Obama nominates James Clapper for Director of National Intelligence

United States President Barack Obama has nominated retired Air Force Lieutenant General James Clapper to be the new director of National Intelligence. The position had been left vacant when the previous director of national intelligence was forced to leave due to a series of security failures. James Clapper now awaits confirmation by the US Senate.

Barack Obama has requested a quick confirmation from the Senate. Both US Democratic Party and Republican Party senior representatives in the Senate Intelligence Committee have publicly expressed their reservation about the nomination. According to to the Associated Press, Republican senator Kit Bond doubted Clapper's ability to command among some of the intelligence community personalities. "I don't think Clapper's the right person for the job," he said. The Associated Press, informed by senior congressional staff, reported that the Republican senator had not been invited to discuss the nomination and is considering asking his Republican support to block the nomination.

Previous director of national intelligence Dennis C. Blair quit two weeks ago in the sequence of a series of security failures, including the Fort Hood shooting incident.