U.S. spy chief Blair says he is stepping down

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence chief Dennis Blair announced on Thursday that he is stepping down in the first major shake-up of President Barack Obama's national security team.

"It is with deep regret that I informed the president today that I will step down as Director of National Intelligence effective Friday, May 28th," Blair said in a statement issued by his office.

Blair's 16-month tenure as director of national intelligence has been marked by infighting with the CIA and sharp criticism over the intelligence community's failure to prevent a botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner.

A U.S. official said the White House has been interviewing "several strong candidates to be his replacement."

A Senate report released this week found that the U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism agencies missed chances to prevent the December 25 plot because of human and technical errors.

Blair has locked horns behind the scenes with CIA Director Leon Panetta, fuelling doubts for within the administration about his tenure. "Something has to give," one government source told Reuters in March.

The director of national intelligence serves as the head of the intelligence community, but his control of the CIA and its operation is limited.

Blair's often blunt style was seen by some as a source of candour, but it irked others in a White House that prizes staying on message, officials said.

Within the bureaucracy, Blair faced an uphill battle from the start.

Panetta, a former member of Congress, White House chief of staff and chairman of key congressional committee, has extensive ties within the administration and Congress.

Obama took ultimate responsibility for lapses exposed by the Christmas Day plot. But the intelligence community's reputation suffered.

LOW PROFILE

Blair has operated largely out of the public eye, especially since the Christmas Day plot, analysts say.

To contain the political fallout, the White House turned to top counterterrorism aide John Brennan, rather than Blair, to lead the public relations effort.

Blair has also maintained a low profile since a botched May 1 car-bombing in New York's Time Square.

Blair has pressed aggressively for expanded authorities that many experts say he needs to make the post of director of national intelligence effective, but the results have been mixed.

In a classified order issued in December, the White House National Security Council reaffirmed the CIA's leadership role in covert action. The director of national intelligence has "policy oversight" but no veto power over operations, officials said.

Under the ruling, if a covert operation is deemed an emergency, the CIA would work directly with the president and notify the director of national intelligence concurrently.

The White House also strengthened the CIA's hand at U.S. missions overseas.

Many current and former intelligence officials trace tensions back to 2004, when legislation overhauling the intelligence system created the office of the director of national intelligence without clearly delineating all of its powers.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; editing by Patricia Wilson and Mohammad Zargham)

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