Admiral takes new tack with intel position

I already liked that His O'ly-ness had appointed a military expert to get the intelligence community under control, but reading this anecdote just makes me like him even more. How is it that Obama is able to get it right on some of these appointments, while his other appointments are so insane?

For instance, Leon Panetta as the head of the CIA? I am better qualified than he is! I might not have the connections to the Democrat Party that can get me a job like that, but I know many other things.

Maybe this is a sign that the CIA, being subservient to the DNI, is going to become a political position? Like FEMA used to be and might return to being someday.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/18/admiral-takes-new-tack-with-DNI-position/

When Adm. Dennis C. Blair was in China as commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, a Chinese admiral confronted him rather aggressively on the issue of Taiwan, warning the United States not to interfere in China's campaign to gain control of the self-governing island.

Admiral Blair listened for a minute, then said: "Admiral, let me tell you a couple of things. First, I own the water out there," gesturing toward the Pacific Ocean. "And second, I own the sky over the water out there. Now, don't you think we should talk about something more constructive?"

The anecdote, confirmed by Adm. Blair, illustrates the sort of plain speaking that characterizes the man President-elect Barack Obama has nominated to be the nation's top intelligence officer. As Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the retired admiral would be responsible for setting objectives and standards for 16 disparate intelligence agencies including the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, and for coordinating their sometimes conflicting operations.