President Bush Taps Air Force General Michael Hayden To Head CIA

Monday, May 15, 2006

By Daryn Kagan, CNN's Live Today

May 8, 2006

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us in Washington is former Democratic congressman Tim Roemer. He was a member of the 9/11 Commission.

Congressman, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

TIM ROEMER, FMR. 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Nice to be with you, Daryn.

KAGAN: As signing off on the 9/11 Commission, you supported basically what's happening, that you have a National Intelligence director having more power than the CIA. Is this all happening like the commission wanted? And it is making America safer?

ROEMER: No, it is not happening like the commission wanted. It's getting too big, too bureaucratic and too slow to go against an enemy that is increasingly agile, dynamic and entrepreneurial. The 9/11 Commission wanted maybe a staff of 800 people. It's getting to be twice that size, Daryn.

And secondly...

KAGAN: But you know Washington. You can't be surprised that that's what it's grown into.

ROEMER: Well, we've seen the Department of Homeland Security go to 180,000 people, Daryn, and that's the wrong direction, too. So, in both building bureaucracy and protecting our borders and trying to innovatively make sure that we're screening material coming into our ports, trying to make sure the FBI can communicate in 21st technology, we're not seeing this community and this country becoming safer with response to your second question.

KAGAN: But when you shake up the apple cart, like the 9/11 Commission intended to do, are you surprised, especially knowing Washington as you do, that there would not be a turf war of sorts taking place that we see happening?

ROEMER: Well, we expect turf wars, Daryn. And a turf war between the DNI and the Department of Defense would be good. I'm not sure a decapitation is what we suggested.

Porter Goss is now gone over the weekend. It was a surprise to members of Congress. And then the new announcement was stunning to many of them.

And the Republicans are leading the charge, for the most part, against this nominee by a Republican president. It may turn more into a process that reflects the Harriet Miers judicial nomination, rather than the John Roberts judicial nomination, that turned out to be successful.

KAGAN: We just heard a ringing endorsement from John Negroponte for General Hayden. Do you think he's a good man for the job?

ROEMER: I actually think that his association with Ambassador Negroponte is one of his strengths. I also don't think the military qualifications should disqualify him, as we've had Admiral Turner serve under President Carter.

What I do think are important, Daryn, and I think what Ambassador Negroponte was desperately trying to talk about just now, is his management skills and his ability to move from an organization that that dealt with signals intelligence, to now rebuilding at a critically important time our human intelligence capability. Can he do that? Can he do that going in a midterm election, when people in the Senate are going to be coming at him on the national security wiretap program, secret prisons, Abu Ghraib?

This is not a good time for this administration to go through this kind of confirmation battle.

KAGAN: In the moments since we broke away from John Negroponte at the news conference, he made a comment talking about the rift that's taking place between the CIA and the Department of Defense.

Let's listen in and then talk about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEGROPONTE: Specifically with respect to the Pentagon and the CIA, as my experience, as ambassador to Iraq, for example, and following the current situation both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in areas where the CIA's interests and the Pentagon's interest would intersect, I see nothing but excellent cooperation. And back here at headquarters, there is a memorandum of understanding that was -- that has been reached and signed during my tenure as the director of National Intelligence that lays out the terms of reference for cooperation between the two organizations.

So, I would say, and can I assure you, that they're pretty tightly knit together in what -- in the way they operate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Congressman, do you read it the same way?

ROEMER: I think that the turf battle between Mr. Negroponte and Mr. Goss is not cooperation. Are we seeing better cooperation and integration sharing of information between DNI and intelligence at DOD? Probably so.

KAGAN: Former Congressman Tim Roemer.

Thank you for your input today.

ROEMER: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Good to see you.

ROEMER: Nice to see you again.