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Dennis C. Blair

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For other people named Dennis Blair, see Dennis Blair.
Dennis C. Blair
File:DNI Blair Official Photo.jpg
3rd Director of National Intelligence
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 29, 2009
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJohn Michael McConnell
Personal details
Born1947
Kittery, Maine
United StatesUnited States
ProfessionIntelligence officer
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1968 – 2002
Rank Admiral
Battles/warsWar on Terrorism

Dennis Cutler Blair (born 1947), is the third and current Director of National Intelligence and a former United States Navy four-star admiral. He was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve in the Obama administration as DNI on 28 January 2009, and took office the next day. [1][2][3]

Early years

Blair was born in Kittery, Maine in 1947, and was a 6th generation naval officer and Great-Great-Great Grandson of Confederate Chief Engineer William Price Williamson of North Carolina, credited with first suggesting that the hull of the USS Merrimack be used to build the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia. [4] He attended St. Andrew's School (1964), and, as a classmate of Oliver North and James H. Webb, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968.

Admiral Dennis C. Blair, USN
Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command

Following his graduation from the Naval Academy, he was assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Tattnall (DDG-19). He then received a Rhodes Scholarship, majoring in Russian studies at Oxford University, attending during the same time future president Bill Clinton studied there. He served as a White House Fellow from 1975-76 with Wesley Clark and Marshall Carter, who later became chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Blair spent over 34 years in the United States Navy. He served on guided missile destroyers in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and commanded the Kitty Hawk Battle Group.

His last job in the military was as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, the highest-ranking officer over all U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, he was Director of the Joint Staff in the Office of the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and served in budget and policy positions on several major Navy staffs and the National Security Council staff. He was also the first Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support. He retired from the Navy in 2002.

Reports of disobeying orders

Blair reportedly disobeyed orders from civilians in the Clinton Administration during the 1999 East Timorese crisis during his tenure as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command. Amid growing international concern over violence against the independence movement in Indonesian-occupied East Timor, Blair was reportedly ordered to meet with General Wiranto, the commander of the Indonesian military, and to tell him to shut down the pro-Indonesia militia. Blair reportedly failed to deliver this message; instead he presented Wiranto with an offer of military assistance and a personal invitation to be Blair's guest in Hawaii. Once U.S. State Department officials discovered that he had not gone through with his orders, he was directed to fix the situation immediately, which resulted in a telephone call to Wiranto in which he again failed to deliver the message that the U.S. disapproved of Indonesian military action in East Timor and they were to cut off funding.[5] Months later, after killings of independence supporters had grown, Blair was sent back to Indonesia, and -- this time following civilian orders -- cut off all American ties to the Indonesian military.[6]

Decorations and notability

His decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and National Defense Service Medal with one star as well as numerous other campaign and service awards. He has been decorated by the governments of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan.[7]

Blair is somewhat renowned in U.S. Naval circles for attempting to water ski behind his destroyer the USS Cochrane (DDG-21) when he was the Skipper.[8]

Retirement

After retiring from the Navy, Blair held the John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies at The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)[9] and the General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at Dickinson College[10] and the U.S. Army War College[11]. He was also the President of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a U.S. Government think tank in the Washington D.C. area focused on national security. He also served as Deputy Executive Director of the Project on National Security Reform.

Conflict of interest

His membership on the board of directors of EDO Corporation, a subcontractor for the F-22 Raptor fighter program, and ownership of its stock was raised as a potential conflict of interest after the IDA issued a study that endorsed a three-year contract for the program. Blair told the Washington Post, "My review was not affected at all by my association with EDO Corp., and the report was a good one." He originally chose not to recuse himself because he claimed his link to EDO was not of sufficient "scale" to require it, but subsequently resigned from the EDO board to avoid any misperceptions.

However, on December 20, 2006 the Washington Post reported that the US Department of Defense Inspector General's investigation into the affair found Blair had violated IDA's Conflict of Interest rules but did not influence the result of IDA's study. Blair observed, "with all due respect to the Inspector General, I find it hard to understand how I could be criticized for violating conflict of interest standards when I didn't have any influence on the study."[12]

Director of National Intelligence

Nomination

Dennis C. Blair became the third Director of National Intelligence on January 29, 2009. [13]

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network opposed Blair's nomination for Director of National Intelligence, saying "His actions demonstrate the failure of engagement to temper the Indonesian military’s behavior and his actions helped to reinforce impunity for senior Indonesian officials that continues to this day."[14][1]

During his confirmation, Director Blair indicated he did not support a domestic intelligence agency separate from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [15] He has also promised to end special interrogation regimes and believes the Intelligence Community must conduct analysis on opportunities as well as threats. [16] [17]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Mikkelsen, Randall (18 December 2008). "Obama chooses Adm. Blair as intel chief: source". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  2. ^ "Obama names Panetta for CIA". Associated Press. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  3. ^ Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Statement by the Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, 9 January 2009
  4. ^ Davis, William C., Duel Between The First Ironclads.
  5. ^ Nairn, Allan (1999-09-27). "US Complicity in Timor". The Nation.
  6. ^ Marshall, Andrew (11 September 1999). "East Timor Crisis: US moves nearer to intervention". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ "Dennis C. Blair". Times Topics. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ [3]
  11. ^ [4]
  12. ^ "Alleged Conflict of Interest: Admiral Dennis C. Blair, U.S. Navy (Retired) President, Institute for Defense Analysis" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. 2006-11-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ ODNI, Biography, 30 January 2009
  14. ^ Miller, John M (6 December 2008). "ETAN opposes Adm. Blair as Director of National Intelligence". News Blaze. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  15. ^ Washington Post, Intelligence Pick Fields Panel's Questions, 28 January 2009
  16. ^ New York Times, Statement of Dennis C. Blair before The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate, 22 January 2009
  17. ^ Washington Post, DNI Nominee Blair Talks of Opportunities for Statecraft, 26 January 2009

References


Military offices
Preceded by Commander, United States Pacific Command
1999–2002 		Succeeded by
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