to want this fight, and Congress seems to want to avoid it --- hence the red-herring issue that is being served up --- the "we can't have the military in charge of the CIA" argument.

I do think the democrats hope to use the NSA surveillance program as an impeachment issue, but for some reason they don't want to draw too much attention to it right now. And some Republicans want to avoid it too . . .

[maine-iac7]

My hunch is that this will NOT be a very good fishing trip for impeachment tidbits

hmmm -could this be the reason Palossi came out with that strange announcement that they "wouldn't impeach Bush"? - Trying to get ahead of the fallout?

[Cap Huff]

I don’t know, but there are some interesting things just below the surface it would seem. I followed a link or two from Macsmind Blog over here:

http://macsmind.blogspot.com/

Rep. Harman is an interesting question mark. She was one of the very few who was briefed in on the surveillance program going back to 2003. In December she came out in support of the program after the NYT leaked its existence. Then in January she came out and said it was illegal. It goes back a few months, but you might want to look at “Who Got to Rep. Jane Harman?”:
http://junkyardblog.net/archives/week_2006_01_01.html#005221

Whoever posted the above information suggested that Pelosi got to Harman. Now this weekend Pelosi says she still has questions about the surveillance program, but Hayden should be blocked because he’s military. Interesting.

And GWB seems to want to throw the Hayden bombshell right in the middle of the whole thing . . .

There sure seems like there's going to be some fallout as you say . . .

[prisoner6]

Late to this thread but I just realized Hayden and I were sorta at Duquesne University at the same time. IIRC he was reg AF and I was just starting as a cadet in ROTC. It seems to me he and a couple of upper classmen busted me for being out of uniform.

It was February in ...68-69-70...somewhere in ther and pouring down rain. Because of shortages I was never issued a regulation AF raincoat. I had a fever but didn't want to miss AF drills so I grabbed one from home htat kinda looked like one and went. I was stopped outside the AF building and asked why I was out of uniform. I tried to explain but the 3 who stopped be wanted to have some fun...made me take it off and stand in the rain.

It just so happened a couple of minutes later Maj Dinley - the head of the ROTC program waalked by while I was standing there. He asked me what the *H* I was doing, and after listening to me explain he took me into the infirmary, searched around and founr the three upper classemen who stopped me. It all blew over and I got a week off cuz I got REALLY sick. In fact IIRC - maybe not - I ended up with a case of chicken pox and was off for quite a while, which didn't help my chances with ROTC.

I'm >pretty sure< hayden was invovled but I cant' recall if he was one of the guys who stopped me or if he was on my side.

Cool to have bumped into him in the past hotugh.

prisoner6

[Perdogg]

It's ironic. Last month people were not so concerned when the "stars" were criticizing the civil leadership at the Pentagon. Now all of the sudden, civilian control matters.

[shield]

I love what MacRanger is posting this AM.

HINT: There will be an all out battle to derail General Hayden's nomination. Those who have their ass in a sling now are sweating bullets now that Goss has hit lead off and Hayden is coming in to hit cleanup.

[zarf1630]

Looking at his ribbons in his press photos he does not wear the combat action ribbon suggesting that he got his Bronze Star for metriorious service vice combat action. It is rare that Air Force Intel types ever get trigger time or "combat action" prior to OIF and Enduring Freedom ops (even then it's pretty rare compared to SOF/Infantry). My guess is he got the award when he was in a senior staff position, perhaps as DIRNSA or maybe when he was a senior staffer at USFK in the late 1990's. He also may have gotten it from his time in Guam during the 1972 January bombings of Vietnam while he was at 8th AF hqs in Guam.

[gusopol3]

irony intersects malice at hypocrisy.

[BuglerTex]

At last. Thanks for pointing this out. Does it not seem that he was a little junior for this slot at that time?

[Alas Babylon!]

Does it not seem that he was a little junior for this slot at that time?

No. The "Current" Intelligence Division was most likely an office within the overall intelligence branch. He was a captain, probably with a second lt and a few sergeants making up his "division". And Headquarters, 8th Air Force was NOT in Guam, it is in Shreveport, Louisiana on Barksdale AFB. Guam had a huge bomber force, but it was not HQ 8AF. It was part of it. Come to think of it, Hayden's division might have been a unit subordinate directly to Barksdale, which then would make him lower ranking than expected, but not too unusually so.

[SFConservative]

Regarding my comment re Hayden being a big Steelers fan, you said ... the Rooneys are big libs ...

Well, not by their political contributions, apparently. Per this article in the Village Voice (no, I don't read it regularly!) back in January on the political contributions of the NFL teams then still in the playoffs:

The Pittsburgh Steelers were the most generous at $89,430. The vast majority of it came from the Rooney family (the owners), and most of their largesse went to the GOP or a PAC called the North Side Good Government Committee. Two players from the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the books as donors: Linebacker Clark Haggans gave $5,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Back-up quarterback Tommy Maddox gave a grand each to President Bush and the RNC. Across the field from Maddox this weekend will stand Peyton Manning, an opposing quarterback but a political like-mind. Manning wrote a $2,000 contribution to Dubya. Manning's Indianapolis Colts organization as a whole gave more than $64,000, with the family of owner James Irsay directing most of that coin to the GOP.

[Purrcival]

Well, Hayden is going to be a thorn in their sides. I had my memory jogged when I watched a replay on C-SPAN of him talking about the NSA Terrorist Surveillance program --"domestic spying" to the DUmmies and the drive-by media. He did a fine job of making it understandable and fielding questions from some hostile media members in the audience, as well as at least one moonbat from the Bush Step Down movement, who accused the Bush admin of using this program to spy on dissidents, and actually challenged him to a debate (HAH!). I think he'll acquit himself well in the confirmation hearings.

What I don't understand is one of my senators, Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). He usually tracks pretty well with my own thinking, so I was surprised to hear a sound bite on the radio today, with him saying that he was "not impressed" with Hayden, and thought he had the wrong kind of experience for the job.

[Purrcival]

I saw a replay on C-SPAN of Hayden speaking about the NSA Terrorist Surveillance program and fielding questions. I was VERY impressed with him and I think he'll do just fine.

[zarf1630]

Regardless of where 8th AF is based, my point is that during Linebacker II in Dec 1972 he would have been in Guam where some of the B-52's (99G's and 53 D variants) that flew those missions were based. The G models did not have the new ECM suites and were vulnerable to the SA-2 SAM's. 15 B-52's went down during the campaign. He was in a position if he was pushed into the targeting or strike planning cell to make a big impact. A good booger eating intel guy who figures out an Air Defense system and finds a way to hit priority targets without having to risk crossing more missile engagement zones or AAA concentrations can save crews and planes and earn a BSM from a greatful wing or squadron commander. I doubt it though, I bet he got in one of his numerous staff positions. It's more likely he got is COM from that gig.

Either way, he's a good pick even though he appears to have had a rather conventional straight stick intel career vice obvious clandestine experience (who knows though). Definitely better than Fran Townsend (lawyer) although I think David Shedd would also have been a good pick.