BLAIR GOES – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:  Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair has been forced out of his position, once again throwing the intelligence "community" into chaos.  From the Washington Times:

Dennis C. Blair, the president's most senior intelligence adviser, became the first high-profile departure from President Obama's national security team on Thursday.

Mr. Blair, director of national intelligence, announced his resignation, effective May 28 in a five-sentence statement that ended with praise for the national intelligence bureaucracy he will no longer command. "Keep it up - I will be cheering for you," he said.

A U.S. official in a position to know said, "We have been interviewing several strong candidates to be his replacement."

Among the candidates are former Deputy Defense Secretary John J. Hamre, now president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence; and Michael G. Vickers, a former CIA official and currently the Pentagon's assistant secretary of defense for special operations.

The reality is that Blair never quite mastered the political arts of a high-ranking civilian officeholder.  He is a former Navy admiral.  Whether deserved or not, his departure, apparently requested in a phone call from Obama himself, will add to the portrayal of an intelligence system that is permanently broken.  Enemies are observing. 

We were lucky with the Christmas-day bomber, whose bomb, aboard an airliner in flight, failed to ignite.  We were lucky in Times Square.  We weren't lucky at Fort Hood.  The fear, of course, is that there will be more Ford Hoods, possibly with massively powerful weapons.

A replacement should be named quickly.  Then his or her background must be thoroughly vetted.  What we don't need is some politically correct water carrier. 

May 21, 2010