Obama to name new Intelligence chief

President Obama has decided to nominate James Clapper, the Pentagon's top intelligence official to oversee the country's 16 spy agencies. The president is expected to officially announce the decision in a Rose Garden ceremony on Saturday. James Clapper is a retired Air Force three-star general and one of the best candidates for this post.

Two officials on condition of anonymity have confirmed that Clapper is Obama's choice for the post. He would replace retired Adm. Dennis Blair, who resigned last month after frequent clashes with the White House.

Several objections have been made against Clapper's nomination for this post on the basis that Clapper had been combative and sometimes obstructive under questioning on Capitol Hill in his previous intelligence roles.

The position for the national intelligence director was created in the year 2004 with an objective of coordinating the 16 different spy agencies that work for the United States government.

Clapper served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which often works closely with the CIA. In retirement, he became the first civilian director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, with a few years in private sector focusing on intelligence issues in between. He has won many fans in the military community and is known for his blunt, sometimes salty speech and direct manner.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra and other lawmakers have questioned president Obama's move to make Clapper director of national intelligence and are worried whether Clapper would be able to do a better job than his predecessor.

The Intelligence Committee's chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., objected to the Clapper choice last week, saying she wanted a civilian in the role.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., applauded the choice, however, while at the same time suggesting the DNI role itself may be flawed — by giving the director responsibility over the intelligence agencies but no direct authority to change what those agencies do.