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Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc
Holy Mary Mother of God! What, does Negroponte have pics of POTUS or something? COME ON!!!!
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My very first thought was that Negroponte was chosen simply because he is politically reliable and part of the Bush inter-circle. While I don't think the pick was an inspired one there are several things in its favor.
The first is Negroponte has never worked for one of the agencies he now controls and might be able to stay above the interagency in fighting without being accused of favoring one over the other. He doesn't have a dog in the fight so to speak.
His time in Iraq has given him an up close (as up and close as a wonk will ever get) view of some of the problems we are facing. He has working knowledge that isn't restricted to one region of the world from his time at the State Department. IIRC he fairly extensive LA exposure.
Finally his tenure as ambassador to the UN has given him some exposure on how to deal with a very inefficient beaurocracy. Something I am sure he is going to need a lot of in fairly short order.
Not a great pick but not a horrible one.
Edited to add: that it appears that Lt. Gen. Mike Hayden, formerly of the NSA, will be the man behind the curtin and that Negroponte will be the public face and the liason to the WH.