WSJ: "Several officials close to the transition process said retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair was the front-runner to be the director of national intelligence, though they cautioned that the decision hadn't been finalized and probably wouldn't be announced Monday. The officials said that Mr. Obama was impressed by Adm. Blair's reputation as a strong manager. [...] Choosing Mr. Blair may reignite long-simmering tensions between military and civilian intelligence officials, who are wary of what they see as the creeping militarization of the nation's intelligence services. Several former intelligence officials wondered whether it was wise for an admiral to oversee an intelligence operation that is increasingly involved in domestic issues. Still, Mr. Blair is free of any association with two of the intelligence community's most controversial issues: the CIA's harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects and the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program."

Posted by Laura at December 1, 2008 04:30 PM