John E. McLaughlin

John E. McLaughlin became acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on June 3, 2004, following the resignation of DCI George J. Tenet, who will be leaving the agency mid-July. McLaughlin had been serving as the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence since October 19, 2000. 


 * The Associated Press announced that Tenet, "who weathered storms over intelligence lapses about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has resigned, President Bush" said Thursday, June 3, 2004. Deputy DCI John McLaughlin will serve temporarily "until a successor is found.

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Background
McLaughlin "was sworn in as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence on 19 October 2000.

"Previously he served as Deputy Director for Intelligence, Vice Chairman for Estimates and as Acting Chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

"Mr. McLaughlin came to the CIA in 1972, and worked in the early part of his career on various European, Russian, and Eurasian issues in the Directorate of Intelligence. In 1984-85, he served a rotational tour at State Department in the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, where he was responsible for following European relations with the Middle East, Central America, and Africa. In September 1985, he became the Deputy Director of the Office of European Analysis, and in April 1989, Mr. McLaughlin was appointed the Director of European Analysis. Three months after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Mr. McLaughlin was appointed the Director of Slavic and Eurasian Analysis. He held this position until mid-1995, concentrating on political, economic, and military issues in Russia and the 14 other new states that emerged from the USSR. During this period, he represented the Intelligence Community on numerous diplomatic delegations visiting Russia and the other newly-independent states.

"During his tenure as Deputy Director for Intelligence from July 1997 to July 2000, Mr. McLaughlin was responsible for the analysis of political, economic, and military events worldwide. During this period, he created the Senior Analytic Service, a CIA career track that enables analysts to rise to very senior rank without branching out into management. He also founded The Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis, an institution dedicated to teaching the history, mission, and essential skills of the analytic profession to new CIA employees.

"Mr. McLaughlin received his BA from Wittenberg University in 1964 and his MA from Paul H. Nitze Scool of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in 1966, with a specialty in European Affairs. During this period, he spent a year on Capitol Hill as a Staff Assistant to Senator Joseph Clark of Pennsylvania. Mr. McLaughlin spent one year of his Master's program studying at the SAIS Center in Bologna, Italy, and did additional graduate work in comparative politics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

"From 1966 to 1969, Mr. McLaughlin served in the US Army, graduating from the Infantry Officer Candidate School. He served a tour in South East Asia from 1968 to 1969."

McLaughlin is now a regular analyst for CNN. He primarily talks about issues related to security and intelligence.

Source: CIA Biography: John E. McLaughlin.