Dennis C. Blair

Dennis C. Blair
For other people named Dennis Blair, see Dennis Blair (disambiguation).
Dennis Blair
3rd Director of National Intelligence
In office
January 29, 2009 – May 28, 2010
President Barack Obama
Deputy David Gompert
Preceded by John Michael McConnell
Succeeded by James R. Clapper, Jr.
Personal details
Born February 4, 1947 (1947-02-04) (age 64)
Kittery, Maine
Alma mater United States Naval Academy
University of Oxford
Profession Intelligence officer
Military service
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1968–2002
Rank US-O10 insignia.svg Admiral
Battles/wars War on Terrorism

Dennis Cutler Blair (born February 4, 1947) is the former United States Director of National Intelligence and is a retired United States Navy admiral. He was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve in the Obama administration as DNI on January 28, 2009 and took office the next day.[1] He was fired by President Obama on May 20, 2010, effective May 28.[2][3][4]

Contents

Early years

Blair was born in Kittery, Maine, the son of Abbie Dora (née Ansel) and Captain Carvel Hall Blair.[5][6] He is a sixth generation naval officer and the great-great-great-grandson of Confederate Chief Engineer William Price Williamson of North Carolina, credited with first suggesting that the hull of the USS Merrimack be used to build the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia.[7] Blair attended St. Andrew's School (1964), and, as a classmate of Oliver North and James H. Webb, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968.

Naval career

Admiral Dennis C. Blair, USN
Commander in Chief, US Pacific Command

Following his graduation from the Naval Academy, he was assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Tattnall (DDG-19). He then received a Rhodes Scholarship, majoring in Russian studies at Oxford University, attending during the same time future president Bill Clinton studied there (President Clinton did not complete the program).[8] He served as a White House Fellow from 1975-76 with Wesley Clark and Marshall Carter, who later became chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Blair spent over 34 years in the United States Navy. He served on guided missile destroyers in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and commanded the Kitty Hawk Battle Group.

His last job in the military was as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Command, the highest-ranking officer over most of the US forces in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, he was Director of the Joint Staff in the Office of the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and served in budget and policy positions on several major Navy staffs and the National Security Council staff. He was also the first Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support. He retired from the Navy in 2002.

Reports of disobeying orders

According to journalist Alan Nairn, Blair disobeyed orders from civilians in the Clinton Administration during the 1999 East Timorese crisis during his tenure as commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Command. Amid growing international concern over violence against the independence movement in Indonesian-occupied East Timor, Blair was ordered to meet with General Wiranto, the commander of the Indonesian military, and to tell him to shut down the pro-Indonesia militia. According to Nairn, two days after the Liquiçá Church Massacre, Blair failed to deliver this message; instead he presented Wiranto with an offer of military assistance and a personal invitation to be Blair's guest in Hawaii.[9] Consequently, Wiranto’s "forces increased the Timor killings".[10] During his confirmation hearing as Director of National Intelligence, Blair responded to the accusations: "In our conversations with leaders of Indonesia, both military and civilian, we decried and said that the torture and killing that was being conducted by paramilitary groups and some military groups in East Timor had to stop"; "those who say that I was somehow carrying out my own policy or saying things that were not in accordance with American policy are just flat wrong."[11]

Conflict of interest

His membership on the board of directors of EDO Corporation, a subcontractor for the F-22 Raptor fighter program, and ownership of its stock was raised as a potential conflict of interest after the Institute for Defense Analyses issued a study that endorsed a three-year contract for the program. In a 2006 report, Project on Government Oversight publicized the results of this study and exposed Blair's conflict of interest. Blair told the Washington Post, "My review was not affected at all by my association with EDO Corp., and the report was a good one." He originally chose not to recuse himself because he claimed his link to EDO was not of sufficient "scale" to require it, but subsequently resigned from the EDO board to avoid any misperceptions.

However, on December 20, 2006 the Washington Post reported that the US Department of Defense Inspector General's investigation into the affair found Blair had violated IDA's Conflict of Interest rules but did not influence the result of IDA's study. Blair observed, "with all due respect to the Inspector General, I find it hard to understand how I could be criticized for violating conflict of interest standards when I didn't have any influence on the study."[12]

Decorations and notability

His decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters (4 awards), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, and the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal with one star (2 awards), as well as numerous other campaign and service awards. He has been decorated by the governments of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan.[13]

Blair is somewhat renowned in US Naval circles for attempting to water ski behind his destroyer the USS Cochrane (DDG-21) when he was the Skipper.[14]

Retirement

After retiring from the Navy, Blair held the John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies at The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)[15] and the General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at Dickinson College[16] and the US Army War College.[17] He was also the President of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a US Government think tank in the Washington, D.C. area focused on national security. He also served as Deputy Executive Director of the Project on National Security Reform.

Director of National Intelligence

Nomination

Dennis C. Blair became the third Director of National Intelligence on January 29, 2009.[18]

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network opposed Blair's nomination for Director of National Intelligence, saying "His actions demonstrate the failure of engagement to temper the Indonesian military’s behavior and his actions helped to reinforce impunity for senior Indonesian officials that continues to this day."[1][19]

During his confirmation, Director Blair indicated he did not support a domestic intelligence agency separate from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[20] He has also promised to end special interrogation regimes and believes the Intelligence Community must conduct analysis on opportunities as well as threats.[21][22][23][24]

Appointment of Intelligence Community representatives

In May 2009, Director Blair attempted to exercise his authority to appoint an intelligence officer as his representative abroad, only to have CIA Director Leon Panetta counter his memo with a memo of his own.[25] Former DNI Mike McConnell and the first DNI, John Negroponte, were both unable to take this community management function away from the CIA, which has been under the CIA's jurisdiction since 1947.[26] According to news reports, President Bush had to issue an executive order to give the DNI his congressionally mandated powers to force the CIA and other intelligence agencies to respond to the DNI's demands. A number of government executives agree that the DNI should not have to go to the President each time the DNI wants to implement guidance.[27] Late July 2009, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence backed the DNI, asking the CIA to give "prompt adherence" to the DNI's decision.[26]

However, on November 10, 2009, the White House decided in the CIA's favor, granting them authority to continue to select the chief US intelligence officer in each country where the US has a presence. Some intelligence experts believe this significantly weakens the DNI's authority, comparing the DNI to a DCI without an agency.[28] US Senator Susan Collins of Maine expressed concerns during hearings over the botched 2009 Christmas terrorist attack that the White House had undermined the power of ODNI by siding with the CIA in turf disputes, specifically citing this disagreement over intelligence community appointees.[29][30][31] In a January 2010 statement to lawmakers by Thomas Kean and Lee H. Hamilton who led the 9-11 Commission Report, Kean and Hamilton urged Obama to be clear who was in charge and urged a strong DNI.[32] According to the Washington Post, a former Clinton administration official suggested scrapping the DNI position if Blair were removed.[33]

Testimony on use of assassination on United States citizens

On February 3, 2010, as Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair testified before Congress, "If that direct action--we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that. ... I would rather go into details in closed session, Mr. Chairman, but we don't target people for free speech. We target them for taking action that threatens Americans or has resulted in it."[34][35][36] Blair also said: "Being a US citizen will not spare an American from getting assassinated by military or intelligence operatives overseas if the individual is working with terrorists and planning to attack fellow Americans."[37]

Blair dismissed by President Obama

On May 20, 2010, President Barack Obama asked for Blair's resignation,[38] from his role as Director of National Intelligence which was tendered that day effective May 28.[39][40]

The Fort Hood shooting, the Christmas Day bomb plot and the Times Square car bomb plot all took place during his tenure. President Obama said he was grateful for Admiral Blair's leadership and his "remarkable record of service". He went on to state, "During his time as DNI, our intelligence community has performed admirably and effectively at a time of great challenges to our security, and I have valued his sense of purpose and patriotism."

Blair dismissal related to U.S.–France intelligence treaty

On May 22, 2010, two days after the resignation was announced, US officials leaked to the New York Times a relationship between Blair's resignation, and his continual pushing of a U.S.–French intelligence-sharing project "with other countries". Blair and French Intelligence Director Bernard Bajolet had commenced negotiations on the pact between the October and December 2009; the treaty was to have been a legally binding reciprocal no-spying arrangement between France and the United States, whereby each country would take over operations for the other in each's home-territory. Under the proposed treaty, US operations in France would therefore be run by French intelligence. This was to be a signed treaty arrangement, a more formal version than the UK–USA Security Agreement.[41] The month before the treaty failure, President Sarkozy made a number of US visits; the first visit of the French President was on March 31, 2010.[42] During the visit, Sarkozy was the first head of state invited by Obama to dine in the White House's private dining quarters.[43] Press releases from both governments made mention of the close relationship between the two heads of state.[44] Mr. Sarkozy also was present during the 12–14 April 2010 nuclear non-proliferation talks hosted in Washington, immediately prior to President Obama's rejection of the treaty produced by eight months of negotiations by Director Blair.

US officials claimed that the U.S.–France intelligence-sharing treaty had been rejected by President Obama, adding that DNI Blair's "continued pushing" for the pact after presidential rejection were grounds for his dismissal;[45] it was further claimed that President Sarkozy had been upset at the late-stage US drawback in the deal. US sources claimed that the treaty had been signed, despite US claims that the treaty had been rejected by President Obama.

In an unusual response, the Palais de l'Elysee confirmed that such a treaty had been negotiated, adding that "we weren't the askers" in the deal, denying any French disappointment. French officials further specified that part of the US offer to France comprised access to a "secure intelligence data and retrieval exchange system",[46] this being an in-progress US acquisition under ODNI aegis. French officials characterized the treaty as minor, stating "nothing has changed in our relationship" in relation to the treaty failure and Blair's dismissal.[47] Officially, France denies conducting operations on US soil.

References

  1. ^ a b Mikkelsen, Randall (December 18, 2008). "Obama chooses Adm. Blair as intel chief: source". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BH66U20081218. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  2. ^ "Obama's top intelligence adviser resigns". CNN. May 21, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/20/intelligence.director.resigns/index.html?hpt=T1. 
  3. ^ Miller, Greg. Dennis C. Blair to resign as director of national intelligence, Washington Post. Published May 21, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  4. ^ Bob Woodward, Obama's Wars (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010), p. 371. Obama offered Blair the opportunity to devise a face-saving cover story, but Blair refused: "You want me to lie?"
  5. ^ http://familyforest.com/file_download/1/Admiral+Dennis+Blair.pdf
  6. ^ "Dennis Blair, Obama's Spy-in-Chief, Brings a Tactical Eye to the Job". US News and World Report. April 8, 2009. http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2009/04/08/dennis-blair-obamas-spy-in-chief-brings-a-tactical-eye-to-the-job.html. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  7. ^ Davis, William C., Duel Between The First Ironclads.
  8. ^ Oxford Journal; Whereas, He Is an Old Boy, If a Young Chief, Honor Him. New York Times.
  9. ^ Alan Nairn. "US Complicity in Timor". The Nation, September 27, 1999
  10. ^ Alan Nairn. "Breaking News: US Intel Nominee Lied About '99 Massacre. US, Church Documents Show Adm. Dennis Blair Knew of Church Killings Before Crucial Meeting. " News and Comment. January 22, 2009
  11. ^ Sen. Dianne Feinstein Holds A Hearing On The Nomination Of Dennis Blair To Be Director Of National Intelligence. January 22, 2009. Excerpts from Transcript of Confirmation Hearing.
  12. ^ (PDF) Alleged Conflict of Interest: Admiral Dennis C. Blair, US Navy (Retired) President, Institute for Defense Analysis. United States Department of Defense. 2006-11-30. http://www.dodig.mil/fo/Foia/ERR/Blairreport113006.pdf. 
  13. ^ "Vice Admiral Dennis C. Blair Appointed to Reserve Forces Policy Board" (press release), US Department of Defense
  14. ^ Mazzetti, Mark. "Dennis C. Blair". Times Topics (The New York Times). http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/dennis_c_blair/index.html?inline=nyt-per. Retrieved 2008-12-03. 
  15. ^ http://nbr.org/programs/cass/shali/ShaliChairPR09272007.pdf
  16. ^ [1][dead link]
  17. ^ [2][dead link]
  18. ^ ODNI, Biography, January 30, 2009
  19. ^ Miller, John M (December 6, 2008). "ETAN opposes Adm. Blair as Director of National Intelligence". News Blaze. http://newsblaze.com/story/20081206163820zzzz.nb/topstory.html. Retrieved 2008-12-20. 
  20. ^ Pincus, Walter (January 28, 2009). "DNI Designee Blair Answers Questions Before Panel Vote". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012703321.html. 
  21. ^ New York Times, Statement of Dennis C. Blair before The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate, January 22, 2009 (see video, 00:30-01:08)
  22. ^ Washington Post, DNI Nominee Blair Talks of Opportunities for Statecraft, January 26, 2009
  23. ^ ODNI, DNI Workforce Message, January 30, 2009
  24. ^ ODNI, Media Roundtable with Mr. Dennis Blair, pg. 5, 21, March 26, 2009
  25. ^ David Ignatius, Intelligence Turf Has to be Ended, June 14, 2009
  26. ^ a b "CIA wins turf battle over DNI: But is it over?". Wtop.com. November 16, 2009. http://www.wtop.com/?nid=778&sid=1813713. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  27. ^ HSToday, DNI, CIA Turf War Highlights Recurring Issue of DNI's Authority, May 28, 2009
  28. ^ AFCEA, INTELLIGENCE AND THE AFGHAN SURGE, December 2009
  29. ^ The Hill, 9/11 Commission head presses Obama on anti-terrorism efforts, January 26, 2010
  30. ^ Financial Times, by Daniel Dombey, US intelligence: Tribal warfare, March 10, 2010
  31. ^ The Atlantic, Intel Director Defends His Job, and the Job, 6 April 2010
  32. ^ Washington Post, Rift raises questions on Obama intel czar's future, March 26, 2010
  33. ^ Washington Post, Rift raises questions on Obama intel czar's future, March 26, 2010
  34. ^ Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. February 3, 2010.
  35. ^ Ryan, Jason (February 3, 2010). "License to Kill? Intelligence Chief Says US Can Take Out American Terrorists". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/license-kill-intelligence-chief-us-american-terrorist/story?id=9740491&page=1. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  36. ^ "Dennis Blair: US Can Kill Suspected American Terrorists Abroad". Huffington Post. March 21, 2010. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/dennis-blair-us-can-kill_n_449170.html. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  37. ^ "Obama Administration: US Forces Can Assassinate Americans Believed to Be Involved in Terrorist Activity," Democracy Now!, February 9, 2010. This remark does not appear in the official transcript.[citation needed]
  38. ^ "Mr. Blair's Departure". The New York Times. May 21, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/opinion/22sat2.html. 
  39. ^ Mazzetti, Mark (May 20, 2010). "Blair to Leave Intelligence Post After Rocky Tenure". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/us/politics/21intel.html?hp. Retrieved May 20, 2010. 
  40. ^ "Top Obama intelligence official resigns". CNN. May 20, 2010. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/20/top-intelligence-official-resigns/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1&fbid=xMNm42bvwDQ. Retrieved May 20, 2010. 
  41. ^ "Espionage". PI Newswire. http://www.pinewswire.net/tag/espionage/. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  42. ^ "CURL: Sarkozy's chilly visit to America". Washington Times. March 31, 2010. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/31/french-presidents-visit-highlights-chilly-relation/. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  43. ^ Bremner, Charles (March 30, 2010). "Dogged Sarkozy finally receives his invitation to the White House". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7080594.ece. 
  44. ^ Knowlton, Brian (March 28, 2010). "Sarkozy, and France, Look to US Visit". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/world/europe/29iht-sarko.html. 
  45. ^ Mazzetti, Mark (May 21, 2010). "Dispute Over France a Factor in Intelligence Rift". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/us/politics/22intel.html. 
  46. ^ "Barack Obama Overruled "No-Spying" Pact with France". Atlantic Council. May 25, 2010. http://www.acus.org/natosource/barack-obama-overruled-no-spying-pact-france. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
  47. ^ "France and US carry on spying". PI Newswire. 2010-05-24. http://www.pinewswire.net/2010/05/france-and-usa-carry-on-spying/. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 

Further reading

External links

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Preceded by
Joseph Prueher		 Commander of the United States Pacific Command
1999–2002		 Succeeded by
Thomas Fargo
Political offices
Preceded by
John Michael McConnell		 Director of National Intelligence
2009–2010		 Succeeded by
David Gompert
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