got geoint?

Every so often we like to mix things up at got geoint? by occasionally doing news round-ups mid-week. And, with all the news happening in the IC these days, we thought it was appropriate to do a post that highlights all the big news. Of course, we all know that General James Clapper was nominated by President Obama to be the new DNI. And, Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) — who spoke at GEOINT 2009 past year — came out with a ringing endorsement of Clapper. In addition, the CIA honored 12 officers and contractors killed in action yesterday. And we have much more. So, fire up that second cup of coffee (yes, we stole this expression from our MMNKO posts) and read on.

Ruppersberger Urges Senate to Confirm General Clapper as Director of National Intelligence
Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) today endorsed President Obama´s choice of Lt. Gen. James Clapper for Director of National Intelligence and urged his colleagues in the U.S. Senate to quickly confirm the nomination. A member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and Chairman of the Technical and Tactical Subcommittee, Congressman Ruppersberger has gotten to know General Clapper through their joint work in the intelligence field. Read the full American Chronicle article here.

What Clapper Means For Intel
Jim Clapper may have ticked off a senior Republican on the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, but most intelligence professionals and some very important Democrats view his ascension to the DNI as a most welcome event. One of the top intelligence lawmakers came out today with a resoundingly strong statement endorsing Clapper. “General James Clapper tells it like it is and gives honest assessments of situations. He is true to his beliefs. General Clapper is comfortable speaking truth to power even when those in power don’t want to hear it, or if it costs him his job, as it once did. He is a true, patriotic American that I have always respected,” said Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, head of the HPSCI’s technical and tactical subcommittee. Read the full DoD Buzz post here.

Obama Seeks to Reshape Intel Operations with Choice of Clapper
President Obama fired Adm. Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence last month because of frustration with the lack of coordination among spy agencies and a fear that the former Navy four-star was too prone to give personal opinions rather than hard information. Blair also lost points with the president and his advisers when he let his critique of the CIA become too apparent during high-level meetings. Like many military officers, Blair believed that the agency lacked the training and background for some of its missions and that its officers had a covert “can-do” philosophy that often led them to act before thinking. Read the full Washington Post article here.

Clapper Nomination Hits a Snag?
The White House’s hope for DNI nominee James Clapper’s speedy confirmation hit a snag this afternoon when Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Kit Bond expressed consternation over a memo that Clapper sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee expressing the DoD’s prerogatives on intelligence — a memo perceived to be opposed to the concept of a DNI. … A senior administration official said that the memo was titled “INFORMATION PAPER and DISCUSSION DRAFT,” and was written in response to an inquiry from the House Armed Services Committee’s general counsel as to whether the Secretary of Defense had any concerns about the intelligence portions of the intelligence authorization bill. Clapper’s staff checked with the secretary’s office and the Pentagon policy folks, and sent the paper in. “It doesn’t represent the entire of General Clapper’s views on the role of the DNI.” Read the full Atlantic story here.

CIA Honors 12 officers, Contractors Killed in Action
With a dozen new stars set in white Vermont marble, the CIA on Monday memorialized 12 agency officers and contractors killed in action, including a mother of three from Northern Virginia who was chief of the CIA base struck by a suicide bomber in eastern Afghanistan on Dec. 30. Jennifer Lynne Matthews, 45, whose name has not previously been made public, was among seven agency operatives slain by an informant who set a trap after claiming to have infiltrated al-Qaeda’s innermost circle. Read the full Washington Post article here.

Tags: CIA honors fallen officers, Clapper Nomination to DNI, Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Director of National Intelligence, geospatial intelligence, got geoint?, Ruppersberger Endorses Clapper, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, USGIF