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Negroponte to step down as head of intelligence
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, who has been closely involved with US policy on Iraq, will trade in his job as top spy to become No. 2 to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 January 6, 2007
- National Intelligence Director John Negroponte.
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Washington: National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, who has been closely involved with US policy on Iraq, will trade in his job as top spy to become No. 2 to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Negroponte took over in April 2005 as the first US intelligence chief, responsible for overseeing all 16 US spy agencies. He will return to his roots as a career diplomat to become deputy secretary of state, two US government officials said late on Wednesday.
One of the officials said the timing of Negroponte's departure was uncertain, but that it was expected soon. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no announcement of the move.
Negroponte, 67, is stepping down as President George W. Bush develops a new strategy on Iraq. The president has ordered reviews from his own agencies and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which recommended a series of changes to reverse a "slide toward chaos".
Negroponte has held a series of tough posts in the Bush administration and has been at the centre of the Iraq debate since before the US-led invasion in March 2003. He served as US ambassador to the UN from 2001 to 2004 and ambassador to Baghdad until March 2005 before becoming intelligence chief.
Democrats, who have taken control of Congress, have promised greater oversight of government agencies. The Senate Intelligence Committee, for instance, is planning hearings this month on the intelligence overhaul that Negroponte helped put in place.
A top candidate for the intelligence chief opening is retired Adm Mike McConnell, the director of the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996. McConnell is now a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, a government contractor and consulting firm.
A message left at McConnell's office on Wednesday night was not immediately returned.
Negroponte's transition to the State Department must be confirmed by the Senate, as would Bush's choice for his replacement. Both changes will create new openings for the Democrats to debate the administration's intelligence and foreign policy direction.
The Office of the National Intelligence Director and the White House both declined to comment on Negroponte's impending move.
The State Department also had no comment, but one official confirmed that Negroponte was to become deputy secretary of state. This official noted Negroponte's diplomatic credentials as a former ambassador to a number of countries.
Robert Zoellick resigned as Rice's deputy in July to take a position with the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs. She is said to have approached several candidates for what is widely regarded as a plum assignment, going for months without any takers.
Negroponte's departure creates uncertainty for the position of national intelligence director.
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