posted on May, 20 2010 @ 05:27 PM
Could this have anything to do with it?
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair Resigns
FOXNews.com
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair resigns in the wake of a series of intelligence failures
printemailshare recommend (2) National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair has resigned, Fox News has confirmed through senior congressional
sources.
Blair's resignation comes after a series of intelligence failures -- in the Fort Hood shooting, the failed Christmas Day bombing plot and the
attempted Times Square bombing.
President Obama already is interviewing candidates to replace Blair, according to ABC News, which first reported the story.
A retired Navy admiral, Blair is the third director of national intelligence, a position created in response to the 9/11 attacks.
Blair's tenure as the overseer of the nation's intelligence agencies was marked by turf battles with CIA Director Leon Panetta and controversial
public comments in the wake of the Christmas Day airliner bombing attempt.
The enmity between Blair and Panetta is well known, one Democratic senator told Fox News.
Blair is described by some who worked with him as direct and straight talking. The approach did not always mesh well with the White House, where
increasingly, intelligence-related matters were being channeled to Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan.
In the last six months, attempted attacks on the United States seemed to underscore gaps in the system. Earlier this week, a report by the Senate
Intelligence Committee identified 14 "specific points of failure" that allowed Christmas Day bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to travel to
the United States.
The report criticized the National Counter Terrorism Center, which is under Blair's control, concluding the agency had the tools for the job but was
not organized properly to fulfill its mission. And with the post-Sept. 11 emphasis on sharing intelligence, there was a lack of ownership.