US: President George Bush has nominated a former undercover agent to head the embattled Central Intelligence Agency.
He said Mr Porter Goss, a Republican congressman, "knows the CIA inside and out" and could bolster its spy network.
"He is well prepared for this mission," the President said of Mr Goss, chairman of the House intelligence committee, who was an army intelligence operative before joining the CIA in the 1960s.
"He's the right man to lead and support the agency at this critical moment in our nation's history," said the President in the White House Rose Garden.
Mr Goss, whose nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, had been mentioned prominently in speculation about a successor to his predecessor, Mr George Tenet, who left amid a torrent of criticism of the agency's handling of pre-war intelligence on Iraq.
Mr Bush still has a major decision ahead of him. He has embraced a cornerstone recommendation by the commission investigating the September 11th terror attacks: appointment of a new intelligence chief to oversee the activities of the CIA and more than a dozen other intelligence agencies.
"I think every American knows the importance of getting the best possible intelligence we can get to our decision-makers," Mr Goss (65) said.
Both men stressed that Mr Goss's experience as an undercover CIA officer would help the agency bolster its ability to use spies, instead of just technology, to infiltrate terrorist networks.
"The essence of our intelligence capability is people," Mr Goss said.
Mr Bush said: "To stop them from killing our citizens, we must have the best intelligence possible."