奧巴馬提名密碼專家出任NSA新局長 親自面試大綱

President Obama has signed off on the nomination of Vice Adm. Michael S. Rogers to lead the embattled National Security Agency and the Pentagon’s cyberwarfare organization, according to sources familiar with the decision.

In an unusual move, Obama himself interviewed Rogers last week, in a reflection of the job’s high profile at a time when the NSA has drawn fire for the scope of its surveillance practices.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to comment, but people familiar with the matter said an announcement is expected soon.

Rogers, a Navy cryptologist, had long been seen as the frontrunner to succeed Gen. Keith Alexander, who has been NSA director since 2005. Alexander, who will retire March 14, is the longest-serving NSA head. He is also the first commander of U.S. Cyber Command, which launched in 2009.

Rogers, whose Navy career spans more than 30 years, is “uniquely qualified” to take on the job, said Terry Roberts, a former Naval intelligence official who worked with Rogers when he served as a special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and JCS director of intelligence. She cited his background in intelligence and his experience heading Fleet Cyber Command, the Navy’s cyber unit that also works for U.S. Cyber Command.

Rogers understands signals intelligence and cyberattack operations, as well as the intelligence needs for the military and civilian agencies, she said. He “is the kind of leader who will embrace the challenge of defining the optimal balance for the NSA between security, privacy and freedom in the digital age,” Roberts said.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to question him on issues related to both cyber operations and the NSA.

Rogers has regularly briefed top military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon. He has been involved in cyberdefense and offense policy issues as head of Fleet Cyber Command. But he has not had to defend the nation’s largest intelligence agency against charges of violating surveillance and privacy laws, and the Constitution.

Last month, Obama decided not to split the leadership of the NSA and Cyber Command, which a number of administration officials advocated, including Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. Obama also opted not to end the 62-year tradition at the NSA of having a uniformed officer as the director.

Alexander, who supported Rogers as his successor, has long argued that Cyber Command and the NSA need to be under one leader and closely linked because the military cyber mission depends heavily on the NSA’s networks and capabilities.

Some military cyber personnel say that Cyber Command will never fully mature as an organization unless the leadership roles are split.

In a 2012 interview, Rogers told The Washington Post that he was comfortable with the current “dual-hat” arrangement. “I think it is a sound one,” he said.

He said that fostering a “culture of accountability and responsibility” was one of his goals as Fleet Cyber commander. “We need to make sure that commanders understand cyber is a core facet of operations and warfare of the 21st century,” he said, adding that “it is not a silver bullet. It is not going to replace other capabilities.”據美國《華盛頓郵報》1月26日報道，知情人士透露，美國總統奧巴馬已經簽署文件，準備提名密碼專家、海軍中將邁克爾•S•羅傑斯擔任備受爭議的美國國家安全局（NSA）局長。

羅傑斯是美國海軍密碼專家，軍銜中將。羅傑斯在海軍有30年的經驗，曾主管艦隊網絡司令部，熟悉信號情報和網絡攻擊，也對軍用、民用情報需求瞭如指掌。另外，羅傑斯還長期給軍、政兩界高級官員提供簡報，參與過網絡攻擊、防禦的決策工作。不過，NSA日前被指違反監控、隱私相關法律，甚至違憲，無疑給羅傑斯帶來新的挑戰。

考慮到NSA的“知名度”，奧巴馬上週罕見地親自面試羅傑斯。白宮發言人凱特林•海登拒絕發表評論。知情人士稱，美國很快將就提名一事發布官方聲明。

前美國海軍情報官員特麗•羅伯茨盛讚亞歷山大，說他是“那種擁抱挑戰，能夠在數字時代帶領NSA在安全、隱私和自由方面達到理想平衡的領袖人物”。

基思•亞歷山大2005年起擔任NSA局長，即將於3月14日退休，是NSA歷史上任職時間最長的局長。亞歷山大還是2009年設立的五角大樓美國網絡司令部的首任司令。

羅傑斯出任NSA局長後，也會同時擔任網絡司令部主管。此前，包括美國國家情報總監詹姆斯•R•克拉珀在內的多名官員呼籲讓兩者“分家”。不過，在亞歷山大的支持下，奧巴馬上個月否決這個提議，沿用舊制。另外，NSA成立62年來一直由軍人擔任局長，奧巴馬此番提名羅傑斯，也沿襲了這個傳統。

亞歷山大支持羅傑斯接替自己，他一直堅稱網絡司令部和NSA必須由同一人領導，並且和軍方網絡項目保持緊密聯繫。也有軍方情報人員認爲，如果不“分家”，網絡司令部將永遠無法成爲成熟的組織。