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May 16, 2006
Kappes gets the Berntsen seal of approval
For all of Hayden's expertise, however, that hasn't been his strong suit - he is a "sigint" expert, or signals intelligence, from his days at the National Security Agency, which focused on electronic eavesdropping."The CIA has several different missions, but its most important is in the clandestine field, and he doesn't have a background in that area, so that'll be a challenge for him," said Michael Vickers, a former special forces and CIA officer.
That's why many former intelligence officials are praising the proposed return of Stephen Kappes, a former deputy director of operations who resigned in a clash with Porter Goss, who recently resigned as CIA director. Kappes formerly headed the arm that fielded and ran spies around the world - something Hayden has had almost no experience doing.
"He's the finest, most respected officer of his generation," Gary Berntsen, a former CIA agent who grew up in Smithtown, said of Kappes.
Berntsen, who led the CIA team hunting for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, said the team of Hayden, with his considerable bureaucratic and electronic intelligence experience, and Kappes would be "hitting the ball over the fence."
"This is going to be essentially a clandestine humint agency, and you've got to have somebody there who is a master of the trade," said W. Patrick Lang, a former chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Middle East section.
But Kappes has not yet said publicly whether he will accept the job, and some are speculating he may not be ready to leave his high-paying job with a security company. If he does not, some of the enthusiasm for the new arrangement may wane.
Posted by Mike at May 16, 2006 12:08 AM
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