Has our Congress got selective brain disorder??

They seem to forget our own history...

I have a question , what’s the big deal with a Military General (Air Force General Michael Hayden) running the CIA? People and the media are acting like this is something new. Has everyone gotten selective brain disorder?

Lets look at a some past directors, 11 of 19 have had Military Experience, and some of them quite a bit, you tell me why this appointment is any different than these listed below. I know the answer but you tell me.

S i d n e y  W i l l i a m  S o u e r s

APPOINTED

23 January 1946 by President Harry S. Truman; sworn in on that date*

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

 Kingman Douglass (Acting), 2 March 1946–11 July 1946

EARLIER CAREER

Private business

Commissioned Naval Reserve, 1929

Volunteered for active duty, July 1940

Promoted to Rear Admiral and named Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence, 1945

H o y t   S a n f o r d  V a n d e n b e r g

APPOINTED

7 June 1946 by President Harry S. Truman; sworn in, 10 June 1946*

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

 Kingman Douglass (Acting) until 11 July 1946; Brig. Gen. Edwin Kennedy Wright, US Army, from 20 January 1947 through remainder of Gen. Vandenberg’s tenure

EARLIER CAREER

Pilot, flight commander, flying instructor in Army Air Corps, 1924-36

Commanded 9th Air Force in during World War II

Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, War Department General Staff, January-June 1946

LATER CAREER

Appointed Vice Chief of Staff of US Air Force with rank of General, US Air Force, effective 1 October 1947

Air Force, 1948-53

Retired from Air Force and Joint Chiefs of Staff, 30 June 1953

R o s c o e  H e n r y  H i l l e n k o e t t e r

APPOINTED

30 April 1947 by President Harry S. Truman; sworn in, 1 May 1947

Recess appointment by President Truman, 29 August 1947; sworn in, 26 September 1947; reappointed under new National Security Act* by President Truman, 24 November 1947; confirmed by Senate, 8 December 1947

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Brig. Gen. Edwin Kennedy Wright until 9 March 1949**

EARLIER CAREER

Several tours as Assistant Naval , : 1933-35, 1938-40, 1940-41 ( regime), and 1946-47

Officer in Charge of Intelligence, on the staff of Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Area (Adm. Chester W. Nimitz), September 1942–March 1943

Promoted to Rear Admiral, 29 November 1946

LATER CAREER

Commander, Cruiser Division 1, Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, October 1950–August 1951

Promoted to Vice Admiral, 9 April 1956

W a l t e r  B e d e l l  S m i t h

EDUCATION

Attended briefly; Army Command and
, 1935; , 1937

APPOINTED

21 August 1950 by President Harry S. Truman; confirmed by Senate,
28 August 1950; sworn in, 7 October 1950

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

William H. Jackson, October 1950–August 1951; Allen W. Dulles
through remainder of Gen. Bedell Smith’s tenure

EARLIER CAREER

Commissioned into US Army, 27 November 1917; served in in World War I; received regular commission July 1920

Served during World War II as General Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff, first in the European Theater, 1942; then for Allied Forces in North Africa and the
, 1942-43; and in 1944-45 at Supreme Headquarters,
Allied Expeditionary Forces

Promoted to Lieutenant General, 13 January 1944

Ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1946-49

Commanding General of the First Army, 1949-50

LATER CAREER

Retired from Army, 9 February 1953

Under Secretary of State, 1953-54

W i l l i a m  F r a n c i s  R a b o r n,  J R.

EDUCATION

Graduated from US Naval Academy, 1928; Naval , 1952

APPOINTED

11 April 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson; confirmed by Senate, 22 April 1965; sworn in, 28 April 1965

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Richard M. Helms

EARLIER CAREER

Director, US Navy Special Projects Office (which developed Polaris missle for Fleet Ballistic Missle System), 1955-62

Promoted to Vice Admiral, 1960

Deputy chief of Naval Operations (Development), 1962-63

Retired from Navy, 1 September 1963

W i l l i a m  E g a n  C o l b y

APPOINTED

10 May 1973 by President Richard M. Nixon; confirmed by Senate, 1 August 1973; sworn in, 4 September 1973

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters, US Army

EARLIER CAREER

Volunteered for active duty as 2nd Army, August 1941

Served with Office of Strategic Services, 1943-45

Attorney in private practice, New York, 1947-49; with National Labor Relations Board, Washington, DC, 1949-50

Various posts in CIA

Chief, Division, Directorate of Plans, CIA, 1962-67

On leave from CIA, assigned to Agency for International Development as Director of Civil Operations and Rural Development Support, Saigon (with rank of ambassador), 1968-71

Executive Director-Comptroller, 1972-73

Deputy Director for Operations, 2 March–24 August 1973 (served concurrently as Executive Secretary, CIA Management Committee)

G e o r g e  H e r b e r t  W a l k e r  B u s h

APPOINTED

3 November 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford; confirmed by Senate, 27 January 1976; sworn in, 30 January 1976

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters, US Army, until 2 July 1976; E. Henry Knoche, from 3 July 1976 through remainder of Mr. Bush’s tenure (Mr. Knoche then served as Acting Director, from Mr. Bush’s departure on 20 January 1977 until Adm. Stansfield Turner was sworn in on 9 March 1977)

EARLIER CAREER

Served in World War II as naval aviator in the Pacific

Member of Congress, 7th District, Texas, 1967-71

Ambassador to the United Nations, 1971-72

Chairman, Republican National Committee, 1973-74

Chief, US Liaison Office, People’s Republic of , 1974-75

S t a n s f i e l d  T u r n e r

EDUCATION

Attended Amherst College, 1941-43; graduated from US Naval Academy, 1946 (Class of 1947); Rhodes Scholar, , , B.A., 1950, M.A., 1954

APPOINTED

8 February 1977 by President Jimmy Carter; confirmed by Senate,24 February 1977; sworn in, 9 March 1977

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

E. Henry Knoche, until 1 August 1977; Frank C. Carlucci, 10 February 1978 through remainder of Adm. Turner’s tenure

EARLIER CAREER

Director, Systems Analysis Division, Office of Chief of Naval Operations, 1971-72

Promoted to Vice Admiral, 1972

President, US Naval War College, 1972-74

Commander, US Second Fleet, 1974-75

Promoted to Admiral, 1975; retired from active duty, 31 December 1978

Commander in Chief, Allied Forces (NATO), 1975-77

W i l l i a m  J o s e p h  C a s e y

APPOINTED

20 January 1981 by President Ronald Reagan; confirmed by Senate, 27 January 1981; sworn in, 28 January 1981

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Adm. Bobby Ray Inman, US Navy, 12 February 1981–10 June 1982; John N. McMahon, 10 June 1982–29 March 1986; and Robert M. Gates, 18 April 1986 through remainder of Mr. Casey’s tenure

EARLIER CAREER

Lawyer and businessman

Commissioned into US Naval Reserve, 1943

Joined Office of Strategic Services in 1943; Chief of Special Intelligence Branch in European Theater of Operations, 1944-45

Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission, 1971-73

Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, 1973-74

President and Chairman, US Export-Import Bank, 1974-76

Member, President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, 1976-77

Campaign Manager for presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, 1980

W i l l i a m  H e d g c o c k  W e b s t e r

APPOINTED

3 March 1987 by President Ronald Reagan; confirmed by Senate, 19 May 1987; sworn in, 26 May 1987

Requested by President-elect George Bush to continue as Director of Central Intelligence, 6 December 1988

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Robert M. Gates, 26 May 1987–20 March 1989; Richard J. Kerr, from 20 March 1989 through remainder of Judge Webster’s tenure (Mr. Kerr served as Acting Director from Mr. Webster’s departure, 1 September 1991, until Dr. Gates was sworn in as DCI, 6 November 1991)

EARLIER CAREER

Lieutenant in US Navy, World War II (1943-46) and Korean war (1951-52)

Private law practice, 1949-59 and 1961-70

US Attorney for ’s Eastern District, 1960-61

, District Court for ’s Eastern District, 1970-73

District Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit, 1973-78

Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1978-87

R. J a m e s  W o o l s e y

APPOINTED

21 January 1993 by President William J. Clinton; confirmed by Senate, 3 February 1993; sworn in, 5 February 1993

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Adm. William O. Studeman, US Navy, 9 April 1992 through remainder of Mr. Woolsey’s tenure

EARLIER CAREER

Army, 1968-70; Program Analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1968-70

National Security Council Staff, 1970; Adviser with US Delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks I (SALT I), and , 1969-70

General Counsel, Committee on Armed Services, US Senate, 1970-73

Associate, Shea Gardner law firm, 1973-77; partner, Shea Gardner, 1979-89, 1991-93

Under Secretary of the Navy, 1977-79

Delegate-at-Large, US-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) and Nuclear and Space Talks (NST), , 1983-86

President’s Commission on Strategic Forces, 1983-84; President’s Commission on Defense Management, 1985-86; President’s Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform, 1989

Ambassador and Representative, negotiations on Conventional Armed Forces in , 1989-91

SO what’s the big deal? Something seems to have caused our Congress to forget about these 11 appointees. Hmmm, could it have anything to do with the mere fact that it comes from Bush? Could having a military man in the CIA Directorship be a good thing, force some change and straighten things out?

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Reply #1 Top

In answer to your question, Yes.

As for the differences, most of the ones you cited were appointed by Democrat Presidents.  Truman sure could not keep his for very long!