|
WASHINGTON - THE Obama administration's candidate for a critical intelligence post withdrew on Tuesday amid congressional objections over his past criticism of Israel and ties to China and Saudi Arabia.
The withdrawal of Mr Charles Freeman, named to head the National Intelligence Council - which produces formal United States assessments of security issues - is the latest personnel embarrassment for President Barack Obama as he struggles to staff his administration.
"Charles Freeman was the wrong guy for this position. His statements against Israel were way over the top and severely out of step with the administration," New York Senator Charles Schumer - who is from Mr Obama's Democratic Party - said in a statement. Mr Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, spoke of "yet another breakdown in the Obama administration vetting process - onemore in a long series of missteps".
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, who chose the former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and adviser to a China- owned oil firm for the council position, had defended him as a man of "strong views, of an inventive mind and the analytical point of view".
But Mr Freeman's comments - including one seen as condoning China's Tiananmen Square crackdown - stirred controversy.
He was quoted as saying, in 2007, that "The brutal oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli occupation shows no sign of ending" and "American identification with Israel has become total".
In a note to supporters, Mr Freeman said he bowed out after deciding "the barrage of libellous distortions" of his record would not end. The council he had been picked to head prepares the National Intelligence Estimates that are heavily relied on by Congress and administration policy makers.
- REUTERS
| 
