New CIA chief sworn in, tells CIA how to be central to intelligence

Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden was sworn as CIA director Tuesday and told the officers at the embattled agency that they must be competent and cooperative to keep the "central" in Central Intelligence Agency.

Photo: New CIA chief sworn in, tells CIA how to be central to intelligence

Even with those marching orders, Hayden reassured the agency that it remains crucial to U.S. spy operations and analysis.

In his first day on the job, Hayden told his staff that only the CIA has the "connective tissue" to bring the intelligence community together. A fan of sports metaphors, Hayden compared the CIA to the star player on a football team: critical but part of a whole that must work together.

Hayden addressed the work force for under an hour, taking questions and getting a standing ovation, said agency spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise Dyke.

While the CIA once was pre-eminent over the 15 other spy agencies, the 2004 intelligence reform law made it equal to other organizations including the National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency.

According to Dyke, Hayden said the CIA must make sure it is "competent" and "cooperative" to ensure it is "central."

Hayden, the former NSA chief who served as the country's No. 2 intelligence official for the last year, was sworn-in by National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. President George W. Bush is going to the CIA's campus in suburban Virginia on Wednesday for a second, presidential swearing-in.

At his confirmation hearing this month, Hayden said he wants the CIA to focus on traditional spycraft and reward risks taken by operatives in the agency's clandestine service. He also wants CIA analysts to be clear in their language when they are unsure of judgments but to be unafraid of hard-edged assessments.

It is not clear what immediate changes Hayden will make. He met with his leadership team for the first time Tuesday. Later, he had lunch in the CIA's cafeteria.

Hayden plans to choose as his deputy Stephen Kappes, a veteran of the clandestine service who retired after unusually public clashes with close advisers of former Director Porter Goss.

Kappes played a major role in negotiations with Libya's leader, Col. Moammar Gadhafi, that led that country to declare publicly in December 2003 that it was renouncing nuclear, biological and chemical arms, reports AP.

O.Ch.