Can Negroponte be more than an intelligence figurehead?
Dean Acheson, Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman, once wryly commented: “The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.” One can understand Acheson’s statement given that he worked for the laconic and hardnosed Truman. For Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee John Negroponte, however, remaining mum will not be a virtue, but an impediment to the establishment of the newest and most critical position in the United States bureaucracy. As DNI, Negroponte will serve as a direct liaison between President Bush and the intelligence community, with full budgetary control of the15 intelligence agencies. Although Negroponte has established a long and distinguished career as ambassador to various nations, ambassador to the United Nations, and, most recently, the first US ambassador to Iraq, he faces – what he describes as – the “most daunting task” of his career. Several politicians have already raised concerns about Negroponte’s alleged support of President Re
