Hayden Aims For 'A More Cohesive CIA'

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
April 6, 2008
Pg. 1
Terrorism is the greatest threat to U.S. since Civil War, agency director says.
By Sara A. Carter, The Washington Times
CIA Director Michael V. Hayden has a game plan.
A longtime Pittsburgh Steelers fan and former football coach, he understands that sometimes it's necessary to shift the game-day strategy based on his players' input. His ultimate goal: "Build a more cohesive CIA."
"Terrorism in the 21st century is the kind of threat our country hasn't faced in a very long time," Mr. Hayden told The Washington Times.
"The individual safety of Americans is at risk like at no time since probably our own Civil War, and we're trying to deal with the challenge in a way that doesn't change our nation's DNA," he said.
If each past director came to the CIA wanting to leave the agency better than they found it, then Mr. Hayden has been working diligently over the past 20 months to leave his legacy.
It has not been an easy task.
The 63-year-old four-star Air Force general from Pittsburgh is a simple man, and his success is a Cinderella story.
"There's no way a kid like me growing up on Pittsburgh's North Side ever thought he'd have the incredible opportunities that have come my way," said Mr. Hayden, who is married and has three children. "It's gratifying to work with people who keep moving the ball toward the goal line, even when they've gotten a little grass and mud on their helmets."
The shelves in his office are filled with mementos of his lifetime achievements, from his career in the Air Force beginning in 1969 to his work at the National Security Agency (NSA) as director of Central Security Service and the first principal deputy director of national intelligence in 2005.
At CIA headquarters, he told reporters and editors from The Times that the agency needs to get "back to what the nation needs it to be doing — its espionage function, its analytic function and its covert-action function."
The threat of terrorism, backlash from decisions made prior to his tenure and the difficult job of lifting the agency out of its tattered past doesn't seem to faze the even-tempered leader, who is described by those who know him as both "brilliant" and "blunt."
A difficult task
For the most part, the many successes the CIA achieved during Mr. Hayden's tenure will never be known, with controversies always in the limelight.
John E. McLaughlin, former acting CIA director, who replaced George J. Tenet in 2004, said the difficulties of leading one of the "youngest intelligence agencies" in the world stem from the fact that "the U.S. is still trying to figure out what intelligence is."
"When something goes wrong, it's usually said it's an intelligence failure, not a policy failure," said Mr. McLaughlin, who has known Mr. Hayden for six years. "We're not mature as a country when it comes to intelligence."
Uniformly, Mr. Hayden is held in high regard, Mr. McLaughlin said. "His ability to communicate frankly and sincerely with his work force is a major reason why," he added. "Mike Hayden has a very cool head. He's a gutsy guy when it comes to taking on tough situations."
The controversy over waterboarding interrogations of terrorism suspects is one of the challenges.
In February, Mr. Hayden revealed for the first time to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that CIA interrogators used waterboarding on three high-level al Qaeda detainees after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He added that the "lawful interrogation" methods were necessary because the CIA had limited knowledge of al Qaeda, which posed an imminent threat to the nation.
Last month, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have prohibited the CIA from using enhanced interrogation methods, including waterboarding. Despite criticism, Mr. Bush said interrogation techniques could not be limited to the Army Field Manual, which is posted on the Internet.
As for whether the CIA should adopt the new Army Field Manual, Mr. Hayden is clear on the matter.
"You don't want your field manual to become the table of contents" for your enemy, he told The Times. He said, however, if Congress passes a law to adopt the field manual the agency would comply fully with its terms, both in letter and spirit.
Unifying the agency
As the 18th director of the CIA, Mr. Hayden initiated a new plan known as "Strategic Intent" to reinvigorate an agency still fractured from the fallout of Sept. 11.
The plan's goal is to unify the agency — having employees focused on the same goals and building solutions for information sharing across the nation's intelligence community and military.
Last year, Mr. Hayden also initiated the HUMINT Enterprise Board of Governors, which he manages. The new governing body, made up of members from more than 20 separate law enforcement, intelligence, military and support agencies, works to integrate the nation's human intelligence resources and information-sharing capabilities.
It was a necessary step, a "lesson learned" after information-sharing blunders blinded many U.S. agencies to al Qaeda's planning for Sept. 11.
"It's still a slow process," a law enforcement intelligence official said. "But it's better now than it had been. If we don't work together, we'll make the same mistakes, and we just can't afford to do that ever again. This plan is a step in the right direction."
Mr. Hayden said the CIA is encouraging the development of nontraditional covert officers, sending analysts to foreign venues and pursuing innovative approaches to analyzing collected intelligence.
Although he could not reveal details, he said there are "thousands" of officers in the Middle East.
"We're shifting our weight from what we call traditional platforms, official platforms to nontraditional platforms and nontraditional cover, and what I can say is, we're on schedule," he said.
'Super Bowl seer'
Mr. Hayden took his prized autographed Pittsburgh Steelers helmet from a shelf in his office. Signed by the team only months before winning Super Bowl XL, it was a gift sent to him from his former Catholic junior high school football coach and Steelers owner Dan Rooney, he said.
"Two or three weeks" after his farewell party at the NSA, the helmet arrived in the mail, "coming to me in September, Super Bowl year ... talk about your eBay investment," Mr. Hayden said.
His uncanny ability to predict the outcome of games has garnered him the nickname "Super Bowl seer" in news reports.
Mr. Rooney said it's a gift Mr. Hayden has had since he was a young quarterback. "They said, 'Why did you make him the quarterback? He's not the biggest.' I said, 'Yeah, but he's the smartest.' "
Mr. Hayden enjoys going to Pittsburgh to visit family and see a game at Heinz Field.
"He sits up in the stands," Mr. Rooney said, adding that Mr. Hayden declines box seats when he's offered them. "I think that says a lot about who he is. He's just a down-to-earth, regular guy."
'A grant of trust'
Whether it's chatting with young CIA officers in the cafeteria or attending Senate hearings in which he uses simple words to explain complex issues, Mr. Hayden doesn't have "much tolerance for bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo" and understands the importance of his position, employees said.
The CIA has a "social contract" with the American public, to whom the agency is ultimately accountable, Mr. Hayden said. "As a secret organization serving an open and free society, CIA has been granted an enormous public trust," he said. "That's what secrecy is in a democracy. Not a grant of power, but a grant of trust."
When he isn't traveling, he heads to his office, walking by the 87 chiseled black stars carved into the white marbled wall in the CIA's main lobby. He is reminded of the ultimate sacrifice made by agency officers.
It is a job with few public accolades.
In a glass case beneath the stars is a Book of Honor that lists the names of some officers who have died in the line of duty. The other stars are left blank, anonymous heroes whose contributions are classified by the U.S.
"For the men and women of CIA, those stars on the wall are more than a quiet tribute," Mr. Hayden said at a ceremony last year. "Each star holds memories of a brave intelligence officer whose example we follow, a treasured colleague whose wisdom we keep, or a lost friend whose laughter we miss."
 
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