WHILE THEY WATCH THE LEFT HAND:

Negroponte Sworn in as First US National Intelligence Director (Deborah Tate, 21 April 2005, VOA News)

U.S. lawmakers, concerned about intelligence lapses prior to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and faulty intelligence about Iraq's weapons in the run-up to the U.S.-led war in that country, created the national director position as part of a broader intelligence reform initiative.

In his new post, Mr. Negroponte will coordinate the gathering and sharing of intelligence by the nation's 15 spy agencies. [...]

Some Democrats are concerned by Ambassador Negroponte's tenure in Honduras, from 1981 to 1985, when human rights groups say he turned a blind eye to human rights abuses.

"I find it especially troubling that the Ambassador's perception of the human rights situation in Honduras differs so dramatically from that expressed by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Inter-American Court, the Honduras Human Rights Commission, and others," said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon (D), who voted against the nominee

All that attention on a cipher like John Bolton allowed a true Cold Warrior to slip by with a free pass.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 22, 2005 11:44 AM