A US Senate Intelligence Committee vote of 12 to three advanced Air Force General Michael Hayden's nomination as CIA director on Tuesday. The full Senate is expected to hold a confirmation vote later in the week.
Hayden, 61, pledged during committee hearings to strengthen the civilian spy agency, which has faced sharp criticism and internal turmoil since the September 11 attacks and the Iraq war. He would succeed Porter Goss, who stepped down several weeks ago.
Hayden built his career in Pentagon intelligence circles beginning in the Cold War era and led the National Security Agency from 1999 to 2005, overseeing its vast electronic surveillance operations. Senators questioned him about a White House-sanctioned NSA wiretapping program that some members of Congress have called unlawful.
In 2005 he was appointed deputy to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, who was tasked with overhauling the broader intelligence community following the failure to prevent the September 11 plot.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.