George Bush Appointed C.I.A. Director

By Patrick Mondout

President Gerald Ford appointed former House member from Texas George Bush to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Bush was sworn in on January 30, 1976. On the occasion of the swearing-in of George Bush, President Ford had this to say:

" . . . We must maintain a strong and effective intelligence capability in the United States. . . . To be effective, our foreign policy must be based upon a clear understanding of the international environment. To operate without adequate and timely intelligence information will cripple our security in a world that is still hostile to our freedoms.

"Nor can we confine our intelligence to the question of whether there will be an imminent military attack. We also need information about the world's economy, about political and social trends, about food supply, population growth, and, certainly, about terrorism.

"To protect our security diplomatically, militarily, and economically, we must have a comprehensive intelligence capability. The United States is a peace-loving nation and our foreign policy is designed to lessen the threat of war as well as aggression. In recent years, we have made substantial progress toward that goal . . .

"Yet, we also recognize that the best way to secure the peace is to be fully prepared to defend our interest. . . . A central pillar of our strength is, of course, our armed forces. But another great pillar must be our intelligence community--the dedicated men and women who gather vital information around the world and carry out missions that advance our interests in the world."

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