Posted on 01/04/2007 5:17:45 AM PST by shrinkermd
Mr. Negroponte had been brought to the intelligence job to help restore credibility and effectiveness to agencies whose reputations were badly damaged by failures related to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and mistaken prewar assessments of Iraq’s illicit weapons. He has maintained a low public profile but provides Mr. Bush with a briefing most mornings.
President Bush has hailed the establishment of the intelligence post as an essential step in helping prevent another terrorist attack. On paper, the director of national intelligence outranks the deputy secretary of state, raising questions about why the White House would seek — and why Mr. Negroponte would agree to — the shift.
The move, expected to be announced this week, comes as the president prepares to announce a new strategy for Iraq as sectarian violence worsens there and approval ratings sag at home.
The administration has had great difficulty filling the State Department position. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked several people who have turned down the post, according to senior State Department officials.
But administration officials interviewed on Wednesday would not say whether Mr. Negroponte was moving because the White House saw him as uniquely qualified for the diplomatic post, or because President Bush was dissatisfied with his performance as intelligence chief, or whether it was a combination of the two.
Mr. Negroponte has served as ambassador to the United Nations and to Iraq, and administration officials say Ms. Rice was trying to recruit him to bring more Iraq expertise to her office.
Administration
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
LOL!
The great fear of the president...having one of his #1 draft picks stolen by the NFL.
I'm one of the few that think a union of Mediterranean nations would be a formidable world power. Imagine: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, nations of the Mid-East.
France has actively pursued such an alignment for some time. That's why they're so opposed to US presence in "their region."
No one cares about the French. They can't even get their aircraft carrier to work.
The only thing that the nations of the Mediterranean have in common is the Mediterranean.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Ambassador Negropontes is coming....Look busy...He's really pissed.
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