General Hayden

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From his comments to the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday, a few points on why we need this man, right now.

On why the CIA still holds a unique role in the Intelligence Community:
“CIA's role as the community leader in human intelligence and as an enabler for technical access, in all-source analysis, and in elements of research and development, not to mention its worldwide infrastructure, underscore the interdependency between CIA and the rest of the Community.”

On what the President and Congress may expect from the Director, CIA:
“when it comes to "speaking truth to power," I will lead CIA analysts by example. I will -- as I expect every analyst will -- always give our nation's leaders the best analytic judgment.”

On the politics of Intelligence:
“Respectfully, senators, I believe that the intelligence business has too much become the football in American political discourse. Over the past few years, the intelligence community and CIA have taken an inordinate number of hits, some of them fair, many of them not. Yes, there have been failures, but there have also been many great successes. We will do our lessons learned studies, and I will keep the committee fully informed on that. But I also believe that it is time to move past what seems to be an endless picking apart of the "archaeology" of every past intelligence "failure" and "success." CIA officers, dedicated as they are to serving their country honorably and well, deserve recognition of their efforts. And they also deserve not to have every action analyzed, second-guessed, and criticized on the front pages of the newspapers. Accountability is one thing -- and we will have it -- but true accountability is not served by inaccurate, harmful, and illegal public disclosures. I will draw a clear line between what we owe the American public by way of openness and what must remain secret in order for us to continue doing our jobs as charged. CIA needs to get out of the news -- as source or subject -- and focus on protecting the American people by acquiring secrets and providing high-quality all-source analysis.”