Director Of Central

WASHINGTON -- Fairness, like beauty, says Sen. Richard C. Shelby, the burly Alabama Republican who presided over Anthony Lake's contentious confirmation hearings last week, "is in the eye of the beholder."In Shelby's case, it is the zealous, aggressive eye of the convert, a Democrat-turned-Republican who has become more conservative, more partisan, more fervent than many of his dyed-in-the-wool Republican colleagues.He is an imposing, self-assured figure, so popular at home that his re-election next year, say Alabama pols, is a given; so criticized here that pundits have called him everything from a "yahoo" to a "political hack."

George J. Tenet's At the Center of the Storm is a self-serving and misleading account of his role in helping the Bush administration make its private and public case to go to war against Iraq. As the director of central intelligence, Mr. Tenet did not share the convictions of such hard-liners in the administration as Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, but he - along with senior CIA leaders - facilitated the path to war by providing intelligence to the White House and Congress that presented a false picture of Iraq's intentions and capabilities.

WASHINGTON - President Bush is preparing to issue an executive order that would immediately grant more power to the director of central intelligence, designating him to fill much of the role envisioned for a future national intelligence director, according to senior government officials briefed on the plan. The order, to be issued as soon as this weekend, is cast as an interim measure intended as a first step toward putting into effect recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, whose call for a new, more powerful national intelligence chief would require acts of Congress.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation has unloaded a great deal of unwelcome baggage for the Bush administration, but the nomination of Robert M. Gates is unlikely to help resolve the disastrous war in Iraq or the uniformed military's opposition to the civilian leadership at the Pentagon. Unlike successful secretaries of defense in the recent past, Mr. Gates lacks essential experience in military and industrial affairs and has had serious problems with the congressional confirmation process.

WASHINGTON -- After a grueling six-month confirmation battle over spies, lies and the new world order, Robert M. Gates won the Senate's approval yesterday as the new director of central intelligence.Mr. Gates won a 64-31 vote after fighting charges that he had "selective amnesia" about CIA scandals, that he skewed intelligence reports to please his bosses and that he lived in a Cold War world. The 31 negative votes were the most ever cast against a nominee for director of central intelligence.

WASHINGTON - A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, the former Baltimore investment banker, was given the CIA's highest award for leadership yesterday for his 3 1/2 years of service as the agency's executive director. Krongard drew praise at the late-afternoon ceremony for such achievements as helping to create the Terrorist Threat Integration Center - which draws expertise from the entire intelligence community, including the FBI - and championing better information-sharing between agency operatives and analysts.

WASHINGTON -- Robert M. Gates, who survived extraordinarily difficult confirmation hearings to become director of Central Intelligence a year ago, will retire next year, a spokesman for the CIA said yesterday.In announcing Mr. Gates' plans, the spokesman, Peter Earnest, said: "The director expects to leave in January. If the new administration were to ask him to stay on for a short period of time to help with the overlap, he would be happy to cooperate."Mr. Gates, who is traveling, was not available for comment on his plans to retire, which were first reported in yesterday's Washington Times.

Failure to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks or find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have put intelligence issues in an unusual position - at the center of a closely contested U.S. presidential campaign. All the attention creates both opportunity and danger. If there were ever a moment when public demand might overcome the entrenched institutional interests that block major reforms, this should be it. But there is a huge gap between the urge to "do something" and figuring out just what that something should be. Public dismay has encouraged the search for a technical fix - radical reorganization of the huge intelligence bureaucracy, or removal of intelligence leadership from high-level politics.

MIAMI - Buffeted by Democratic criticism that he has not moved quickly enough on the recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, President Bush issued several executive orders yesterday aimed at strengthening intelligence-gathering and concentrating authority under the director of central intelligence. The White House described the orders as a first step toward a national intelligence director, which was recommended by the panel created to investigate shortcomings in intelligence surrounding the Sept.

WASHINGTON -- Administration officials said yesterday that Robert M. Gates remained the top candidate for director of central intelligence and could be named in the next two days if the White House did not uncover signs that there would be a major Senate battle over his confirmation.White House aides believe, officials said, that such a battle is probably the only thing that could derail the choice of Mr. Gates, who is deputy national security adviser.But the delay in the announcement has prompted questions on Capitol Hill and underscored President Bush's possible concern about reopening the debate over the Iran-contra affair.

WASHINGTON - A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, the former Baltimore investment banker, was given the CIA's highest award for leadership yesterday for his 3 1/2 years of service as the agency's executive director. Krongard drew praise at the late-afternoon ceremony for such achievements as helping to create the Terrorist Threat Integration Center - which draws expertise from the entire intelligence community, including the FBI - and championing better information-sharing between agency operatives and analysts.

MIAMI - Buffeted by Democratic criticism that he has not moved quickly enough on the recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, President Bush issued several executive orders yesterday aimed at strengthening intelligence-gathering and concentrating authority under the director of central intelligence. The White House described the orders as a first step toward a national intelligence director, which was recommended by the panel created to investigate shortcomings in intelligence surrounding the Sept.

WASHINGTON - President Bush is preparing to issue an executive order that would immediately grant more power to the director of central intelligence, designating him to fill much of the role envisioned for a future national intelligence director, according to senior government officials briefed on the plan. The order, to be issued as soon as this weekend, is cast as an interim measure intended as a first step toward putting into effect recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, whose call for a new, more powerful national intelligence chief would require acts of Congress.

WASHINGTON - President Bush nominated Porter J. Goss, a seven-term Republican congressman from Florida and former undercover CIA agent, as the next director of central intelligence yesterday, filling a crucial vacancy atop the nation's beleaguered spy community at a time of heightened terror alerts. The choice of Goss, 65, immediately drew criticism from some congressional Democrats as a partisan move that risked mixing intelligence and politics. He was expected to undergo tough grilling during Senate confirmation hearings about his and Bush's willingness to reform the intelligence agencies, but there were few signs that Democrats would mount a strong effort to block the appointment.

WASHINGTON -- Still reeling from a damning report on intelligence failures in Iraq, the CIA and other U.S. spy agencies face another round of intense criticism this week with the scheduled release of the final report by the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. The 500-plus page document is expected to include a lengthy, detailed narrative that contrasts the emerging threat of al-Qaida with the often-futile attempts by the U.S. intelligence community to confront it. There will be extensive new information that goes beyond the preliminary findings disclosed in a series of staff reports issued this year, commission members said, along with the panel's conclusions and recommendations.

WASHINGTON - The White House is considering whether to act this summer to name a permanent successor to George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, who is scheduled to step down July 11, congressional officials and others involved in the discussions said yesterday. John McLaughlin, Tenet's top deputy, was selected earlier this month by President Bush to take over as acting director. But Bush is now reconsidering an earlier plan to leave McLaughlin in place through the November election, the sources said.

ANNAPOLIS -- Adding their voices to the budgetary blues, University of Maryland supporters yesterday pleaded with the legislature to find money to preserve the College Park campus' educational prominence.In a carefully orchestrated presentation that included appearances by former Gov. Marvin Mandel, a congressman and the former director of central intelligence, university officials argued that College Park may be losing its battle to become a foremost public institution.The pitch was made even as Senate leaders are trying to round up votes for a tax increase to balance next year's budget.

THE RESIGNATION of George J. Tenet as CIA director was long overdue, but fundamental steps are essential to allow his successor to control the intelligence community. They are: End the dual role of the director of central intelligence and the CIA director. There is a need for statutory definition of the role of the director of central intelligence in managing the intelligence community, which consists of 15 different agencies, and a separate director for overseeing the CIA. Demilitarize the intelligence community.