Reply #5: US agency head quits after reported Rumsfeld clash

[Roland99]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060106/pl_nm/security_clapper_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. intelligence agency that analyzes data from military spy satellites and U2 aircraft will leave his post in June, officials said on Friday.

James Clapper, a retired Air Force general, will step down as director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on June 13, three months short of his fifth anniversary as head of the defense department operation, officials said.

The Baltimore Sun, which first reported Clapper's departure, said the NGA director was being forced out after angering Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on an issue involving intelligence reform.

...

"We always anticipated it would be about a five-year tour of duty," said NGA spokesman David Burpee. "He's always served at the pleasure of the secretary of defense."