Member of the US House of Representatives Porter Goss attends a hearing on the "9-11" report held by the Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington Aug. 11, 2004. US President George W. Bush announced on Tuesday that he has selected Goss to become the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency. (Xinhua Photo)

    BEIJING, Aug.11 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday nominated Republican Porter Goss of Florida to head the CIA amid terror and tumult, saying the former undercover operative ¡°knows the CIA inside and out¡± and can bolster its spy network, Shenzhen Daily reported Wednesday.

    ¡°He is well prepared for this mission,¡± the president said of 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.¡±

    Goss, whose nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, had been mentioned prominently in speculation about a successor to departed CIA Director George Tenet, who left amid a torrent of criticism of the agency¡¯s handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

    Bush still has a major decision ahead of him. He has embraced a cornerstone recommendation by the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks: creation of a new intelligence czar 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,¡± Goss, 65, said during the Rose Garden announcement.

    If the president names an intelligence czar, his CIA chief would lose some power in the reshuffling and essentially would be required to report to the new head of all intelligence operations.

    Neither Bush nor Goss discussed the new organization, and the CIA had no comment Tuesday on Bush¡¯s appointment. The president said Goss would advise him on how to implement the Sept. 11 panel¡¯s recommendations.

    The Connecticut-born Goss graduated from Yale in 1960 and launched a clandestine career, working for army intelligence for two years and eventually the CIA¡¯s most well-known division, the Directorate of Operations.

    Goss has served in Congress for 16 years, including eight years as House Intelligence chairman. He planned on making his 2000 election bid his last, but decided to stay on after the Sept. 11 attacks. Enditem

    (Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)