Bush's New Intelligence Czar

Monday, Feb. 21, 2005 By DANIEL EISENBERG
HE'S GOT A SECRET: Bush surprised many by naming Negroponte, who has no intelligence background, as his first super snoop
CHRISTOPHER MORRIS / VII FOR TIME
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Negroponte won't have to fight alone. His deputy, Bush announced, will be Air Force Lieut. General Michael Hayden, who has overseen electronic eavesdropping and code breaking for the intelligence community as chief of the highly secretive National Security Agency for the past six years. Diminutive and bookish in appearance, Hayden, 59, has already shown himself willing to stand up to Rumsfeld. A former senior U.S. official told TIME that while Rumsfeld made it clear that he thought Hayden, who supported intelligence reform after 9/11 and the Iraqi WMD fiasco, "was not right-thinking on these matters," Hayden nevertheless testified to Congress in favor of serious reform last August. "It was very clear that the Secretary was displeased," said the former official.

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For the chattering classes of Washington, the selection of Negroponte came as a surprise. During the two-month search for a nominee, candidates with intelligence or military backgrounds were bandied about, including General Tommy Franks and 9/11 Commission co-chairs Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton. Several individuals were felt out about their interest in the job, including former CIA Director Robert Gates, who was not interested. The President had initially resisted creating the post, and many observers had come to conclude it would be largely ceremonial, but Bush repeatedly told his chief of staff Andrew Card that he wanted "a workhorse, not a show horse," for the job. Negroponte, who shuns the limelight and almost never goes public with a dispute, fit the bill perfectly.

Though Negroponte has no formal intel background, he's an experienced consumer of intelligence, having headed five U.S. diplomatic missions. His well-tested skills as a diplomat may be particularly valuable. "He understands the power centers in Washington," Bush said of Negroponte. "That was code to the intelligence agencies that John is not going to rock the boat," says Leslie Gelb, a former Defense and State Department official and president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. "He's not going to try to pound the table and create a revolution. The agencies would blow up anybody who would try. He'll get them in the room, get them talking to each other, and if Bush wants a particular thing done, he will get it done." Negroponte's patrician manner belies what friends and enemies alike say is a hard-headed resolve.

As valuable as he could be in his new role, some question the wisdom of pulling Negroponte out of Baghdad at such a critical moment. With Iraq's freshly elected National Assembly about to start writing a new Constitution, and the American exit strategy waiting to be negotiated, "this is the worst possible time to be sending in a newcomer," says a Western diplomat in the country. "This is a time when the U.S. would want an ambassador here who already has built up close contacts with Iraqi leaders." Negroponte has won plaudits for having a light touch with local officials, always offering advice rather than giving orders.