Adm. Dennis Blair

Why He Matters

When Blair was the American general tasked with overseeing U.S. military affairs in the Asia-Pacific region, he kept a close eye on China and North Korea. By making the retired Navy admiral the next director of national intelligence, President Barack Obama is banking on the fact that dealing with the obstinate regimes in Beijing and Pyongyang is the perfect training ground for running – and reforming – U.S. intelligence agencies.

Blair is now the man in charge of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, which are prone to contentious turf wars and infighting over everything from division of authority to budgets to information-gathering policies to personnel issues. As the nation’s top intelligence official, Blair has unusually close access to Obama and is often the first person to greet him in the mornings.Mazetti, Mark, “Likely Pick for Intelligence Chief Would Face Task of Corralling Fracticious Agencies,” New York Times, Dec. 21, 2008 That special access places him at the center of Obama’s national security inner circle, giving him time to advise the president – at often closer range than his rivals – on issues such as torture, detainees, nuclear proliferation and intelligence reform.

Obama’s choice of Blair for DNI, coupled with his decision to tap former Clinton chief of staff and budget director Leon Panetta as the next CIA director, means Washington’s top two spymasters both lack professional roots in the shadowy world of intelligence. Some experts viewed the picks as a sign the president wants fresh thinking and strong managers with the Washington gravitas needed to finally overhaul the nation’s intelligence apparatus.Landay, Jonathan S. and Taley, Margaret, “Obama's choice of Panetta to lead CIA suggests shake-up is coming,” McClatchy Newspapers, Jan. 5, 2009

Path to Power

A sixth-generation naval officer, Blair graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. After a stint on a guided-missile destroyer, a Rhodes Scholarship took Blair to Oxford University, where he focused on Russian studies.

Back in the states, Blair was a White House fellow from 1975 to 1976. He would go on to hold a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff. He held a list of senior Navy jobs in various budgeting and policy-development posts, as well as operational commands. In a story famous in defense circles, Blair attempted to water ski behind the USS Cochrane (DDG-21) when he was that ship’s commanding officer.

After becoming Pacific Command chief in February 1999, Blair was considered among the upper echelon of American generals. During President George W. Bush’s first term, some defense insiders considered him a top contender to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking position possible for an American general. His chances to be named chairman, however, were derailed when he clashed with then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on a number of issues.

For instance, Blair, as Pacific Command chief, came to view China as less of a strategic threat than did many Bush administration officials. He once told Chinese officials he was “not worried about you taking Taiwan because, even if you get across the straits, you can't maintain it, you can't protect it," according to a witness in the room.Priest, Dana, “Blair is Steeped in the Ways Intelligence Works,” Washington Post, December 20, 2008 That, along with some of the initiatives he pushed as Pacific Command chief, put him on the outs with Rumsfeld, who felt the Bush team could not trust a man who studied with President Clinton at Oxford.Mazetti, Mark, “Likely Pick for Intelligence Chief Would Face Task of Corralling Fracticious Agencies,” New York Times, Dec. 21, 2008 After failing to secure the chairman’s post, Blair soon retired from the Navy.

He went on to run the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. But in mid-2006, Blair left IDA under a cloud of controversy.

IDA conducted for the U.S. Air Force a business-case analysis that showed a service procurement plan would generate $225 million in savings. But some accused Blair of a conflict of interest because he held stock options in EDO Corp., a subcontractor on the F-22 fighter program. Blair also sat on EDO’s board of directors.

In a July 26, 2006, letter to Senate Armed Services Committee leaders, Blair defended his work for the Air Force, saying “it was an important research project, and I received routine reports of its progress but did not play any active role in its conduct or review.” Despite those efforts, Blair ultimately left IDA.Munoz, Carlo, “F-22 Set for Showdown in Congress,” Inside the Air Force, July 29, 2006

The Issues

The list of intelligence management and reform issues facing Blair is daunting. And the content of that list often looks different, depending on which experts you consult.

There's one goal that is nearly universally agreed upon: the need to streamline U.S. intelligence agencies. The DNI’s office was established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to do just that, but experts report mixed results so far.Hess, Pamela, “Obama's new DNI choice may head shrunken agency,” Associated Press via GovernmentExecutive.com, Jan. 5, 2009

Early in his term, Blair outlined a vision for his job. He is focusing on developing better communication across agencies or, in his words making sure "we really do connect the dots." He has been slowly streamlining the organization (with a scalpel, he said) and pushing for integration, ensuring that different agencies are communicating regularly with each other."Remarks and Q&A by the Director of National Intelligence Mr. Dennis C. Blair," U.S. Chamber of Commerce, July 22, 2009

The Network

During his time abroad and in Washington, the retired four-star general has crossed paths and worked with many political power players. While studying for his naval career in Annapolis, Md., he was a classmate of Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and retired Marine Corps Gen. Michael Hagee, a former U.S. Marine Corps commandant. While studying at Oxford, Blair was a classmate of former President Bill Clinton.

Blair has worked with many senior military officials, including Mullen and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, Obama’s pick for national security adviser. In fact, Blair and Jones both worked on the Project on National Security Reform, which recently issued a report that called for a number of sweeping reforms to the national security apparatus and policies.