Obama should keep Hayden

Washington Times:

A whisper campaign among intelligence officers is rallying support for CIA Director Michael V. Hayden to continue in his post during the Obama administration, after the man widely thought to be the new president's first choice for the job withdrew from consideration last month.

"Asking Hayden to stay on for a period of time would just make sense," said a senior government official and Hayden supporter, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. "Hayden has done an extraordinary job lifting the morale of the agency, and he's been vital in the war on terror. It's not an easy position to fill."

President-elect Barack Obama, who is rumored to be seeking a successor for Mr. Hayden, has so far shown no indication of his plans for the CIA director, who has served since May 2006. Brooke Anderson, national security spokeswoman for the Obama transition team, declined to comment on the subject Saturday.

John Diamond, a veteran journalist covering the intelligence community and the author of "The CIA and the Culture of Failure," praised Mr. Hayden for restoring CIA morale after the tenure of Porter J. Goss.

"It's conceivable he could be a transition figure for a limited period of time while the Obama camp considers options," Mr. Diamond said.

He noted, however, that Mr. Hayden had been associated with some very controversial policies and was instrumental in formulating the Bush administration's surveillance program after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While Mr. Hayden was not responsible for devising harsh new interrogation procedures, "he did defend them vigorously before Congress," Mr. Diamond said.

His role in the warrantless surveillance program was a major subject of his confirmation hearings and the main reason why Mr. Obama, as a senator, voted against the nomination.

...

I assume the reporter is talking about the terrorist surveillance program which intercepts enemy communications. Calling it the warrantless surveillance program suggest that a warrant may be needed and is only a step below the moonbat "illegal" surveillance nonsense.

Obama would have to swallow much of his own nonsense on the subject to keep Hayden, but he has shown a deft hand at disappointing his moonbat base.

Hayden has done a good job of getting control of the rogues in his agency that had been working to undermine the Bush administration. He has also overseen an aggressive CIA program of using armed UAVs to attack enemy leadership targets in Pakistan sanctuaries. That is a program that Obama can embrace easily and use as a rationale for keeping Hayden.