forward and demanding". As an official in the foreign service, Bush said, Negroponte is aware of global intelligence needs. "Intelligence is our first line of defence," the president said. The appointment comes a day after top intelligence officials had reiterated that terrorists are a serious threat to U.S. national security. "It may be only a matter of time before al-Qaeda or another group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons," CIA Director Porter Goss told Congress. Goss said there were endless "haystacks" that had to be examined for threats. In addition, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there is a "series of very real intelligence that reflected al-Qaeda planning for further attacks on the United States". Negroponte became ambassador to Iraq last summer. Before that, he served as U.N. envoy beginning in 2001 and was also ambassador to the Philippines, Mexico and Honduras as well as deputy national security adviser. --SP 0045 Local Time 2145 GMT
