US President George Bush’s nomination of General Michael Hayden as CIA chief has ignited a confirmation fight over the intelligence veteran’s ties to the controversial eavesdropping programme and his ability to be independent from the military establishment.

US President George W Bush’s nomination of Gen Michael Hayden as CIA chief ignited a confirmation fight Monday over the intelligence veteran’s ties to the controversial eavesdropping program and his ability to be independent from the military establishment.

CIA director Porter Goss resigned suddenly, nudged out after a turmoil-filled 18 months at the spy agency as it struggled to forge a new identity in an era of intelligence blunders and government overhauls.

CIA Director Porter Goss resigned unexpectedly today, pushed from the helm of a spy agency still reeling from intelligence failures before America’s worst terrorist attack and faulty information that formed the US rationale for invading Iraq.

The CIA sacked an employee for leaking classified information to the media, including details about secret prisons in eastern Europe that resulted in a Pulitzer Prize-winning story.

GOVERNMENT ministers will be among the Irish witnesses asked to attend the European Parliament’s hearing into CIA rendition flights.

US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte takes centre stage today as he delivers his first annual assessment of national security threats to Congress.

Ukraine today vehemently denied the existence of secret prisons allegedly run by the US Central Intelligence Agency on Ukrainian soil.

CIA Director Porter Goss, saying his agency struggles to penetrate terrorist sanctuaries overseas, insists that "we know more than we're able to say publicly" about Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

THE CIA uses “unique and innovative ways” to obtain vital information from prisoners but strictly obeys laws against torture, CIA director Porter Goss said.

The CIA uses “unique and innovative ways” to obtain vital information from prisoners but strictly obeys laws against torture, CIA director Porter Goss said.

A top CIA manager who remains undercover will soon oversee the traditional human spying activities for the entire intelligence community, a new position created in the post-September 11 intelligence reforms.

The CIA’s independent watchdog has recommended disciplinary reviews for current and former officials who were involved in failed intelligence efforts before the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The CIA’s independent watchdog has recommended disciplinary reviews for current and former officials who were involved in failed intelligence efforts before the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Osama bin Laden is enlisting his top operative in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to plan potential attacks on the United States, US intelligence indicates.

The CIA is to send more spies on dangerous missions in enemy territory rather than rely on diplomats under flimsy cover in foreign embassies, it emerged today.

US PRESIDENT George W Bush yesterday nominated Republican Porter Goss of Florida to head the CIA, saying the former undercover operative “knows the CIA inside and out” and can bolster its spy network.

President Bush today nominated Florida congressman Porter Goss to head the embattled Central Intelligence Agency, saying the former agent “knows the CIA inside and out”.

US president George W Bush has chosen Porter Goss, head of the House Intelligence Committee, to be the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

A Senate report detailing serious flaws in US intelligence-gathering highlights the urgent need for a permanent CIA director given the current terrorist threat, leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said.

CIA director George Tenet has resigned for “personal reasons”, US President George Bush said today.

The Bush administration has hit back at accusations by leaders of the House of Representatives’ intelligence committee that the United States went to war in Iraq on the basis of outdated and vague intelligence.

The chairman of the US Congressional intelligence committee has given National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice strong backing in the face of Democratic criticism.

A TOP US State Department expert on chemical and biological weapons told congressional investigators he had been pressured to change his analysis of intelligence on Iraq and other issues, the New York Times reported yesterday, citing unnamed congressional officials.