Intelligence director leaves; feuded with White House

WASHINGTON — The nation's top intelligence officer, director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, announced his resignation Thursday after months of friction and repeated duels with White House officials.

The retired Navy admiral gave no reason for his departure in his public statement, nor did he express thanks to President Obama for the opportunity to serve in his administration.

A U.S. official indicated Obama had asked Blair to resign, saying a job search was well under way.

The administration has "been interviewing several strong candidates to be his (Blair's) replacement," said the U.S. official, who declined to elaborate. The official requested anonymity.

Blair's exit comes as the administration faces thorny decisions about Iran's nuclear program, the future of Afghanistan and the spread of militancy from Pakistan's tribal areas. It also fuels new doubts about the success, and wisdom, of the major intelligence overhaul in 2004 that created the spymaster position.

The departure of Blair, a retired admiral, had been rumored for months, but was made official when Obama called him Thursday and asked him to step down.

Later Thursday, Obama said, "Dennis Blair has a remarkable record of service to the United States, and I am grateful for his leadership as director of National Intelligence."

Among the possible candidates to succeed Blair are retired Air Force Gen. James Clapper, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence; former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican who co-chairs the president's Intelligence Advisory Board; and Marine Gen. James Cartwright, deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Blair's resignation follows intelligence lapses over the failed Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner and the unsuccessful plot to detonate an SUV filled with explosives and propane in Times Square in Manhattan this month.

The Senate Intelligence Committee issued a report Tuesday cataloging 14 intelligence failures that led up to the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, a Nigerian, is accused of using plastic explosives hidden in his underwear in the attempt.

The list included failures inside the intelligence community to share information that was known about Abdulmutallab's links to the al-Qaida branch in Yemen and his extremist views before he boarded the flight in Amsterdam.

Blair has served as director of National Intelligence since January 2009 and has provided Obama with his morning-intelligence briefing most days. He'll be the highest official to resign from the administration since Obama was sworn in.

Blair's office was created after the Sept. 11 attacks as part of an effort to coordinate the operations of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies better.

U.S. officials also have cited tensions between Blair and Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan. In November, Brennan sided with CIA Director Leon Panetta in a fight with Blair over the power to appoint the top U.S. intelligence officers in individual countries. Blair's deputy, David Gompert, is expected to fill Blair's position until a new director is confirmed.

Material from The New York Times is included in this report.