WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- The nomination of Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to head the CIA looks certain to set off a major conflict in Congress.
Stephen Hess, an expert on the presidency and governance at the Bookings Institution, said opposition would be fierce no matter who the president chose.
"I get the feeling that almost anything is going to be challenged anyhow for George W. Bush at this moment, and certainly anything that has to do with intelligence and gives the opportunity to members of Congress to rehash all the problems the CIA has had, whether it's Sept. 11 or weapons of mass destruction," he said. "Nothing was going to go easily with this nomination"
Hayden, the current deputy of the country's intelligence czar, John Negroponte, is the former head of the National Security Agency, the super-secret and highly successful entity handling the president's controversial communications surveillance program.
Dubbed "domestic spying" in the media and by civil libertarians and congressional critics, the program was initiated by Bush's order following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. It allows the monitoring of the international communications of people in the United States suspected of having terrorist links.
The monitoring, reviewed every 45 days, has been done without court-issued warrants, but the administration has argued it is necessarily given the flexibility and speed needed in the war on terror, and because the Constitution allows the president as commander in chief to do so in wartime.
Critics of the Hayden nomination have already indicated that criticisms of the program will feature in his nomination hearings.
"During his time as director of the National Security Agency, Michael V. Hayden implemented an illegal domestic spying program in clear violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act," People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas said in a statement.
"Gen. Hayden has now been selected as President Bush's nominee to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. During his confirmation hearing, senators should demand answers and accountability. The Senate must not confirm anyone to this important post who would break the law to spy on American citizens."
The American Civil Liberties Union has also weighed in, saying it urges "the Senate to vigorously question the nominee on his involvement with the warrantless program to spy on Americans."
"The appointment of Gen. Hayden is the latest example of President Bush giving promotions to those who have led the greatest attacks on our Constitution and fundamental freedoms." it said.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., said Hayden's nomination may result in the debate in the Senate "being about the terrorist surveillance program and not about the future of the CIA or the intelligence community" where it ought to be.
Capitol Hill Democrats have also indicated the issue will come up, but have so far focused on Hayden's military status, and that if he stays on active duty, military officers would be in charge of the country's three-largest intelligence agencies.
That criticism has not just come from Democrats. Some Republicans have also expressed unease at what they see would be a Pentagon takeover of the CIA.
"We should not have a military person leading a civilian agency at this time," said Hoekstra, who will have no vote on Hayden since the nomination if a Senate affair.
However, Negroponte has argued that this cocnern is misplaced.
As far as this concern that's been expressed about the military or the Pentagon taking over intelligence, I think there's a lot of unfounded concerns there," Negroponte said Monday. "The Directorate of National Intelligence is responsible for formulating the national intelligence budget. We're responsible for laying out the priorities for intelligence collection and analysis, and we're also responsible for a lot of the tasking related to the collection of national intelligence. So I don't think this concern is well-founded.
"Obviously we have to work together with the military. The watchword for intelligence reform, after all, is integration, and that means integration of all of the elements of our government that work on intelligence. And we're also in a war. So it really stands to reason that we do have to work very closely with the Pentagon and with the armed services ...."
Hess said attacking the program during the nomination process could result in energizing Bush's base supporters, where enthusiasm for the president is seen as softening.
"People haven't show they are against it (monitoring of international calls of suspects), and certainly people who support it show they do. Going into an election" it may not be a bad idea to let it become a central point.
