The Hindu : International : New post for Negroponte

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Friday, Feb 18, 2005

International

International

New post for Negroponte

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 17. The U.S. President, George W. Bush, has named John Negroponte (65) as America's First Director of National Intelligence.

Mr. Negroponte is currently Washington's top diplomatic representative in Iraq and former Ambassador to the United Nations.

The announcement was made at the White House with the President stressing that Mr. Negroponte "understands" global intelligence because of his long career in the foreign service.

"John will make sure that those whose duty it is to defend America have the information we have to make the right decisions.We're going to stop the terrorists before they strike," Mr. Bush said. The National Intelligence Director designate responded by saying that the new job will be the "most challenging assignment" he has ever taken in 40 years of government service.

Mr. Negroponte may have had impressive tours of duty overseas but they were not without controversies. His confirmation to the United Nations post was delayed for several months because of strident criticism of his record as American Ambassador to Honduras between 1981 and 1985. Human rights groups have charged that Mr. Negroponte acquiesced to abuses by Honduran death squads that were funded and partly trained by the Central Intelligence Agency.

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