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| Home Front: Politix |
| Obama chooses Adm. Blair as intel chief |
| 2008-12-19 |
| WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair as the top U.S. intelligence official and could make an announcement as early as Friday, a source familiar with the nomination said on Thursday. As director of national intelligence, Blair would oversee the entire U.S. intelligence apparatus and be responsible for delivering Obama's daily intelligence briefing. "We expect the announcement tomorrow," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Blair, a four-star admiral and former top U.S. military commander in the Pacific region, has for some time been considered the front runner for the intelligence job. Blair's nomination would keep an experienced military leader in the post, and he has a reputation as a smart thinker. An advocacy group for East Timor this month urged Obama not to name Blair. It accused him of deepening ties with Indonesia's military during his years as Pacific commander, when the country was accused of violating human rights in the former Portuguese colony it occupied. The Obama transition team declined to comment on the Blair choice. The position requires confirmation by the Senate. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 Buddies with the SOCOM commander, Berserker? More coastal interdiction, methinks someone is reading Poyer. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2008-12-19 20:37 |
| #4 Buddies with the SOCOM commander, Berserker? More coastal interdiction, methinks someone is reading Poyer. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2008-12-19 20:37 |
| #3 Yes indeed, so was General Tommy Franks, but his ORB did NOT include non-GWOT PACOM experience, a HUD assignment, White House fellowships, OGA liaison positions or budget experience. This fellow is a military politician, NOT an intelligence professional! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-19 10:36 |
| #2 ADM Blair is an honorable man and was a great officer. We are lucky to have him. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2008-12-19 10:30 |
| #1 Prior to retiring in 2002, Admiral Dennis Blair served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, the largest of the combatant commands. During his 34-year Navy career, Admiral Blair served on guided missile destroyers in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and commanded the Kitty Hawk Battle Group. Ashore, he served as Director of the Joint Staff and as the first Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support at the CIA. He has also served in budget and policy positions on the National Security Council and several major Navy staffs. A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Admiral Blair earned a masterÂ’s degree in History and Languages from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and served as a White House Fellow at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has been awarded four Defense Distinguished Service Medals and has received decorations from the governments of Japan, Thailand, Korea and Australia. And his GWOT and regionally specific intelligence background is found where? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-19 09:45 |