Michael Hayden Quotes

Improving our national intelligence capabilities should remain a top priority and a continual process.

The skills of the British intelligence community are a great national asset.

Intelligence is our first line of defense against terrorism, and we must improve the collection capabilities and analysis of intelligence to protect the security of the United States and its allies.

Despite constant vilifying by the media and congressional threats to take away the tools needed to uncover plots, FBI agents and CIA officers work silently around the clock and risk their own lives to keep us safe.

Simply stated, the need for accurate intelligence and prescient analysis from CIA has never been greater than it is in 2013 - or than it will be in the coming years.

Richard M. Helms, the first director of Central Intelligence to rise from the ranks, was fond of saying that the CIA had been founded to make sure that there would never be another Pearl Harbor. Underlying this mission impossible was the wishful supposition that an America that knew everything could prevent anything.

I have had national security background, 10 years on the Intelligence Committee, the last two years as chair.

The security of the United States, which is so dependent on having accurate and timely intelligence, is not a Republican or a Democratic issue.

Nothing is more important to national security and the making and conduct of good policy than timely, accurate, and relevant intelligence. Nothing is more critical to accurate and relevant intelligence than independent analysis.

I believe that reforming our intelligence community is one of the most important things that we can do in order to ensure that our country is in fact safer, stronger and wiser.

There is still much to be done by our intelligence community to bring its achievements up to an acceptable level.

The safety and security of the nation depends more so than ever before on intelligence.

Intelligence without counter-intelligence is useless.

The purpose of an intelligence service is to avoid war, not to promote one.

If you don’t know who they are, where they are, and what they’re planning, you can’t get them before they get you.

Intelligence isn’t just something for the Cold War. When you think of Pearl Harbor, you can understand why. Unpleasant surprises are out there.

Bureau of Secret Intelligence.

Bill Stephenson taught us all we ever knew about foreign intelligence.

The security [of European national is dependent on the effective intelligence of their neighbors.

We have 17 different intelligence agencies and they are all basic;ly doing the same thing.

I have spent my adult life working in American intelligence. It has been quite an honor. Generally well resourced. A global mission. No want of issues. And it was a hell of a ride.

When I was first elected to the Senate, I was fortunate to be appointed to the Intelligence Committee. There, I saw up close the dedication and commitment of the men and women of our intelligence agencies.

CIA will continue to pursue every lead; analyze the information we collect with critical, objective eyes; and brief reliable intelligence to protect U.S. forces deployed around the world.

I spent almost a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA. I was the guy in the back alleys at four o'clock in the morning collecting intelligence on threats to the Homeland.

Counterterrorism isn't really about the nunchakus, the guns and gadgets. It's about psychology.