Michael V. Hayden

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Image:Michael V. Hayden.jpg Michael Vincent Hayden (born March 17, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) holds the rank of general in the United States Air Force, which describes him as "the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the armed forces." He is the principal deputy director of national intelligence, where he is said to be "responsible for overseeing the day-to-day activities of the national intelligence program." [1] He took office on April 21, 2005, when both he and national intelligence director John Negroponte were sworn in after a Senate confirmation. He previously served as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), having assumed that position in 1999. During his tenure as director, the longest in the history of the agency, he oversaw the controversial warrantless wiretapping program.

1 Personal biography
2 Warrantless surveillance
3 Military awards
4 Dates of rank
5 External links

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Personal biography

Michael Vincent Hayden was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a welder for a manufacturing company. He earned a B.A. in history in 1967 and an M.A. in modern American history in 1969, both from Duquesne University. He is a graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Hayden entered active military service in 1969.

Hayden has served as commander of the Air Intelligence Agency and director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center, both headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base. He also has served in senior staff positions in the Pentagon; Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany; the National Security Council, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Embassy in the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Prior to his current assignment, the general served as deputy chief of staff for United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Army Garrison. He has also worked in intelligence in Guam. Most recently he served as director of the National Security Agency.

Hayden's supporters describe him as cerebral, self-effacing, and low-key. He is married; he and his wife Jeanine have three children.

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Warrantless surveillance

The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy arose when the New York Times revealed on December 16, 2005 that the agency had been eavesdropping on U.S. citizens and other people within the U.S. without seeking warrants from a special court, as ostensibly required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.[2]

Hayden received personal criticism for his role in the controversy when he spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 2006 to defend the practice of warrantless surveillance. During the question and answer period following his speech, Hayden appeared to deny that a "probable cause" standard is contained in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution--which limits the government's ability to conduct searches and, by extension, surveillance.

Knight Ridder reporter Jonathan Landay prefaced a question by noting that "the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to be able to do a search that does not violate an American's right against unlawful searches and seizures." Hayden responded: "No, actually--the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure.... That's what it says." When Landay continued, "But does it not say probable--" Hayden said: "No. The amendment says...unreasonable search and seizure."

In fact, the amendment refers to both "unreasonable searches and seizures" and "probable cause."

Later, responding to Landay's question, Hayden stated:

Just to be very clear--and believe me, if there's any amendment to the Constitution that employees of the National Security Agency are familiar with, it's the Fourth. And it is a reasonableness standard in the Fourth Amendment. And so what you've raised to me--and I'm not a lawyer, and don't want to become one--what you've raised to me is, in terms of quoting the Fourth Amendment, is an issue of the Constitution. The constitutional standard is "reasonable." And we believe--I am convinced that we are lawful because what it is we're doing is reasonable.

Writing up the exchange, the online magazine Editor & Publisher (January 23, 2006) wrote that Hayden "appeared to be unfamiliar with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when pressed by a reporter with Knight Ridder's Washington office--despite his claims that he was actually something of an expert on it." [3]

Later in the same question-and-answer session, author James Bamford suggested that part of the purpose of "going around the FISA law...was to lower the standard from what they call for, which is basically probable cause, to a reasonable basis; and then to take it away from a federal court judge, the FISA court judge, and hand it over to a shift supervisor at NSA."

Hayden replied, "You got most of it right," and then elaborated on the NSA decision-making process without disputing Bamford's assertion. When Bamford followed up with, "Since you lowered the standard, doesn't that decrease the protections of the U.S. citizens?" Hayden said he would not discuss the process of the decision, and then stated:

I think you've accurately described the criteria under which this operates, and I think I at least tried to accurately describe a changed circumstance, threat to the nation, and why this approach -- limited, focused -- has been effective. [4]

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