Clapper as DNI

I’ve had my falling out with Larry Johnson over the Clinton/Obama contest and the tactics he was willing to stoop to on Hillary’s behalf. But he did post an article here back in 2007 that was very critical of Obama’s new pick to be head of the National Intelligence Agency. Lt. Gen. James Clapper is that man, and he’s already getting a cool reception on Capitol Hill. Larry called him the worst chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency in history, but the Hill seems more concerned about the (lack of) forcefulness of his personality and the mere fact that he’s from the Pentagon. In recent decades the head of the intelligence community has been a civilian, even if they had prior military experience. And Clapper has clashed in the past with the CIA over resources and authorities. I don’t really know enough about Clapper to give you a fair assessment but I do know two things. The universe of people qualified to be DNI is exceedingly small, and the universe of people who actually want the job is much smaller than that.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.