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'Spy chief' to work for Rice
04/01/2007 09:39 - (SA)
Washington - US President George W Bush's top intelligence official, John Negroponte, is resigning to become Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Negroponte, a career diplomat, became the first US Director of National Intelligence in 2005 as part of an overhaul of the US spying operations following the intelligence failures in Iraq and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Although he said in interviews earlier this year that he would remain the intelligence czar until Bush leaves office in January 2008, Negroponte has agreed to return to his state department roots as deputy secretary of state, the senior state department official said.
His resignation and new appointment will be announced later this week, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Rice has not had a number two since Robert Zoellick resigned as deputy secretary of state in June 2006.
Negroponte, 67, must be confirmed by the senate for his new position.
News of his move comes as Bush finalises a review of the failed US policy in Iraq, where Negroponte served briefly as ambassador following the US-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.
- AFP
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