Frankly, Michael Hayden's appointment leaves me cold. He comes out of two cultures -- the military and DNI -- that have been actively campaigning against and undermining CIA authorities and self-respect and poaching on CIA resources and energies.

The argument that actively serving military officers have headed CIA in the past holds no water. Of the six, four were in the immediate post World War II period ending in 1953 when virtually everyone had been or was in the military. The two following, Admirals Raborn and Turner, who departed 26 years ago, were among the least successful CIA directors of the 19 holding that job; hardly a sterling recommendation.

Moreover, the cultures of NSA and CIA are very different, and success in running one may not be particularly relevant to the other. NSA's technical focus and by-the-numbers, military-oriented style is inimical to CIA's freewheeling, agile and civilian-oriented approach to its more broad-gauged business.

That said, the rumored return as CIA deputy of accomplished and talented operations veteran Steve Kappes, pushed out by Porter Goss' ham-fisted congressional staffers shortly after their arrival, is an encouraging sign. Hopefully, this is Michael Hayden's way of smoothing his own confirmation and acceptance in Langley, and a clear sign that he gets it. If so, Kappes should be given his head in doing the needful with the clandestine service.

The nation expects and deserves no less.