Larry C. Johnson http://noquarter.typepad.com/about.html is a member of of the American Society for Industrial Security. He runs Berg and associates(yes, like Ice berg)He has done alot of work recently in Africa and Iraq. While he was in London, returning from Africa, the terrorist plane bombing threat happened and a guard was arrested among others.

If a consultant was working with a foreign security company, which resulted in murders of Canadian guards in Afghanistan, a world leader in Africa, and threatening of a foreign national in a foreign country based on the security consultant's association with the security company, would all this be checked and before USIC, the President, and Congress?

The real answer is no. The consultant might follow up in Africa and provide some basic intelligence feedback using the persons who committed illegal acts. The consultant would still have value and everybody is happy. It is unfair to ask foreign nationals or foreign countries to serve a private consultant because there is no answer from the US government.

As I noted this morning, DNI is a pretty thankless task.

“The administration sought to dispel any suggestion that Negroponte’s shift was a demotion. Bush personally reached out to Negroponte, an experienced diplomat, to take over the long-vacant job as deputy secretary of state, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Bush has not announced the nomination.”

Riiiiight. IIRC, DNI was established as a cabinet-level position - the predecessor seat, Director of Central Intelligence, sometimes had that level of treatment, but not every President did so. And Negroponte was personally asked by Bush to move to the #2 slot in a different secretariat, but not as a demotion.

I guess he was running short on Presidential Freedom medals...