The Director of National Intelligence resigned this week, and one Georgia senator says the intelligence community “needs strong and focused leadership” and that intelligence failures under Dennis Blair “cannot be tolerated.”
“Adm. Blair brought a wealth of intelligence background to the difficult position of the DNI. However, we have seen recent failures of the intelligence community leading up to the Christmas Day incident and the terrorist attempt in New York City,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said in a statement. “This type of failure cannot be tolerated.
“The intelligence community needs strong and focused leadership and I hope the White House moves quickly to put that leadership in place,” Chambliss added.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press is reporting that James Clapper, a top intelligence official in the Pentagon, is the White House’s choice to replace Blair.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national, faces federal charges of attempting to destroy Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam as it prepared to land on Christmas Day at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Authorities say Abdulmutallab tried to ignite an explosive device that contained pentaerythritol, also known as PETN.
