Bush Nominates Hayden To Lead CIA

Congressional Support Mixed For Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden

(CBS/AP)  President Bush on Monday chose Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to lead the embattled CIA, re-igniting a debate over the domestic surveillance program that he once ran.

Republican and Democratic critics also questioned the wisdom of putting a military officer in charge of the civilian spy agency.

"Mike Hayden is extremely qualified for this position," Mr. Bush said in the Oval Office, with Hayden at his side. "He knows the intelligence community from the ground up."

He said that Hayden "has been a provider and consumer of intelligence."

If confirmed, Hayden would replace Porter Goss, who resigned under pressure Friday.

Hayden said Monday there is "probably no post more important" than the CIA chief to protect America and its values.

"In the confirmation process, I look forward to meeting with the leaders of the Congress, better understanding their concerns and working with them to move the American intelligence community forward," Hayden said. "This is simply too important not to get absolutely right."

Recognizing concerns about military leadership of the CIA, the White House plans to move aside the agency's No. 2 official, Vice Adm. Albert Calland III, who took over as deputy director less than a year ago. Other personnel changes also are likely, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the changes are not ready to announce.

National Intelligence Director John Negroponte says President Bush's pick to succeed Porter Goss "has been at the forefront" of all aspects of intelligence.

White House counselor Dan Bartlett said it was not unprecedented for a military officer to run the CIA and that Hayden would be the fifth CIA chief in uniform. "He has been viewed as a non-conformist and an independent thinker," Bartlett said.

Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser to President Bush, made the rounds of morning television shows to defend Hayden's selection.

"There have been several directors of the central intelligence agency who have been military officers in the past. So there's precedent for it," Hadley told CBS News' The Early Show. "We don't see any reason to break that precedent ... The question is not military versus civilian. The question is the best person to do the job."

Asked to what extent a Hayden nomination would get caught up in the controversy over domestic spying by the National Security Agency, Hadley replied: "any nominee to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency would be asked to answer these questions, and who better to answer these questions than Michael Hayden, who has been overseeing this process and is very conversant with it."

Nevertheless, Hayden's elevation to the CIA helm was running into criticism from members of Congress who voiced concern that a military officer would lead the civilian spy agency, CBS News correspondent Bill Plante reports.

"This is not about Mike Hayden. This is about the fact that we're rebuilding a civilian agency at this time," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra, a Republican, said on The Early Show. "It has to be clearly independent of the Department of Defense. We as public policy makers need an unfiltered, independent, strong voice in the intelligence community. This appointment may lead us in a direction different than that."

Hoekstra said having a general in charge of the CIA could create the impression among agents around the world that the agency is under Pentagon control, at a time when the Defense Department and CIA have "ongoing tensions."

But Admiral Stansfield Turner, the last military leader to run the CIA, disagrees. "I think there are times in our history when it's good to have a military person in this spot. No reason not to do so," Turner told The Early Show.