Wednesday, November 12, 2008 3:30 PM

Intel Officials Make Their Case To The 'Post'

By SHANE HARRIS

The Washington Post reports this morning -- on the front page, no less -- that two top intelligence officials are expected to lose their jobs. Getting the ax, the Post says, will be the two Mikes -- Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and CIA Director Mike Hayden.

But, more than a report on impending departures, the story looks like a pre-emptive strike by senior officials and their staffs eager to stay on in the Obama administration. It quotes a number of unnamed senior officials who offer a host of reasons why replacing Hayden and McConnell is a bad idea. These officials point out that the CIA and DNI posts are "open-ended appointments," and that quick replacements at the top of each department "could be seen as politicizing their offices." (Team Obama was mum on the matter.)

Quoting other anonymous officials, the article reveals that McConnell and Hayden want to remain on the job, just as George Tenet did when he remained as CIA director in the transition from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush. The article proceeds to throw out some other gold-plated names from transitions past: Gen. Colin Powell and Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who stayed on through transitions between presidents of different parties.

For more than a year now, intelligence and security officials have warned about the disruption political transitions can cause in agencies that are on constant alert for terrorist attacks and other crises. (Subscribers can access National Journal's story on transition at the Homeland Security Department.) But so far, we haven't seen a core of intelligence pros reach out en masse to get their views on the record.

The Post quotes one administration official who says Hayden thinks "Obama is 'going to have his hands full dealing with what has become a full-blown economic crisis, so he may want to keep some steady, experienced hands at the helm in the national security arena, at least for a while.'"

We imagine McConnell and Hayden could be channeling Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men": "You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall."

They may be right. History shows that past terror attacks have often come during times of political transition. A quick rundown:

• 1993 World Trade Center bombing -- the month after Bill Clinton took office
• 9/11 attacks -- nine months into Bush's first term
• Madrid train bombings of 2004 -- three days before Spain's national elections
• Attempted bombings in London -- two days after Gordon Brown became prime minister