In an exercise that left some officials in the field scratching their heads, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair earlier this month summoned a small group of senior CIA station chiefs to a conference at his headquarters in Virginia. The meeting occurred as top administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, were still trying to sort out a turf battle between Blair’s office and the CIA. As Declassified reported previously, Blair wants the power to name people “DNI representatives” in foreign countries, but the CIA believes its station chiefs must retain their authority as the top U.S. intel representatives abroad. For now, the two sides appear to have agreed that CIA station chiefs will be encouraged to call themselves “DNI representatives.” So why the spooky powwow? One former intel official, who stays in touch with colleagues but didn’t want to be named discussing internal politics, said some of the station chiefs called to the meeting were baffled about its purpose. Other former and current officials characterized the Blair conference as a routine effort to bond with CIA spies. Wendy Morigi, a spokeswoman for Blair, said: “Every DNI has made it a practice to speak regularly with his representatives in the field. From the beginning, Director Blair established strong working relationships with DNI reps and made it clear that he wants to hear their views about current successes and challenges and what additional tools they may need to execute their authority.”
