U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Lieutenant General Keith Alexander, the top intelligence officer in the Army, to be director of the National Security Agency (NSA). Alexander, who must face confirmation by the U.S. Senate to run the huge intelligence-gathering agency, would succeed General Michael Hayden of the Air Force. Hayden left the NSA in April to fill the newly created post of deputy director of national intelligence. Because the last two directors of the NSA were Air Force generals and the two before them were Navy admirals, the position was widely expected to go to an Army general.
