WASHINGTON — Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden vigorously defended the legality of the Bush administration's domestic wiretapping program Thursday and declared that the Central Intelligence Agency "must be transformed" to stay abreast of terrorist and other threats.
In an often-contentious hearing on his nomination to be the next CIA director, Hayden fended off questions from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about his previous job as director of the National Security Agency. He acknowledged playing a larger role than previously understood in the creation of the controversial domestic eavesdropping program, but refused to publicly respond to questions about details of the operation.
The hearing made it clear that Hayden's standing among some members has been diminished by his involvement in the program, which has been a major source of controversy for the Bush administration.
Still, lawmakers and Senate aides emerged from Thursday's session -- the only day Hayden was scheduled to testify -- saying that he was likely to be confirmed by the Senate as early as next week.
In his testimony, the four-star general described ambitious plans for the beleaguered agency he hopes to lead, saying he intends to push the CIA to be more aggressive in mounting clandestine operations and more rigorous in assessments to avoid the mistakes that plagued the prewar estimates on Iraq.
And he made it clear that he believed the CIA had become too bogged down tracking daily developments in Iraq and other global trouble spots.
Instead, he suggested, the CIA should surrender more of that work to the Pentagon and focus more of its energies on anticipating longer-term threats and trends. He said the agency needed to reconcile itself to a diminished role in which it is an important but not isolated member of the U.S. intelligence community.
At one point, Hayden likened the CIA to "a top player on a football team -- critical, but part of an integrated whole. Even the top player needs to focus on the scoreboard, not on their individual achievement."
Hayden, 61, currently serves as the deputy director for national intelligence, the principal deputy to the nation's top spy, John D. Negroponte, who oversees the activities of all 16 U.S. spy agencies. The general played a behind-the-scenes role in ousting CIA Director Porter J. Goss, who resigned two weeks ago amid criticism that he was too turf-conscious and resistant to reforms.
