Jim Bunning: “I speak today on the nomination of John Negroponte to be the first Director of National Intelligence. I want to express…”

“I speak today on the nomination of John Negroponte to be the first Director of National Intelligence. I want to express my full support for his confirmation. John Negroponte is without question one of the most qualified public servants to fill this position. Over the past four decades he has continually worked to advance American policy both domestically and abroad. He is a career diplomat and served in the United States Foreign Service from 1960 to 1997. Among his most notable posts are Vietnam, the Philippines, Honduras and Mexico. After the Foreign Service, Mr. Negroponte was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from September 2001 until June 2004. After that, he was confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate as the first U.S. Ambassador to the new democratic Iraq. Throughout his ambassadorship in Iraq, he received immense praise even from the harshest of critics for his removal of corruption in the reconstruction effort in Iraq. He later oversaw, what many deemed impossible--the first successful Iraqi democratic elections. As we have seen through his leadership in Iraq, democracy has quickly taken root in the country and I believe it will continue to grow. While the position of the Director of National Intelligence is new to our Government, I am confident that Mr. Negroponte will be successful in his endeavors to create a united intelligence entity. His experience and success in Iraq will serve him well in this new position.…”