Bush Pick for Intelligence Czar Turned Blind Eye Toward U.S.-Backed Death Squads In Honduras

Interview with Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst with the National Security Archive, conducted by Scott Harris

Making the last high-level appointment in his administration's second term, President Bush nominated career diplomat John Negroponte to become the nation's first director of national intelligence. Also nominated to the post of deputy intelligence director was Lt. General Michael Hayden, who now leads the National Security Agency. Both positions were created after Congress adopted recommendations made by the independent commission that investigated the failures of government leading up to the 9/11 attacks. If confirmed by the Senate, Negroponte will manage the budgets of 15 intelligence agencies, establish new standards among those agencies and ensure that vital intelligence is shared.

Negroponte worked with Henry Kissinger in the National Security Council during the Vietnam War and later served as U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines. President Bush tapped Negroponte to serve as his ambassador to the U.N and most recently as the first American ambassador to post-invasion Iraq. Negroponte's most controversial tenure was in Honduras where from 1981 to 1985 he was a key player in coordinating the Reagan administration's clandestine and illegal attacks on the government of Nicaragua via the Contra army. Negroponte stands accused of being complicit in, or turning a blind eye to massive human rights abuses committed by Honduran military officials supported by the CIA.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst with the National Security Archive who discusses Negroponte's past and why he feels it's important for the Senate to closely examine this nominee's attitude toward human rights that could further undermine America's moral authority.

Contact the National Security Archive. by calling (202) 994-7000 or visit their web site at: www.nsarchive.org

Related links:

"Negroponte, a Torturer's Friend," by Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, April 21, 2004

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